The colour orange. Wakoucha Tasting, Tea N°13, Benihikari, The Tea Crane, 2018.

As the reader of this blog already knows, the translation of Wakoucha is Red Tea from Japan. In Asia what we call black tea is red tea (it was the water that made the difference), but during my Wakoucha tastings I started spotting a colour that I had not yet really seen in other red tea's: orange.  Some of my Wakoucha's were really red in colour, but a lot had this orange glow. A few even reminded me of  Crodino.

This puzzled me, so I started surfing, and found what I was looking for here: https://www.myjapanesegreentea.com/color-of-black-tea. Depending on the levels of oxydation of the catechins in tea we get theaflavines (responsable for the orange colour), thearubigines (red, like in many Chinese 'red' teas) or theabrownins (black, dark brown, like in Pu'er). Theaflavines and thearubigines have a good reputation for our health, though they should be no mistake: they can not replace medicines and they can not make up for a unhealthy lifestyle. There are rumours that theaflavines can help regulate sugar levels with diabetes type 2, but I think they only bring a positive influence combined with other measures like regular fysical practice and a diet. However, if you still have a cravinf for sweet drinks, many of them taste sweet without containing Sugars and they can make a 'bland' diet pretty exciting...

Benihikari Wakocha, first flush, 2018, The Tea Crane:

Harvested May 22, 2018. 31.2 euro for 100 gram (on the Japanese website). Organic.

The tea comes from the Yama so shita danchi teagarden in Tsukigasé in Nara, 20 acres big, at 250m above sea level. The underground is either sand or clay and the slopes are north and south oriented,  facing each other in a V shape. The garden is harvested only once a year and the last 7 years only vegetal fertilisation. To one side of the garden are prune trees, to the other side organically farmed Yabukita from the same owner. The cultivar is Benihikari, more about it here.

August, 9, 2019, a leaf day, rainy. 3 gram, 150ml, 2 mins, 98°C. The dry leaves were greyish-brown in colour and rather big, quite complete, with some stems. They smelled a bit peaty and meaty but in a very nice and complex way. The wet leaves smelled different, a rather closed aroma, very light, and I saw a mixture of brown and green ones. The infusion was coppery redbrown but with an orange glow, not unlike a Crodino. The infusion smelled elegant and  complex but very timid, and the same went for the taste. On the border between elegant and weak. Retasted it in the afternoon, 4 grams instead of 3. The wet leaves now had a whiff of jam in them, and the infusion smelled like a freshly made and still hot jam (of prunes). Still elegant and soft, and so was the taste, soft and sweet but rather thin, very elegant with a feathery touch of astringency. Very pleasant but very hidden, very much in the background. Very different when tasted in June when it was very fruity. Maybe I stored it not well.

😊😊😊

Still available at The Tea Crane: https://www.the-tea-crane.com/product/benihikari-wa-kocha-black-tea-2018/