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.

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

My first Wakoucha-experience. Wakoucha Tasting, Tea N°12, Gokase Black Yamanami, 2017, Hotsoup.

This was the second Wakoucha I tasted, and together with the Benifuki of the same importer, Hotsoup, these were the two that woke up my curiosity, and started me on the long and winding path towards Wakoucha heaven, with surprises behind every corner. Looking back now, it is not a big surprise that I fell for this tea. It comes from Gokase, one of the best terroirs for Wakoucha, it was made by the Miyazaki family, famous producers of black Japanese tea, and it was made with Yamanami, one of the 'green' cultivars used for Wakoucha.

Yamanami is a 'Chinese' cultivar, coming from seeds from Hubei in China and developed in the Miyazaki Research Centre (Miyazaki is also a town) in 1965. It is pretty rare and usually used for kamairicha, and it can deliver very fine black teas. The use of green cultivars for black tea is one of the things that make Wakoucha unique.

Gokase Black Yamanami, Miyazaki Sabou, Hotsoup, 2017:

Harvested May 25, 2017, in Gokase, on the Miyazaki Sabou teafarm.
August, 6, 2019, in the afternoon, a root day, warm but cloudy. 3 gram, 150ml, 2 mins, 98°C. The dry leaves are dark and well oxidized, and broken. The wet leaves smell of flowers and sweet jelly, and are dark brown, a few complete ones, oval. Quite a dark brew, briljant and intense. From the cup comes a waft of jam and fruit, including the acidity of fresh fruit and a touch of varnished wood and camphor. The taste is on the thin side, with a light astringency, good acidity, quite refreshing, very nice for a Wakoucha. Quite long. The second brew was good, everything the same but more muted and with a softer finish.
These tasting notes date from the long session of summer 2019, and I'll give you also those of april 2018, my first encounter with this tea.
April 7, 2018: a caramel-coloured reddish infusion. The aroma is sweet and full of temptation. God balance in the mouth, no astringency at all, a very nice fraîcheur. Added milk to it, and then it became extremely yummy and very complex, like a super-cocoa.
April 18, 2018: nice aroma, clear and complex and powerful. Well structured and nuttiness in the finish. With a dash of milk it seems as if somebody draw a creamy line under a nutty-sweet overtone. Addictive. 😊😊😊(😊)

Still available at Hotsoup: https://www.hotsoup.nl/nl/gokase-black-yamanami.html.