New season teas are arriving. Hoorah. The joy in tasting something unusual, amazing, or extending one’s understanding of the world of tea is enormous and satisfying. I promised news about teas, so here it comes.
Grassy Green Sencha
It’s Shincha time. The fresh light grassy green Sencha beloved by some in Japan and, now, London. Spring in a cup, from Harayama, part of Japan’s historically prime teagrowing regio, Uji. It’s just the thing for these warmer days, with cooling qi and gentle stimulation of the mind and the metabolism, it is believed. I start my day with its sweetgrassiness.
New Style Woo Jeon
Then the new style Woo Jeon, the new transliteration distinguishing it from the old style that has been, in my affections, entirely displaced. Woo Jun was, and still is, processed in the same way as Sparrow’s Tongue, both from the same plants in Hwagae, South Korea, by the famous tea mountain, Jiri (or Chiri) San, Woo Jun being the earlier picked. This, in common with most Japanese green teas, involves a brief steaming as the de-enzyming process. The production was aimed at a wide, popular tea taste. In contrast with these, Woo Jun is also, even earlier hand-picked and almost entirely hand-processed. The main difference is that the steaming is replaced by an initial dry firing, more in the Chinese manner. This has given a brighter, slightly sharper taste which is fresh and almost sparkling with a distinctive vegetal aftertaste. Apparently not so well-received in Korea, the tea aficionados who have tasted it at Borough have, like myself, been very impressed. It ranks for me amongst the best green teas I’ve tasted.
Don’t misunderstand me: as ever I still drink and enjoy the Sparrow’s Tongue immensely. It’s a great tea, if not as grand as the Woo Jeon.
Alex runs east teas in Borough Market, London, Friday 12-6p.m. and Saturday 9-4p.m. Email epoch@eastteas.com.