Table of Contents
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1)WHAT IS KAMAIRICHA?
When you hear the word ‘Japanese tea’, which tea comes to mind?
Is it Sencha, Matcha, Hojicha and Bancha?
Here, we would like to introduce you to a very rare type of tea "Kamairicha", which has been produced in Miyazaki for more than 600 years.
Kamairicha is a valuable Japanese green tea produced in less than 1% of Japan's domestic production.
Until the early 1900s, it was as common as ‘Steamed Green Tea(like Sencha)”, but production declined rapidly due to slow mechanisation and the inability to produce so much at once.
Miyazaki is the top producer of this Kamairicha in Japan.
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2)CHARACTERISTICS OF KAMAIRICHA
Most Japanese teas, including Sencha and Gyokuro, are steamed green teas, in which fermentation is stopped by steaming at high temperatures. On the other hand, Kamairicha is tea that is roasted in a kettle to stop fermentation.
In contrast to Sencha, which is made by rubbing tea leaves into a straight needle shape, Kamairicha is dried by stirring in a kettle, resulting in tea leaves with a curved shape like C of the alphabet.
The roasting process gives Kamairicga a unique aroma and flavour, which differs from that of steamed tea. The most characteristic of these is a savoury aroma known as KAMAKA.
This KAMAKA is said to have a relaxing effect.
The colour is clear with a slight reddish tinge and little turbidity, and the taste is refreshing with little bitterness or astringency.
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3)HOW TO BREW DELICIOUS KAMAIRICHA
Kamairicha does not have the process of rolling the tea leaves like Sencha, so the structure of the tea leaves is not very broken, making it difficult for the ingredients to dissolve. That’s way, it is recommended to brew at a slightly higher temperature than Sencha in order to fully enjoy its KAMAKA.
Unlike sencha, Kamairicia is not best the first time it is brewed, but the ‘KAMAKA’ starts to emerge and become tasty from about the third time it is brewed.
So, never throw away the tea leaves immediately, but drink it five or six times over and enjoy the changing aroma!
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