Kimberley's Kyusu

I recently had the opportunity to try out two separate Kamairicha’s from Mitocha and because I had previously had such fantastic sessions with both, I wanted to conduct a comparison session with them and see how they compared to each other when prepare exactly the same way, and discover just how much the subtle differences in their processing had affected them.

Both of the Kamairicha’s included in this comparison tasting are using first flush spring leaves and the pan-fired (kamairi) method of processing. The leaves are rolled, dried in a greenhouse under the sunlight and then one is lightly roasted to finish the tea and the other receives a much heavier roast.

The processing method used to create this tea is a folk tea called Kumano Bancha 熊野晩茶 in the Kuma No region of Wakayama Prefecture, which Mitocha is attempting to preserve.

Comparison Tasting Notes

Dry Leaves

Light Roast: As you can see from the picture above, the light roasted leaves are a mixed colour pallete of dark brown, black and slight muted dark khaki green. In terms of size, most are long and slightly twisted, although the greener leaves are a little wider and less twisted. The aroma of the the light roasted dry leaves has notes of light woods, drying hay that still has a touch of green to it, a mild roastiness, a subtle nuttiness, oat cookies and sandalwood and they also have a herbal undertone.

Dark Roast: similarly to the light roasted leaves, the majority of the leaves are long and slightly twisted. However they are much more uniform in colour with all of them being a dark black with a grey matte finish to them. I assume this is to be attributed to the impact of the heavier roasting of the leaves. The aroma of the dark roasted leaves has notes of dark chocolate, molasses and, dark woods, wheatbix and roasted macadamia nuts, treacle toffee, burnt sandalwood.

Liquor Colour

Light Roast: Overall each steep of this tea is orange / amber in colour with much more of a yellow undertone than the dark roast. Initially it was a little milky / creamy looking, but after that first steep the substituent steeps were clearer.

Dark Roast: The first steep is a rich golden brown, subsequent steeps were a more sunburnt orange with brown / auburn undertones getting paler as they went on. 

Taste & Texture

Light Roast – Taste: In terms of taste, this one has a lightly roasted taste as you would expect from the name, but it also has notes of brown butter and cacao, wet light wood, a subtle hint of spearmint (but not artificial and instead like chewing on a mint leaf and I can taste it just at the back of my tongue), green hay, brighter than the dark roast version. In the later steeps, it seems to become a little more vegetal and with notes of dried seaweed and dried mint. Texture: It’s smooth and in every essence of the word an easy drinker. Ever so slightly drying right at the back of the mouth in a quick flash, it’s a lot lighter than the dark roasted one which is obviously to be expected but it does still stand its own ground. It can develop a bite and become astringent if over brewed in the slightest. Cooling mint effect in the later steeps.

Dark Roast – Taste: It tastes exactly the way that the dry and wet leaves smell combined. Weetabix / Frosted Wheats with milk, smooth and easy to drink, heavy roasted notes, toasted white bread, raspberry jam on freshly toasted milk roll. Minerality, subtle florals, milk chocolate coconut clusters from the vintage sweet shop near my house, Fry’s Dark Chocolate bar with raspberry cream in the centre. Texture: A touch of astringency but gone in a flash and doesn’t hinder my overall enjoyment at all. It’s smooth and easy to drink and those heavy roasted notes and also the raspberry notes linger for a long time afterwards.

Finish & Aftertaste

Light Roast – Finish: Mid length, not as long lasting as the dark roasted one and didn’t have that lingering feel on the tongue. It left my mouth feeling the way it does after I have herbal / lemon / honey throat sweets.

Dark Roast – Finish: Long lasting, woody, and slightly herbal, slight tingle and notes of dried mint, with a preserved citrus undertone.

There were slight similarities in the mouth feel of both when it came down to the woody notes and the herbal notes, however both of those elements on and the brighter side in the light roast. Those similar notes in the dark roasted one are a little more muted and more on the preserved / aged side of things.

Wet Leaf Appearance & Aroma

Light Roast – Appearance: The wet leaves display several shades of green, almost all of which are lighter than the wet leaves of the dark roast. There are also some brown sections which are primarily at the end sections of the leaves. The overall aroma of the wet leaves is a mix of vegetal notes, wet light wood, a subtle herbal undertone, moss and aged hay. The biggest similarity between the two is a note of wet toasted rice like the kind that is blended with green tea to make genmaicha.

Dark Roast – Appearance:  The wet leaves no longer have that matte grey finish and instead of all being a uniform color like they were when they were dry, they now present a color palette of dark brown and multiple shades of green. Aroma: Still very roasted smelling with the notes of wheat cereals present, however the once cold milk they are in the bowl with is now warm milk. A subtle floral note is present in the wet leaves, as well as roasted soybeans and malted milk biscuits half dipped into milk Chocolate. Wet toasted brown rice like the kind in Genmaicha but wet and Hojicha brownies baking. Sweet caramelized hard boiled sweets, rich tea biscuits, toasted brown bread that was taken out of the toasted just before it was about to burn and lightly roast coffee.  

Final Thoughts

Personally I enjoyed both of these teas for completely different reason and while there certainly is some similarities between them in both aroma and taste, there are also many differences which make each one unique, each providing me with a completely different overall experience. To me, the light roast feels like that time between summer and autumn when autumn is starting to peak through but the days are still warm. While the dark roast feels much more like late autumn and is much more robust and overall very comforting and cosy.

These comparisons are such a fantastic way to develop your pallete and to teach it to recognise the differences between two teas that would otherwise present as too similar to each other to warrant purchasing both. They are also a great way to represent the ways in which differences in processing can effect the leaves.

If you want to conduct a comparison session similar to this one or just try of of these teas separately you can find both of them over on the on the Here. Use my code INFKKYU to get 1000yen off of an order of 5000yen or more.

Until next time, Happy Steeping – Kimberley