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JAPANESE TEA: ICE INFUSION
This week we have a guest writer for our teatip. Amanda
Mayer-Stinchecum has written a series of teatips on Japanese teas which I know you will enjoy.
Kyoto
in the summer. Hot, muggy, many “tropical nights,” defined as
night-time temperatures that don’t fall below 77° degrees. People who
persist in traditional style have over the centuries devised many
strategies that create an illusion of coolness. Gauzey kimono with
see-through sleeves (never mind all the hot undergarments and binding
sash); sliding screens made of reeds that let a breeze pass through;
paper folding fans, often decorated with autumn motifs—chrysanthemums,
maple leaves, bush clover, autumn grasses—to turn the mind away from
heat; chilled fruit served on a glass plate. Serving cooling foods and
drinks in glass vessels—maybe because of their resemblance to ice--is a
trope of summer in Japan.
Like a plunge into the cold waters of northern pond...
Chilled
green tea is cooling to the eye, the tongue, the body. In a glass of
hand-blown crystal or cut-glass, the translucent green liquid is like a
plunge into the cold waters of northern pond. Tealeaves release their
tannin, tea’s naturally astringent element, only at 140° or above. So
infusing green tealeaves with cold water brings out their innate
sweetness, enhanced even further when you pile your glass or ceramic
kyusu (the traditional small Japanese teapot, made of earthenware,
stoneware or porcelain) with ice on top of the tea leaves. When the ice
has melted, drawing flavor from the leaves, the resulting liquor is the
green of peridot, intensely flavored, grassy and sweet. The process can
be accelerated by pouring cold water over the ice and letting it infuse
for as little as 20 minutes. Pour off the liquor into a
beautiful glass. Adding ice cubes merely dilutes the flavor. Refill the
pot with cold water and wait another 15 minutes or so. As tea strength
is a question of individual preference, steeping time and the amount of
tealeaves to be used should be adjusted to your taste. A good green tea
will yield three infusions: unlike oolongs and other oxidized teas, the
first infusion is usually the best.
This technique yields delicious results
Place
1-2 T. of green tealeaves into a 4-8 oz. glass or ceramic teapot. Fill
the pot with ice cubes made from filtered tap water or
low-mineral-content spring water. Let sit until enough of the ice has
melted to produce a couple of ounces of tea liquor. Infusion time will
depend on air temperature. Pour off liquor into individual cups or
glasses. For the second and third infusions, wait until more of the ice
has melted, or fill the pot again with new ice cubes and cold water.
Infuse for 15-20 minutes or longer, to taste. This technique yields
delicious results with both sencha and gyokuro, as well as Chinese
green teas.
One-Minute Tea Tip, 2007
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