NaturaliTea Sencha: Setoya Midori (Aged: Best before 2017.12.05)

On the 29th of July 2018, I have tested 2 teas, both aged. Here is the first.

While there was no claim that it was aged, I did notice the best before date (for freshness, not "going bad") was the 5th of December 2017. While not aged very long, this stamp proves NaturaliTea take freshness very seriously as this green sencha was harvested in mid-May.

Setoya is the name given to the area where a few villages merged together enlarging the scope of Fujieda city in the Shizuoka Prefecture of Japan. Setoya is where most of the NaturaliTea's fields are found, and this sencha was 100% grown in Shizuoka.

NaturaliTea is a family-operated farm cooperative, and has been in operation for 42 years.

Here's Yunomi.life's description of the farm: In addition to their own fields, the Kinezuka family's company has partnerships with over thirty other neighboring farmers to both research organic farming techniques and work together to produce tea leaves. Leaves are then aggregated and processed into the products below.

NaturaliTea Sencha
Setoya Midori

Recommended steeping method:
5 grams of tea ¤ 60 seconds steeping ¤ 200 ml of water ¤ temperature at 70°C/158°F

Dry leaves

Those short leaves have a rich forest green colour with a few bright yellow short stems adding vibrancy to the mix. The aroma remind me of freshly mowed grass that has been left in a mound for a couple of hours under the warm sun. A warm, sweeter note which has lost some of it's bright sharper character coupled with hay undertones. There's a sort of saltiness to it which I attribute to marine aromas. Adding to these pleasant notes are zucchinis cooked in butter. 

1st infusion (一煎目)

Liquor

Sadly, in my eagerness, I forgot to snap a shot of the 1st steeping's liquor. This picture (above) is in fact the 3rd steeping I did later without regard to infusion time. Luckily it was so close to it in colour as to fit perfectly as a replacement, so forgive my air-headedness! The only difference is that this picture does not contain dust particles at the bottom (some). But if you are familiar with my blog, you will have seen many examples of what "some dust" at the bottom of a cup looks like.

While pictures never render the exact same colour I see, my impression was that of a more lime colour, sort of a bright green-yellow tone. The liquor was shiny and slightly cloudy. Again, the aroma of cooked zucchini came back with some added cooked spinach. A light mocha note lingered nicely which brought some richness to the mix. It was all around pleasantly sweet!

Taste
I noticed a light astringency but this tea is agreeably round, smooth and slightly oily. A liveliness lingers in this tea even if aged. It delivered a rich mocha attack finishing in notes of oregano. A surprising mix that is both impressive and structured.

Wet leaves

Leaves of vibrant medium green colour with greenish-white stems complimenting the aroma of cooked veggies and tomato flowers. It made me want to eat the leaves. Which you totally can! I like cooking them in butter and adding a little soy sauce.

2nd infusion (二煎目)

Liquor

Again the colour is quite bright, but more towards yellow than green. Still shiny as a good tea should be, but more cloudy. Barely any dust remains after the 1st infusion. Buttery zucchini notes come back again forming a sweet and rich aroma.

Taste
Similar to the 1st taste with a stronger attack and weak finish. Still round and definitely oilier.

Notes
I made a random 3rd infusion that may have been around 2-3 minutes long and I got notes of cinnamon apple spices! I don't know how that happened as my environment was rather clean of lingering kitchen smells.

Results
As you may know, I am not a sencha fan. Their green brightness is usually not pleasant to my palate but I was surprisingly satisfied with this sencha. Each infusion brought interesting notes and sensations.
Likely the ageing of this tea imparted richer tones and tapered the harsh brightness I personally dislike.

My personal rating is 4.5 stars out of 5. This was likely the most pleasant sencha I've had so far. However, I found the 2nd steeping a little more boring as the finish was weaker.
Give it a try here.
I guess aging a sencha reminds me of a long oxidized oolong versus a short oxidized one (for young sencha). It makes sense to me since I'm not a fan of short oxidized wulong either.