goishicha
drying: the blocks of goishicha are left outdoors under the sun to dry .
click the button below to add the japan 2015 bancha goishicha dark tea to your wish list .
the reason it is called goishicha is that it resembles the black stones of the board game “ go “ .
because of declining population in the area and demand in general, goishicha production was about to be stopped and eventually disappear .
finally, i’ve reviewed a goishicha from furyu in the next post, just in case that you are curious about its taste .
goishicha (碁石茶, go stone tea) is a rare japanese dark (post - fermented) tea made in ōtoyo town, kochi prefecture .
goishicha is a fermented green tea from ōtoyo in kochi prefecture of shikoku island. to make goishicha the tea leaves are steamed, stacked, covered with a mat and then fermented. after that the tea leaves are filled into a barrel where a weight is placed on the top to continue fermenting. finally, the tea is dried in the sun. the tea is called
goishicha
because it looks like stones from the japanese game igo (in western countries also known as
go
) .
goishicha is made in the town of ōtoyo in the mountains of central kochi prefecture on the island of shikoku. the name, goishicha (碁石茶), is taken from the japanese game igo (see wikipedia) because the tea is reminiscent of the igo stones. it is japan’s only fermented team, more specifically, made with a special method called after - fermentation .
to brew in a teapot, use one block (about 2 grams) of goishicha and pour 350 ml (11. 6 oz) of boiling water. brew for 4 to 5 minutes .
in recent years, however, with the support of the local government, a cooperative has been established to produce this tea. japanese tea lovers have taken notice of goishicha once again due to its efficacy as a dieting aid .
today’s tea from yunomi might have the distinction of being the most interesting tea i have ever reviewed, i cannot tell you how excited i was to try furyu’s bancha goishicha! this rare dark tea from kochi prefecture in the town of otoyo, it is named goishicha because the chunks of tea are reminiscent of the game of go. for a while this tea was extremely rare (having only one producer) but recently thanks to the local government there are more producers of this unique tea. one of the things that makes this tea so fancy is the way it is made, using a method called after - fermentation, first the leaves are steamed, stacked, and covered with a mat to allow it to ferment, but wait…there’s more! after that the leaves are stuffed into a barrel with a rock on top to continue fermenting it, lastly the leaves are laid in the sun to try. you can see that a lot of work went into making this tea. sniffing this hockey puck of tea is awesome, it smells more like food than tea, with notes of old oak wood, soy sauce, salty sea air, a tiny bit of smoke, wet leather, and a bit of a savory meaty finish. i can certainly see why this tea is used to make chagayu, because it smells like food! i kinda want to eat this tea instead of putting it into my kyusu .
airway hyperresponsiveness (ahr) is one of the important traits that characterize bronchial asthma. goishi tea is a post - heating fermented tea that has been reported to have higher free radical scavenging activity. in this study, we evaluated the prophylactic effects of goishi tea on ahr in balb / c mice .
the number of inflammatory cells in bal fluid was considerably reduced in goishi tea / der f and gallic acid / der f groups as compared with tap water / der f group. regarding inflammatory cells in bal, a significant reduction of eosinophils and neutrophils was observed in goishi tea - treated mice (p < 0. 01), as well as in the gallic acid / der f group (p < 0. 05), as compared with tap water / der f group. in asthmatic mice (tap water / der f group), the intensity of airway resistance increased simultaneously with the increase in acetylcholine concentration in a dose - dependant way. ahr was significantly inhibited in goishi tea / der f and gallic acid / der f (p < 0. 01) groups as compared with the tap water / der f group. regarding serum specific - igg 1, significantly lower levels of this antibody were observed in goishi tea / der f and gallic acid / der f groups as compared with the tap water / der f group (p < 0. 05). in addition, adiponectin level was significantly higher in the goishi tea group as compared with the tap water treated mice (p < 0. 01) .
the results suggest that goishi tea consumption exerted an inhibitory effect on eosinophilic and neutrophilic infiltration in the lung, attenuated the increase in airway resistance and increased the production of adiponectin; thus reducing der f induced allergic inflammatory process in mice .
lately, there has been a growing interest in natural plants extracts containing flavonoids and polyphenols in search of new therapies thanks to their bioactive properties. epigallocatechin gallate (egcg) and catechin from green tea, for example, have been reported to improve cardiovascular function, increase fat oxidation in mice and exert free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ros) scavenging activity [
since more than 100 years ago, a post - heating fermented tea has been produced in many places in japan. goishi tea, known as
goishi - cha
in japanese language, is one of a post - heating fermented tea which is produced in otoyo town, kochi prefecture, japan, where local people referred to its sour taste as the tea gruel. nowadays, most fermented tea manufacturers have already stopped the production because of lower demand; and only three of them still continue producing post - heating fermented tea in japan .
goishi tea is made from camelia sinensis leaves, as for green tea. however, in order to make goishi tea, two different fermentation processes are needed that are performed in two steps: the aerobic fermentation (with fungi) and the anaerobic fermentation. green tea is processed as follows: harvested camellia sinensis leaves are heated rubbed and then they are dried. recently, traditional tea has become popular especially in japan because of its beneficial health effects. interestingly, goishi tea is named
tea of legend
thanks to its efficacy in diet. up to now, there are few publications on goishi tea and very little is known about its bioactive properties .
]. therefore, we hypothesized that goishi tea consumption might attenuate airway inflammation. in this study, we evaluated the prophylactic effects of goishi tea consumption in balb / c mice induced ahr .
thirty balb / c mice, aged five weeks, were purchased from japan slc (hamamatsu, shizuoka, japan). animals were housed under conventional conditions at the animal facility of kochi medical school in filter - topped macrolon cages with a bedding of wood chips, temperature of 23°c, 50 - 60% relative humidity, and a 12 - h light / dark cycle. they were divided into six groups of five mice each: (1) goishi tea / dermatophagoides farinae plus (der f); (2) goishi tea / phosphate buffered saline (pbs), (3) 1% gallic acid / der f, (4) gallic acid / pbs, (5) tap water / der, and (6) tap water / pbs groups. they received standard lab chow ad libitum. animals were maintained until they were 7 weeks old (~ 20 - 24 g body wt) at the time of sensitization. all research adhered to the animal facility guidelines of kochi medical school (c000144) .
the goishi tea sample used in this experiment was a gift from the otoyo county office staff, kochi prefecture, japan. goishi tea extract was prepared as previously described [
leaves are steamed once in a tank, then fermented on the flat plate for 7 days. afterwards, fermented leaves are moved into another tank and then re - fermented for 10 days. finally, the cooled leaves are cut in 2 × 2 cm pieces, then packed [
goishi tea solution was made following steps; 20 g of goishi tea dried leaves were boiled in 1000 ml distilled water at 100°c for 30 min. the extract was quickly separated from the leaves by filtration. thus, we used the 20 mg / ml solution of goishi tea throughout the experiment. on the other hand, 1% gallic acid was used as a positive control. in this experiment, considering the daily intake of water by the mouse strain used (4 ml), each mouse was receiving 80 mg of goishi tea daily for the goishi tea / der f and goishi tea / pbs groups. mice received tap water, goishi and gallic acid solutions ad libitum according to mice group from day 1 to day 37 .
]. briefly, to measure ahr, mice were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (60 mg / kg, i. p .) and the jugular vein was cannulated for intravenous injection of ach. they were injected with pancuronium bromide (0. 1 mg / kg, i. v .) to stop spontaneous respiration and then ventilated with a rodent ventilator (new england medical instruments, inc. , medway, ma, usa). bronchoconstriction was measured according to the overflow method, using a bronchospasm transducer (ugo basil 7020, milan, italy) connected to the tracheal cannula. changes in respiratory overflow volume were measured using an increasing dose of ach. the increase in respiratory overflow volume induced by ach was represented as a percentage of the maximal overflow volume (100 %) obtained by clamping the tracheal cannula. this experiment was perform with two independent experiments and, given the fact that results were similar, we included only data from the second experiment in this report .
experimental protocol. der f: dermatophoides farinae; ach: acetyl choline; ahr: airway hyperresponsiveness .
the area under the curve (auc) calculated from dose - response curves for ach was used to express the magnitude of ahr. briefly, ahr chart was saved as bmp format file; then auc was selected and calculated using imagej software 1. 44p (national institutes of health, usa) with each value of doses converted logarithmically and represented as arbitrary units .
blood samples were drawn from mice on day 35 in order to determine the level of serum ige, allergen - specific igg 1 and adiponectin. samples were kept at - 80°c in the freezer until analyses were performed with the use of specific elisa kits for mice (mouse ige kit from morinaga & co. ltd. , yokohama, japan; mouse adiponectin kit from otsuka pharmaceutical co. , ltd. , tokyo, japan). the mouse igg 1 kit was prepared in our laboratory (toxicology laboratory, department of environmental medicine, kochi medical school, kochi, japan). briefly, serum igg 1 was bound with coated der f antigen, and then it was detected with horse radish peroxidase conjugated antibody. animals were sacrificed using a high dose of pentobarbital on day 37 .
to perform the bronchoalveolar lavage (bal) on day 37, animals were intraperitoneally administered 500 mg / kg of pentobarbital solution. bal was performed with the use of 1. 5 ml of saline solution and 80% (1. 2 ml) of the 0. 9% saline solution were recovered. number of inflammatory cells such as eosinophils, neutrophils, lymphocytes and macrophages in the bal fluid was recorded .
on day 37, after sacrificing animals, lung specimens from representative mice were taken and samples were fixed in 10% formalin, embedded in paraffin, sectioned at 10 μm and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (he stain), and periodic acid - schiff (pas stain). to examine the specimens, a light microscope (olympus bx51, olympus, japan) was used at 10× magnification .
results were represented as the mean ± standard deviation. statistical comparison among the treatment groups were performed by one - way anova, followed by nonparametric tukey test, with the use of spss software package. results were considered to be statistically significant when p - value was less than 0. 05 .
on day 37 of the experiment, bronchoalveolar lavage and cells count were performed for each mice group. the number of inflammatory cells in bal fluid, which reflects airway inflammation intensity, was markedly increased in the tap water /
group. a significantly lower number of eosinophils, neutrophils (p < 0. 05) and lymphocytes (p < 0. 01) was observed in goishi tea /
goishi tea consumption attenuates lung inflammation. #: p < 0. 05; # #: p < 0. 01 (vs. tap water / der f group). *: p < 0. 05 (vs. tap water / pbs group). p: p - value by one - way anova test; bal: bronchoalveolar lavage; der f: dermatophagoides farinae. the figure shows that the number of eosinophils (a), neutrophils (b) and lymphocytes (c) in bal fluid were significantly lower in the goishi tea / der f and the gallic acid / der f groups (vs. tap water / der f; p < 0. 01 and p < 0. 05, respectively). mice were intraperitoneally administered 500 mg / kg of pentobarbital solution in 1. 5 ml of 0. 9% saline solution, and 80% (1. 2 ml) of the solution were recovered. the number of inflammatory cells was recorded. results are mean ± sd of data from 5 mice in each group .
repeated challenges to mice lung with ach induced ahr in tap water / der f mice in a dose - dependent way. this process was significantly inhibited in the goishi tea /
groups as compared with the tap water in the tap water / der f group (p < 0. 05) (figure
goishi tea consumption attenuates ahr. #: p < 0. 05 (vs. tap water / der f group); # #: p < 0. 01 (vs. tap water / der f group); *: p < 0. 05 (vs. goishi tea / der f group). * *: p < 0. 01 (vs. goishi tea / der f group). ahr: airway hyper responsiveness; der f: dermatophagoides farinae. the figure shows that the increase in ahr, following ach challenges, was significantly inhibited in goishi tea / der f and gallic acid / der f as compared with the tap water / der f group (p < 0. 01). in addition, the ahr inhibitory effect in gallic acid / der f group was more efficient than that of goishi tea / der f group (p < 0. 01). on the other hand, all der f non - exposed groups showed significantly reduced airway reactivity to ach throughout the experiment (p < 0. 01, vs tap water / der f). to measure ahr to ach, changes in respiratory overflow volume were measured using an increasing dose of ach. the area under the curve (auc) calculated from dose - response curves for ach was used to express the magnitude of ahr. briefly, each dose was converted logarithmically; auc was calculated and represented as arbitrary units .
in addition, the ahr inhibitory effect in gallic acid / der f group was more efficient than that of goishi tea / der f group (p < 0. 01) .
throughout this experiments, gallic acid - treated mice groups and other der f - non exposed groups showed reduced ahr as compared to tap water / pbs group (p < 0. 01), especially for the following ach doses; 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 μg / kg .
on the other hand, der f non - exposed groups (goishi tea / pbs, gallic acid / pbs, tap water / pbs) also showed a significant ahr inhibitory effect as compared to goishi tea / der f group (p < 0. 05) (figure
between goishi tea / pbs and tap water / pbs groups, and also between gallic acid / pbs and tap water / pbs groups (p > 0. 05) .
effect of goishi tea consumption on serum levels of antigen - specific igg 1 and total ige. *: p < 0. 05 (vs. tap water / pbs group); #: p < 0. 05 (vs. tap water / der f group); igg 1: immunoglobulin g 1, der f: dermatophagoides farinae. the figure 4a shows that the serum level of der f specific - igg 1 was significantly lower in goishi tea / der f and gallic acid / der f groups (p < 0. 05) as compared with the tap water / der f group. the serum level of der f specific - igg 1 was significantly higher in the tap water / der f group (p < 0. 05) groups as compared with the tap water / pbs group. the figure 4b shows that the serum level of total ige was significantly lower in goishi tea / der f and gallic acid / der f groups (p < 0. 05) as compared with the tap water / der f group. the serum level of total ige was significantly higher in the tap water / der f group (p < 0. 05) as compared with the tap water / pbs group .
). although lower levels of serum total ige were also observed in goishi tea / pbs and gallic acid / pbs groups when compared with the tap water / pbs group, the difference was not significant (p > 0. 05). taken together, the data suggest that goishi tea consumption, as well as gallic acid, exerted an immunomodulatory activity that could inhibit airway inflammation in mice .
goishi tea consumption significantly increased adiponectin expression as compared with tap water - treated mice (vs. tap water /
). that was also true for gallic acid treated mice (vs. tap water /
group; however, the difference was not significant (p > 0. 05) .
effect of goishi tea consumption on adiponectin expression. *: p < 0. 05 (vs. tap water / pbs); # #: p < 0. 01 (vs. tap water / der f) der f: dermatophagoides farinae. the figure shows that goishi tea (p < 0. 05) as well as gallic acid (p < 0. 01) consumption significantly increased adiponectin production as compared with the tap water treated mice (p < 0. 05) .
as for the trend of body weight, tap water treated mice that were exposed to the allergen had a relatively lower body weight than allergen non - exposed mice (tap water / pbs), whereas goishi tea consumption did not induce a significant change in the body weight as compared with the
goishi tea / pbs
group (p > 0. 05) (data not shown) .
after sacrificing mice using high dose of pentobarbital, full lung specimens were taken from animals for histological analysis. the hematoxylin and eosin staining of lung specimens showed a marked goblet cells hyperplasia and eosinophilic infiltration in allergen - challenged control mice (tap water /
). lung specimens in goishi tea / pbs and gallic acid / pbs showed similar to tap water / pbs (data not shown) .
histological evaluation of lung specimens from goishi tea - treated mouse and controls. der f: dermatophagoides farinae; h & e: hematoxylin and eosin staining; pas: periodic acid - schiff, al, alveolus; br, bronchiole; v, blood vessel. scale bars = 100 μm. the figure shows a marked goblet cells hyperplasia (g), eosinophilic infiltration (e) and smooth muscle mass enlargement (s) in lung specimens from der f - challenged control mice (tap water / der f), while these processes were reduced in goishi tea and gallic acid - treated mice groups .
in this study, while an increased cellularity was observed in the allergen exposed control group (tap water / der f), there was a reduction of inflammatory cells both in lung specimens and bal fluid in the goishi tea / der f group. in particular, goishi tea consumption inhibited eosinophilic infiltration and goblet cells hyperplasia in mice lungs, a characteristic histological feature of airway allergic inflammation. this experiment also showed that goishi tea consumption, as well as that of gallic acid, significantly inhibited the expression of specific igg 1 and ige in mice as compared with asthmatic mice group (tap water / der f). this suggests that goishi tea consumption has attenuated airway inflammation in goishi tea / der f mice .
]. in our experiment, we performed the measurement of this hormone in mice sera. goishi tea has markedly increased adiponectin expression; this fact may have possibly contributed to the attenuation of ahr that was observed in the goishi tea - treated mice groups (goishi tea /
this study has some limitation. the results are from animals kept in pathogen free condition and might not reflect exactly what can be found in humans who are subjects to different airway inflammation triggers. further research in humans is needed to confirm the present results .
the reduction of ahr and airway inflammation observed in goishi tea - treated mice might result from the combination of the upregulation of adiponectin expression that it induces, its antioxidant activity and the inhibition of specific - igg 1 expression which were observed in this study .
goishi tea extract inhibits airway inflammation and remodeling and has potentially beneficial effects in asthma .
the authors thank dr. me, dr. mba, dr. as, dr. dn for their wonderful support during the implementation of this study. this study was supported by a grant from the japanese ministry of economy .
rh conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination and wrote the manuscript, and carried out the biological studies. nn carried out the animal experiments and wrote in drafting the manuscript. mm carried out the cellular studies. hn evaluated histological data. ns performed the statistical analysis. all authors read and approved the final manuscript .
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it’s classified as a type of bancha, although it’s not a green tea .
this tea goes through two fermentation steps, one by mold and the other one by lactic acid bacteria .
in the second fermentation process, the tea is pickled. that’s why it has its distinctive sour taste .
although it was mostly used as an ingredient in chagayu (a japanese rice porridge with tea), nowadays people have begun to drink it as any other tea .
luckily, and thanks to local government support plus a trend for healthy teas, it is now available again .
steaming: the branches with tea leaves are steamed in a barrel. juices of the tea leaves are collected for later use .
fermenting: tea leaves are stacked in a room and are covered. fermentation takes place with the help of mold .
pickling: in a pickling barrel, the leaves are sprinkled with the juices in the first step and are also compressed. the lactic acid bacteria starts the second fermentation process .
cutting: compressed leaves are taken out of the barrel and cut into small blocks .
to see the process, check out this video i found. it’s in japanese but if you’ve read until now, you’ll know more or less what’s happening .
for larger amounts, use a liter of water and add one or two blocks of tea and brew 4 or 5 minutes over medium heat .
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a truly unique tea that is rarely found within japan, let alone outside. it possesses an incredible aroma and an equally unusual and lingering sour taste with elements of lemon, mushroom and soya sauce .
the tea has an equally unique method of processing to go match its unique taste; it is double fermented with bancha leaves steamed, stacked, mat flattened, left to ferment on the ground and finally stacked within a barrel to undergo a second fermentation .
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i' ll be honest: this is a tea i' ve been putting off for a while now. ever since it was listed at what - cha it piqued my interest, but it always got pushed back to the wish list when i went to order. finally a month or so ago, this tea went on sale and i bit the bullet and ordered a bag, still not really knowing what to expect .
the tea has an equally unique method of processing to go match its unique taste; it is double fermented with bancha leaves steamed, stacked, mat flattened, left to ferment on the ground and finally stacked within a barrel to undergo a second fermentation .
dry leaves - ok, that aroma is pungent. i mean wow, that is not a smell you expect from tea leaves. immediately i' m hit with a wild combination of sour lemon, cedar smoke, and soy and barbecue sauces. i' m not saying it' s bad, but it' s certainly not what i was expecting at all, and i really wasn' t sure what to expect with this tea anyway. the huge leaves are flattened and stacked into small piles about 10 - 15 leaves thick. i used a whole stack (~ 7g) for this session .
brewing parameters - 212f, 2 x 20s rinse, then 5 - 20s each steep. what - cha recommends long (4 - 5m) steep times, but with as pungent as the aroma is, i don' t want to risk making the broth too strong, so i treated it like a puer .
surprisingly, the golden yellow broth is not nearly as powerful as the dry leaves, maybe from the short steep times. the tangy lemon is right at the front of the sip, and gives the soup an odd acidic quality. it causes a sour tingle deep in my gums below the molars, and in the back of my cheeks. the tingle quickly fades as the flavor shifts from citrus to a savory, umami medley. the flavor falls somewhere in between a mild soy sauce and a tangy worcestershire sauce, still with a tinge of lemon in the background .
steeps 4 - 6 change significantly. the saucy tangy - ness disappeared almost completely, leaving a more subdued sweet lemony flavor that mingles with a savory mushroom character, ending in the tiniest hint of malt. to be honest, i was kind of on the fence with this tea on the early steeps, but starting with # 4, i like this tea a lot .
i got 2 more steeps out of it for a total of 8. i could have gone for more, but it was getting late and i needed sleep. the later steeps are more of a mildly savory citrus, but still retain a good bit of sweetness. i can' t really pick out any major flavors other than lemon anymore .
everything about this tea is completely unique. the idiosyncratic aroma and flavors may scare some people off, but if you' d like to try a tea that is different from anything else you' ve ever tried, i urge you to give this one a shot .
my name is adam, and i am a tea - oholic. i love my dog and my feathered theropod, all things biology, sci - fi / fantasy, and of course a good cuppa .
this blog is the home of all of my thoughts on what i drink on a daily basis. i have a stash of tea around 5 feet high, containing everything from silver needle white teas to dark shou puerh cakes. i primarily drink straight - up tea, no added sugar, flavorings or whatever. bagged teas occasionally find their way into my stash, but the majority is loose leaf teas from various online retailers .
i will try to update this thing a couple times a week, more if i have the time. any questions or requests? feel free to ask !
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“i feel much better today! it is delightfully chilly, my minecraft hoodie is out of my trunk, and my cat is nestled in my lap. pretty sure all my problems were being caused by allergies, after a... ”
although this tea has been drunk and loved by people living on the islands of setonaikai (inland sea of japan), it is known as an extremely rare tea because of the decline in its production. at one point there was only one producer of this tea .
the tea tastes a bit sour so we recommend that it be served cold. (make sure to cool the tea in the refrigerator after brewing the tea. )
i bought a sample of this tea and therefore provide only a first impression. i decided against the recommended steeping method from yunomius. i gave gongfu cha a try with this tea and it turned out to be a good idea. my parameters: 2g / 80ml / 95°c / 10 - 20se, up to 10 infusions the smell of the dried leaves was a little bit difficult to describe: for me it was a slight scent of lactic acid which even the steeped leaves had. the color of the liquor was a clear honey - yellow with the same smell. the smell did not appear stronger or weaker. the flavor was characterized by a mild sweetness with a slight acid base note. the sweetness was more or less neutral, maybe a touch of honey? but i´m not really sure. the acid notes were wonderfully refreshing and discreetly lemony .
since yunomi is offering extra points for reviews right now, i figured i’d dig into my recent order, even though my original plan was to sip down a few other teas before getting into it. as a bonus, i ordered a sample size of this one, which was only 2g, so this is a sipdown .
i’m really into trying new and unusual things, so i knew i had to give this a shot when i saw it. this tea really is unique – i’ve never smelled or tasted a tea that’s even remotely similar to this one .
i followed the steeping directions to the letter – 350ml of boiling water for 4 minutes .
smell of the liquor distinctly reminds me of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) with pork and shitake mushroom. it’s a very complex smell, that combines the filling ingredients with soy sauce, sticky rice and bamboo leaf .
on the palate, it’s a bit sour (but not nearly as sour as expected) and intensely savoury. the flavour is well reflected in the smell – shitake mushrooms, pork, soy sauce, umami, bamboo. very broth like. this has a long finish with mushrooms and soy sauce lingering at the back of the mouth .
one of the recommended methods of prep is to use the tea to make rice porridge. i can definitely see how that would be delicious and a fantastic use of these flavours. i could see using this tea to make congee with dried shredded pork and preserved duck egg .
drinking this feels more like a meal than a beverage. it tastes and feels like soup, and it’s making me crave my grandma’s cooking pretty badly .
i accidentally took a five hour nap after mu first cup, so i’m going to hang on to my leaves and have something else before i continue steeping these .
i don’t think i would reach for this tea very often, but it’s delicious and unique and i would recommend trying a sample .
oh, accidental 5 - hour naps. my fave (unless i should have been doing things) .
i clearly really, really needed the sleep, but it kind of messed up my evening a bit. i woke up from my nap at 2: 30pm, and then was supposed to go to bed by 11, which i couldn’t. tried to fall asleep at 2: 30am, and was restless and having back spasms, probably fell asleep at 3 and then had to be up by 7. yesterday was a little rough, but i got through it. : )
i feel much better today! it is delightfully chilly, my minecraft hoodie is out of my trunk, and my cat is nestled in my lap. pretty sure all my problems were being caused by allergies, after a really scary asthma attack last night i decided to take some allergy meds and oh man, such an improvement. i forget that my allergies go bonkers in autumn in kansas city, i am so glad i am escaping to pa, i might avoid the worst of it. allergies or no, i love this time of year…being under blankets and having a snugly heat - seeking cat make it extra wonderful. i am in an excellent mood .
so, after giving the chunk of tea a five minute steep, my kyusu is leaking some powerful aromas, i am not sure the word pungent fits, but wow, that is fascinating! the aroma of the wet leaves is sauce, seriously guys, it smells like sauce, like someone blended soy sauce, ponzu sauce, mirin sauce, kelp and old wet leather. the liquid smells like food too, the same saucy concoction but with a hint of rice and more of an aged, oak cask aroma .
wow! ok that is so weird! it does not taste like any tea i have ever had, and i have had a lot of tea! it starts off very sour, like lemons mixed with soy sauce, a nice dash of kelp, with a finish of leather and mushrooms. it tastes like a mix of my favorite sauces and is really intense, i decided to try it chilled as well so i refreshed my cup and put it in the fridge for a few. cold takes the edge off the sour, so if you find that lemony sourness is too much for you (i eat salt covered lemons as a stomach soother, so it is totally not too much for me) i suggest chilling it .
guess who is going for a round two? yeah, it is me, i want to see what this chunk of aged tea can do! the aroma of this steep has a sweetness to it, along with of a leather tone with a great combo of saucers from the previous steep. this steep is much milder, it is still sour, but instead of tasting like an entire lemon, it is like a little squeeze of lemon with notes of mirin and soy sauce. the aftertaste is smoky and leathery with a lemony quality that lingers for a long time. i am amazed at how refreshing this tea is, i feel rather invigorating, but not in a caffeine way, but more of a i just dove into a mountain creek in summer kind of refreshed .
oh man, the third steep is where it is at! the aroma is pretty much identical to the second steep, so no new observations there. the taste however, well, that is just fun! it is the perfect balance of sourness, sweetness, and savory. the notes of sweet plum wine, leather, mushrooms, soy, lemon, kelp…it is awesome! the lemony sourness lingers along with gentle smokiness, again i feel really refreshed after this steep. i had a great day with this tea, i sat sipping it all day being enamored by the uniqueness of this tea. i certainly want more, i want to make all my tea friends try this, i want to cook with it, i want to have it around when i need a pick - me - up tea. this tea is absolute love .
you made me scared and fascinated by this tea…. that’s a good thing !
this tea sounds…. . interesting. i think i would try it if it were offered, but i would not go seeking it out on my own .
i think most cats are too cute for their own good, and they know it.
goishicha ( japanese : 碁石茶 ' go-pebble tea ' ) is a fermented tea originally from china but now grown only in otoyo , kochi and ishizuchi-kurocha , ehime prefecture . the tea is made by fermenting harvested tea in a two step process , first with aerobic fungi , then with anaerobic bacteria . a 2011 study suggested that goishi tea consumption exerts an inhibitory effect on eosinophilic and neutrophilic infiltration in the lung , attenuated the increase in airway resistance and increased the production of adiponectin ; thus reducing der f induced allergic inflammatory process in mice . 
goishicha (japanese: 碁石茶' go-pebble tea') is a fermented tea originally from china but now grown only in otoyo, kochi and ishizuchi-kurocha, ehime prefecture. the tea is made by fermenting harvested tea in a two step process, first with aerobic fungi, then with anaerobic bacteria. a 2011 study suggested that goishi tea consumption exerts an inhibitory effect on eosinophilic and neutrophilic infiltration in the lung, attenuated the increase in airway resistance and increased the production of adiponectin; thus reducing der f induced allergic inflammatory process in mice.
goishicha (japanese: 碁石茶' go-pebble tea') is a fermented tea originally from china but now grown only in otoyo, kochi and ishizuchi-kurocha, ehime prefecture. the tea is made by fermenting harvested tea in a two step process, first with aerobic fungi, then with anaerobic bacteria. a 2011 study suggested that goishi tea consumption exerts an inhibitory effect on eosinophilic and neutrophilic infiltration in the lung, attenuated the increase in airway resistance and increased the production of adiponectin; thus reducing der f induced allergic inflammatory process in mice.