A blog about tea and more

It smells more like gyokuro, very sweet with umami notes. Since it's a fukamushicha, the leaves are quite fine and entirely coated with matcha.

Marukyu Koyamaen is one of the larger matcha producers in Japan. I have always liked their products; even their cheapest matcha offers an ideal price-to-quality ratio. But besides the classic blends, they have a Limited Edition section, which includes: a reduced-caffeine matcha, a GABA matcha, and the hero of this story - Matcha Marutou.

Whenever I'm in Prague, teamountain is almost the first tea place I head to — modern interior, great selection of oolongs, Japanese green teas, and heicha.

When talking about Japanese teas and their unique flavor, the shading process is often mentioned. It is an essential step in the production of teas such as gyokuro or matcha. A few weeks before harvest, up to 90% of the light reaching the plants is blocked.

In the article about fungi and bacteria in dark teas (heicha, puer), it was discussed that some fungi can produce toxins with mutagenic and hepatotoxic effects. Research from 2022 indicates that during tea brewing, aflatoxins are only detectable in the first infusion, suggesting that it is worth rinsing tea leaves before brewing, and also that tea leaves could potentially serve as a toxin absorbent.