What did I do wrong?

My green tea arrived today and I decided to brew up some Sencha. Well, all I can say is YUCK . This stuff tastes like dead fish. Nasty.

On the chance I did something wrong, I'll state how I brewed. I used 2 teasp in 8 oz of water at ~175 degrees and steeped 1 min. I tried a second go with the same leaves steeped for 2 min. Still fishy. The tea in the packet smells fishy.

I'll tell ya I've read it described as grassy and vegetal but never fishy!

Now I have to go make a sidecar to wash the taste out of my mouth.

Sencha does have a strange smell to it, but it doesn't taste anything like it smells. Something isn't right with your tea, I think.

If I remember correctly, you ordered your Sencha from Shizuokatea.com. I have some Sencha from them and I do not detect any fishy taste...there is a seeweed taste to some Japanese greens...could that be what you are picking up? Also, try using 1 tsp. per 8 oz. insead of 2, you may be brewing it too strong. One final note...I notice the delicate Japanese green are very sensitive to water quality so if you have water that doesn't taste great on its own (like mine), then chances are your tea will taste funky too...in this case try filtered or bottled water.

BladeDE40 said:

If I remember correctly, you ordered your Sencha from Shizuokatea.com. I have some Sencha from them and I do not detect any fishy taste...there is a seeweed taste to some Japanese greens...could that be what you are picking up? Also, try using 1 tsp. per 8 oz. insead of 2, you may be brewing it too strong. One final note...I notice the delicate Japanese green are very sensitive to water quality so if you have water that doesn't taste great on its own (like mine), then chances are your tea will taste funky too...in this case try filtered or bottled water.

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+1
If your water is good use less tea and I use 160-165 degree water for some sencha, if its still not to your liking, put it aside and have some others for a while and come back to it. Green teas can be challenge to brew really well, and it hard to describe fine tuning it. Very subtle changes can make the difference between a good and bad cup. Things as small as leaving the lid on the pot with water that is just a couple of degrees too hot can be the difference between a good cup and stewed seaweed. But there is no point in drinking something you don't like. If it gives you trouble, try getting used to your equipment and adjusting brew times and tea ratios with more forgiving teas like the golden tips and gunpowder. Than give your Darjeeling and oolong teas a try. When you get a better feel for things go back to the delicate greens and use lower temps and less tea increasing either until you find a sweet spot for that tea.

Well, I don't know.
My water is filtered. I might be detecting seaweed... but only if seaweed tastes like fish. I tried brewing as suggested and it just tastes like weak, fishy tea. I did not return to the sencha. I did try to brew some gyokuro according to the directions on their website. It tasted like weak, tepid, fishy tea. I'm going to set this aside and I may return to it later but right now what I'm thinking is this: I can't stand Japanese tea.

OldAF said:

Well, I don't know.
My water is filtered. I might be detecting seaweed... but only if seaweed tastes like fish. I tried brewing as suggested and it just tastes like weak, fishy tea. I did not return to the sencha. I did try to brew some gyokuro according to the directions on their website. It tasted like weak, tepid, fishy tea. I'm going to set this aside and I may return to it later but right now what I'm thinking is this: I can't stand Japanese tea.

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Not everybody likes every type of tea, to be sure. Make sure it is well sealed when you store it, and if you don't like it any better when you come back to it the Cafe has it's own B/S/T to recoup some of your loses.

Sencha, particularly fresh, can definitely have a taste not unlike nori, which some people most readily identify as fishy.

Try Chinese greens.

Try the tea with different water, you may be surprised at the difference.

JPDyson said:

Sencha, particularly fresh, can definitely have a taste not unlike nori, which some people most readily identify as fishy.

Try Chinese greens.

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+1...Chinese greens have a completely different flavor profile.

ok the best way i found to brew sencha is 2-3 grams in 150ML of 65c (149F) quality water for 1min first steeping 30- 40 seconds second steep and 1.5-2 min for the second brew and progresively increse the water by 10 degrees each infusion.

thats my gaiwan brewing method. i dont own a kyuusu yet so i cant comment on that method.

swmba won't drink green tea from Japan - after trying a fair number of mine she classes it all as 'stinky fish tea'

try to embrace it, you may find you begin to crave it

Proinsias said:

swmba won't drink green tea from Japan - after trying a fair number of mine she classes it all as 'stinky fish tea'

try to embrace it, you may find you begin to crave it

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That's what happened to me. At first, I couldn't stand the seaweed/nori smell, but now that's all I want.

Brewed up some sencha today to see if I could detect any fish funk...1 tsp., 8oz. water 170°…no decernable fish funk...I definitely pick up the nori flavor and a slight toasted seseame seed flavor, but no fish. I can see how some may associate the nori flavor with fish, especially since they are often coupled together particularly with Japanese food.

Well, I finally revisited the Japanese greens today.
I find that with better equipment (more precise control), plus lower brewing temps and shorter time yields a much more palatable cup. I find the Sencha only drinkable hot but quite nice iced. The goykuru is much nicer with a sweet finish but my favorite is again the cheapie I didn't even try before, the Genmai Matcha.
Weird that such a small change makes a huge difference. I'm not just talking about Japanese tea either. I tried a Darjeeling that was supposed to steep for five minutes. Yeah, right. It was so bitter it was undrinkable. Three minutes made a very tasty cup.

OldAF said:

Well, I finally revisited the Japanese greens today.
I find that with better equipment (more precise control), plus lower brewing temps and shorter time yields a much more palatable cup. I find the Sencha only drinkable hot but quite nice iced. The goykuru is much nicer with a sweet finish but my favorite is again the cheapie I didn't even try before, the Genmai Matcha.
Weird that such a small change makes a huge difference. I'm not just talking about Japanese tea either. I tried a Darjeeling that was supposed to steep for five minutes. Yeah, right. It was so bitter it was undrinkable. Three minutes made a very tasty cup.

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Good deal What new equipment did you get?

you are learning the thing that all of us learn. every tea is different and everyone's taste in terms of brewing is different. Glad to hear that you found a happy medium that was enjoyable for you!

You might want to try again.

I find there are two main sencha flavors. Floral and light, and then the grassy veggy types. The lighter steamed stuff asamushi is the more lighter floral stuff.

Try using 1 gram per 50ml of water at 160-165 temp, I like three solid cups. 60-50-90 sec.

Greens tend to be the trickiest of all teas to brew just right, but when you do

jwhite said:

What new equipment did you get?

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Just the stuff I had coming already. A digital electric kettle helps hit the right temp without a lot of fuss. Digital countdown timer beats keeping an eye in the clock. Digital thermometer to spot check temps. I'll soon have a digital scale to help refine things further if necessary.
I'm quite impressed with the precise brewing instructions at Upton. They have a huge variety and samples of all of it. They inspired me to buy the scale and I suspect I'll give them some business soon.
I did buy a couple of pots from that ebay vendor you recommended. They're very nice. Thanks for the advice.

Anytime