Country of Origin: Japan
Leaf Appearance: dark brown, flaky
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Steep Time: 5 minutes
Preparation Method: Tokoname kyusu
Liquor: reddish amber
When Sean from Intergalactic Tea sent some samples for review, I was super excited to find this rare Japanese tea among them. Goishicha is a tea from Ōtoyo Town in Kochi prefecture that undergoes both aerobic and anaerobic fermentation during processing. In nearly 17 years of reviewing tea, I’ve only tried it once before. This style of tea nearly died out, but the Otoyo Town Goishicha Producer’s Association has been working to increase production.
Leaf
Go Stone Tea came broken up into square and rectangular shapes. I could see that each piece was actually comprised of multiple layers of tea leaves pressed together. They were dark brown and flaky with a slightly funky and fruity aroma. The traditional way to make this tea is to boil it directly. I didn’t have a good vessel on hand for doing that, so I brewed it in a Tokoname kyusu with fully boiling water for 5 minutes. The flaky layers started to separate in the teapot after a few infusions.
Liquor
Go Stone Tea brewed up a reddish amber liquor. That funk from the dry leaf definitely came through in the cup. The taste was sharply tart and fruity but not bitter. It reminded me a lot of umeshu. Smarties candy wafers also came to mind. The first infusion had a real tang to it, but this gradually lessened in later brews. The finish was clean and refreshing with a pleasant sweetness. I was not expecting this tea to be so light-bodied.
This is a tea that can be an acquired taste. If you already enjoy kombucha, then goishicha might also be up your alley. It’s quite different from other dark teas like puerh. Goishicha is traditionally used to make a rice porridge called chagaku, and I could see it working well with those kinds of flavors.
Have you ever tried goisicha before? How did you like it? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Go Stone Tea sample provided for review by Intergalactic Tea.
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