About five years ago I bought a Japanese tea called Yabukita in a
commercial tin at a Korean store and not cheap $10/100g. I couldn't
find anything on it using the popular web search engine of the time and
thought the taste average but not good. I checked a couple of days ago
and all the specialty Japanese tea websites are goo-goo-gah-gah about
it and more expensive than I paid. I tried it again and damn if it
wasn't one of the best Japanese greens I've had in a long time. I
tried multiple infusions and the thing I noted the leaf was actually
disintegrating each time and I hadn't seen that in any other tea. It
made a cloudy brew but tasty green cup which was more pungent than
floral after the first. Now I have to limit myself till I can find
more on the shelves. It's been awhile since I've been to that Korean
store.

Jim

PS Maybe it was longer than five years because the first post about it
is June 23 1999 and I don't remember seeing it with DejaVu.

Space Cowboy wrote:
> About five years ago I bought a Japanese tea called Yabukita in a
> commercial tin at a Korean store and not cheap $10/100g. I couldn't
> find anything on it using the popular web search engine of the time and
> thought the taste average but not good. I checked a couple of days ago
> and all the specialty Japanese tea websites are goo-goo-gah-gah about
> it and more expensive than I paid. I tried it again and damn if it
> wasn't one of the best Japanese greens I've had in a long time. I
> tried multiple infusions and the thing I noted the leaf was actually
> disintegrating each time and I hadn't seen that in any other tea. It
> made a cloudy brew but tasty green cup which was more pungent than
> floral after the first. Now I have to limit myself till I can find
> more on the shelves. It's been awhile since I've been to that Korean
> store.
>
> Jim
>
> PS Maybe it was longer than five years because the first post about it
> is June 23 1999 and I don't remember seeing it with DejaVu.

Hmm, I normally end up with the opposite reaction. I generally hear all
the hype and then become disappointed with the reality. (happens with
wine a lot to me, but movies/music/tea/beer/books/etc. as well)
Although sometimes I agree and find myself enjoy something simply
because of the insistance of it being good. My recent foray back into
Pu-Erh would never have happened had it not been for this newsgroup...
and I'm not sure what my reaction would have been to it if I hadn't
read a number of accounts of other people's experience and insight.

I was just thinking about this the other day myself. I was trying hard
to remember back to that first try at Pu-Erh. Maybe it hadn't really
been worse tasting than the new stuff I just ordered, maybe it was just
that I was less informed at the time and I only noticed what my senses
picked up on their own. Then the second time years later I knew what to
expect and read about it much more, and was able to bypass that initial
reaction and notice other things because I knew they were "supposed" to
be there. I'm honestly not sure now.

How funny that you brought this up, it was like reading my own thoughts
from yesterday and today. I plan on trying Yabukita now since I like
greens and have never tried it... so we'll see

- Dominic

"Space Cowboy" > wrote in message

> About five years ago I bought a Japanese tea called Yabukita in
....
> thought the taste average but not good.
....
>I tried it again and damn if it > wasn't one of the best Japanese greens
I've had in a long time.

I have not noticed a change in that sort of teas. I guess you are now
getting it in fresher conditions. Maybe because it's getting popular
locally, your shop re-order some more often and selects better quality.

Kuri

I just read something about Yabukita on
http://www.hibiki-an.com/readings/fo...green-tea.html

They say that Yabukita is a special breed of the tea tree as much as
80% of all Japanese plantation. So if that's true, you can find almost
all qualities Yabikita and it is not enough in itself to 'rate' the
tea. More or less equivalent to 'true japanese sensha' and this time
you get lucky bought a good one.

"Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
oups.com...

snip

I tried it again and damn if it
> wasn't one of the best Japanese greens I've had in a long time. I
> tried multiple infusions and the thing I noted the leaf was actually
> disintegrating each time and I hadn't seen that in any other tea. It
> made a cloudy brew but tasty green cup which was more pungent than
> floral after the first. Now I have to limit myself till I can find
> more on the shelves. It's been awhile since I've been to that Korean
> store.
>
> Jim
>
> PS Maybe it was longer than five years because the first post about it
> is June 23 1999 and I don't remember seeing it with DejaVu.
>


I also find that my taste can change over time sometimes. I retry things
(excepts Durien and tripe) every once in a while to see if my taste has
changed enough to let me like it. That happened with avocado...used to hate
it and now I like it.

Melinda

Melinda wrote:
> I also find that my taste can change over time sometimes. I retry things
> (excepts Durien and tripe) every once in a while to see if my taste has
> changed enough to let me like it. That happened with avocado...used to hate
> it and now I like it.
>
> Melinda

Aha! another person who fell for the "Oh, Durian fruit is the king of
fruits" B.S. I've never offended my senses in total so badly as my
attempts to put down some Durian. For the life of me I can't see
anybody enjoying this, if I lived to be 1,000 years old it could never
dull my tastebuds and nose enough to like it. And even all the hype in
the world didn't help in this case.

- Dominic

Dominic 3/10/06


>
> Melinda wrote:
>> I also find that my taste can change over time sometimes. I retry things
>> (excepts Durien and tripe) every once in a while to see if my taste has
>> changed enough to let me like it. That happened with avocado...used to hate
>> it and now I like it.
>>
>> Melinda
>
> Aha! another person who fell for the "Oh, Durian fruit is the king of
> fruits" B.S. I've never offended my senses in total so badly as my
> attempts to put down some Durian. For the life of me I can't see
> anybody enjoying this, if I lived to be 1,000 years old it could never
> dull my tastebuds and nose enough to like it. And even all the hype in
> the world didn't help in this case.
>
> - Dominic
>

Hi Dominic,

Think of it this way: You might like cheese that smells much like durian.
It's the smell on a fruit that offends, not the smell per se. Many Chinese
people find western cheese offensive. Nothing intrinsically disgusting about
Durian. In fact....but I'd never admit it since I value your respect.

Michael

Dominic 3/14/06


>
> Michael Plant wrote:
>> Think of it this way: You might like cheese that smells much like durian.
>> It's the smell on a fruit that offends, not the smell per se. Many Chinese
>> people find western cheese offensive.
>
> I'm Italian so yes Fontinella is a favorite of mine, and I'm sure it is
> impossible for some to get past as well... but my tastes vary greatly
> and I enjoy all types of foods and cooking styles... and Durian is
> nowhere on my list of enjoyable times In fact, it isn't even so much
> the smell as the taste and the consistency. It is just strange and
> off-putting to almost every sense of mine. That's why I tried the candy
> form and the popsicles, thinking if the texture was different I'd like
> it... no dice. Any fruit that has limitations put on it as to where it
> can be eaten should be a dead giveaway
>
>> Nothing intrinsically disgusting about
>> Durian. In fact....but I'd never admit it since I value your respect.
>>
>> Michael
>
> Oh Mike, say it ain't so! You're a Durian lover aren't you? You and
> Karsten both...

I wouldn't put it quite that boldly.
Michael