Alihan GABA Green 2024 | Full-Bodied, Sweet Pea-flavored Umami Bomb from Taiwan

ORIGIN & HARVEST TIME

Tajvan, Chiayi, Alishan, 2024

CHARACTER

Rich in umami flavor, naturally sweet high mountain green tea with a buttery, creamy texture that spreads the taste of tender steamed peas in your mouth. Its brilliant, greenish-yellow, crystal-clear infusion suggests a light tea, but thanks to professional processing, we sip a complex, full-bodied tea with a robust aroma. The taste is a blend of buttery popcorn and sweet, fresh vegetables. Once tasted, one will want to experience this unique, creamy tea again and again, despite its initially unusual character. Its flavor resembles the dense sweetness of Japanese shaded teas, but the GABA umami has a buttery rather than an algal character.

GABA:

Contrary to the usual procedures used for green teas, this tea undergoes 10 hours of vacuum anaerobic fermentation before baking, converting the glutamic acid in the leaves into gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that complexly influences communication between brain neurons, reducing anxiety and excitement responses, and overall decreasing irritability. The absorption of orally administered GABA is currently under investigation. These studies use EEG to evaluate changes in stress response in the central nervous system following intake. The results are not yet conclusive, but Japanese scientists have measured favorable changes in ANS functions (heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, pupil response) 30-60 minutes after GABA consumption, indicating reduced stress.

The Taste of GABA:

In tea, GABA results in an intensely sweet, slightly tangy infusion that is creamy, buttery, full-bodied, and oilily clear. Fermentation completely eliminates the bitterness and astringency from tannins, enhancing the vegetable, corn-like, rich flavor, as if sipping a fine vegetable broth.

BENEFITS

Happy tea, Sweet, Sour, Full Bodied, Easy to Prepare, Special aromas, Improves mood, Mind opening

STRENGTH-CAFF: 5/10

DOSAGE & BREWING GUIDELINE

A) Traditional way in a gaiwan/clay teapot: 3-5 grams + 150-200 ml water. According to the Gongfucha, brew several times at 85-90°C, for 40-60 seconds. / 10 inf.

B) Western brewing: 3-5 grams + 300-500 ml water.  Infuse with 80-90 C° water 2-3 times, for  1-2 minutes. / 3 inf.