Hello tea friends,
It’s always nice to drink something with the word superior in it’s title. From what I understand; superior Sencha is one of the highest grades of Sencha. It is also more refined and elegant in general, from those that I have tried anyway.
This tea is no longer sold by Compass Tea but it may be something they restock in the future, or have something similar to.
The leaf is dark green with a high shine and a sweet, floral scent with a touch of grass. The leaves are of medium size with some broken pieces present, overall it looks as expected ie no discolouration or holes.
Steeping this at a lower temperature around 65C for one minute to try and draw out some of the umami and sweetness.
A golden brown/green liquid is produced (again typical of Superior Sencha) and it bares a toasted grass and seaweed scent, also slightly vegetal.
Flavour is medium strength with sweet grass highs and toasted peony lows, with a salty seaweed and kale type mineral after taste that lingers and becomes dry.Only a touch of astringency but some umami is present. Half way down my yunomi and it becomes so sweet and floral it’s picked up a perfumed quality has real mouth feel to it. Also slightly bitty at the bottom of my bowl.
A second steep of the same parameters reveals: less sweetness but more umami, mimicking soup broth in this steep. More mouth feel and dryness in the after taste and less perfume. Still it bares little astringency as such and it remains vegetal. It reminds me of Matcha, has a similar sort of flavour and feel about it in this steep. Just a very watery and non foamy Matcha.
Overall I was impressed. The quality was expected (average for a Superior Sencha) but it steeped well and had wonderful characteristics and flavours. A nice example of Sencha and pleasing to drink. I recommend low temperatures if your an umami fan though, at least to start with, I’m an umami fan at heart.
A nice introduction to Compass Teas for me and while this is no longer sold I will certainly keep my eyes open to see what line of Sencha it has in the future.
Happy Steeping!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Compass Teas
Description: This tea is no longer available for sale but they have many other teas for sale.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Smooth Earl from Compass Teas
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Compass Teas
Product Description:
This classic black Earl Grey tea is accented with warm cream and vanilla notes.
Serving Suggestion: Perfect as is, but also delicious with Sugar Gems (and possibly a dash of milk if you like).3 oz = approximately 40 cups of Gourmet Tea
Ingredients:
Black tea- Antioxidant rich, helps keep body hydrated, can help reduce your daily calorie intake which leads to weight loss
Blue mallow blossoms- Beautiful accent color
Bergamot flavoring- Delicious citrusy flavor usually associated with the popular Earl Grey tea blend
Cream & Vanilla flavoring- Soothing, mellowing flavor
Tasters Review:
Earl…you are one SMOOTH dude! Has anyone ever told you that? Well, I’ll say it right here and right now…you ARE smooth and live up to your name!
This is a very creamy/vanilla-scented Earl Grey. I always look for twists on earl greys because I like to see how different they can be but still be classified as an earl grey. I know there are some people out there that stand by the phrase “Leave My Earl Alone” but not me…I love the variety, love the creativeness, and love the uniqueness!
The aroma is delightful! I can smell the Black tea, bergamot, creame, vanilla – in that order!
The taste is VERY creamy! The cream and vanilla both tone down the bergamot and I really like this. I have had a lot of Earl Grey’s that overdue it with the bergamot or use a really funky bergamot flavoring and it tends to be bitter or leave a strange or bitter or even chemical aftertaste. Not this one! This is pretty darn good right here! VERY smooth…darn near the smoothest tea I have ever had. Some may say the bergamot isn’t strong enough – if you are ‘the more the merrier’ type – but I really like the way this one plays out!
If Smooth Earl isn’t the talk of the town in your neck of the woods – it should be – spread the word!
