Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chado Tea House
Tea Description:
Asamushi Guricha from Ureshino, Saga prefecture. Ureshino city has been the biggest Guricha producing center. Located south in Kyushu island. Their geographical location seemed influenced the tea making method. It has sense of Chinese tea feeling as well, though, the base is Japanese tea. Traditional Asamushi, lightly steamed Guricha tea. mild and sweet. Good everyday tea for Guricha lover. Click the image to see the tea leaves and color.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Guricha Ureshino Green Tea from Chado Tea House is really lovely – it’s so mellow and pleasantly sweet. I drank this tea after dinner, and found that the first couple of sips were pretty difficult to taste but once my palate had been “washed” by the tea, the flavors really started coming through very well. 
The flavor is light, there is a certain crisp, clean taste to it that makes it a nice choice after dinner. It is vegetative with flavors that are somewhere between kelp and mild green veggies, with hints of grassy undertones. I could taste a vague “saltiness” to the taste as well … which is why the “kelp” immediately came to mind. As someone who typically doesn’t care for seaweed, one might think that my description “kelp” might indicate that I don’t like the flavors coming through but that isn’t true. While I don’t care for the strong flavor of seaweed (like the sheets you might buy in an Asian market) I find that seaweed notes in a tea to be rather intriguing. And I do like the hint of salt here, it adds a nice contrast.
But as I mentioned before, overall, the flavor is light, nothing really smacks me over the head here … it’s very lush and mellow and easy to drink. The sweetness is really delightful – and I think that’s why I’m finding it especially enjoyable after a meal … the sweetness is knocking out that sweet craving that I often have after a meal. I don’t have room for (nor the desire to eat) dessert, so this tea is making a nice alternative to something sweet. No, it’s not a “dessert alternative” … but it does offer a little sweet something for those times when I don’t want something too sweet or dessert-y … but my palate wants something a little bit on the sweet side.
A very refreshing tea – light, sweet, and enjoyable! Then again, Chado Tea House never fails to impress me with their quality. They’re a great company, and this is a great tea!
Sencha Tea Chashi-Meijin Imperial Gold from Chado Tea House
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chado Tea House
Tea Description:
Gold prize awarded three consecutive years by prestigious Monde Selection of Brussels, Belgium. Japanese Sencha at its finest. Uses only those tea leaves produced by master tea makers. The highly skilled artisans steamed the leaves with exceptional care and then roll them to perfection. This deeply steamed Fukamushi Sencha tea has delightful Shincha like tastes and fragrant aromas that make them highly sought after by tea connoisseurs. Rich full bodied tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Amazing!
This Chasi-Meijin Imperial Gold from Chado Tea House is unlike any other Sencha Tea that I’ve tried … no wonder it has been awarded the Grand Gold Prize. I agree with the description, this tastes a bit more like a Shin-cha … like maybe somewhere between a fresh Shin-cha and a Gyokuro.
Oh, sure, it has some of the characteristics you’d expect from a Sencha, including a sweet, vegetative taste with a hint of bitterness. But this is so much smoother than other Japanese Sencha teas that I’ve tried. And sweeter too. Less of a bitter note. The vegetative note is a cross between kelp, sweet grass, and mild, lightly steamed spinach. There is a buttery note to this, but it isn’t really a creamy buttery texture so much as it is just a hint of the sweet, creamy note that butter would impart if it were melted over a serving of the aforementioned steamed spinach.
The body is very smooth and lush, not so much a creamy body, and it isn’t heavy like that … I am finding this to be a little lighter than a “full-bodied” tea as described above, but then again, I steeped this tea for just 1.5 minutes in 170°F water, and the infusion was so pale that it almost looked like water that had just been barely tinged with a hint of chartreuse. But that was all that was required to create a very delicious cup of tea. It is a pleasantly smooth, easy to drink tea.
Chado Tea House is a company I’d highly recommend for the very best teas that Japan has to offer. The quality of teas offered by Chado is outstanding, and this Award-Winning Sencha is just another example of what I’m talking about!
Yuzu Kukicha Tea Blend from Chado Tea House
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chado Tea House
Tea Description:
YUZU is a citrus fruit that Japanese people enjoy its aroma. Yuzu is closely resembling that of the grapefruit, with overtones of mandarin orange, however the aroma is different and sorry that it is hard to describe. Yuzu zest is used to garnish some dish and commonly used as seasoning. We found a harmony in Kukicha with Yuzu aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Yuzu Kukicha Tea Blend from Chado Tea House is ah-maz-ing! The aroma is remarkable. It smells citrus-y … like a sweet citrus. It smells like one of my favorite candies – you know those gummy-like grapefruit wedges? Yeah … this smells like a jar of those! Sweet and sour and yummy!
The flavor is equally as remarkable … it is more sweet than sour and I like that. It’s very juicy tasting. It tastes like a sweeter version of grapefruit with notes of tangerine. I like that it has a very bright, delicious flavor but it also has a mellowness to it – it’s not trying to hit me over the head with Yuzu fruit flavor.
And that’s important because kukicha tends to have a rather mild flavor and I am glad that I can still taste the kukicha here. It tastes fresh, smooth, and light, and marries well with the flavor of the Yuzu. This is delicious hot … but I think I like it even better when it cools. It has a delightfully fresh, mellow taste that is enjoyable to sip with meals … or anytime you want something on the lighter side.
I think this might be the first “flavored” tea that I’ve tried from Chado … they offer Japanese teas of exceptional quality, and I’ve loved everything that I’ve tried from them … and this is no exception. This is something that will be nice to have on hand as the weather gets warmer … a good choice for iced tea!
Yame Gyokuro Tea from Chado Tea House
Tea Type: Green Tea
Where To Buy: Chado Tea House
Product Description:
NEW Product! Nice Gyokuro from Fukuoka, Kyushu island. Yame area in Fukuoka is known for Gyokuro producing center (take about 45 percent of share). Tea farms are located on slope of mountain and the area’s warm and foggy condition provides ideal climate for Gyokuro cultivation. This Yame Gyokuro is bit like supreme Sencha. Aromatic and sweet and smooth mouth feel.
Nicely deep steamed and very bright beautiful green.
Tasters Review:
Yame Gyokuro Tea from Chado Tea House is a strong green tea – that is for sure! It’s a nice Grassy-green with a bit of sweeter-grass towards the end of the sip! It’s smells like grass & veggies! And many of you know I LOVE my veggies! It does taste more grassier than vegetal tho. It finishes smoother than I thought it would and I like that! I really enjoy a nice cup of tea whose flavor morphs in mid-sip!
Everything from dry loose leaf to post infusion color to aroma and taste SCREAM vibrant and brilliantly intense GREEN! This is Wonderful!
Satsuma-Midori Sencha from Chado Tea House
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chado Tea House
Product Description:
NEW Product! This Satsuma-Midori Sencha green tea is from Kagoshima in Kyushu island. We added this Sencha tea to our Everyday green tea series; our long time favorite Sencha Everyday is from Shizuoka and this new Sencha is from Kagoshima. The both of them are about the same grade though the taste is bit different. This Satsuma-Midori has pleasant Guricha like aroma.
Taster’s Review:
In the above product description from Chado Tea House’s website, this tea is described as an “everyday” Sencha. It is my understanding that the “everyday” Japanese green teas are typically the teas that are of slightly lesser grade than the prized teas that they’d save for ceremony and special occasions. But, this does not taste like a lesser grade tea. This tastes incredible. If this is what they’re serving every day, count me in!
The flavor is sweet and buttery with a vegetative background. Vegetative, but not what I’d consider grassy. It is a bit more like steamed spinach, but even milder in flavor. It has a light, creamy kind of taste and texture. Almost like a light broth.
There is so very little astringency to this cup, that if you weren’t paying attention, you’d not even notice it. The aftertaste is lightly sweet, but does not linger. A very pleasant tea to sip along with a meal, or just any time you want a tea to brighten up your day. This tea will do that for you!