Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Named for its shape, Gunpowder is one of the most popular teas throughout Asia. Our harvesters use a special rolling technique to craft these shiny, compact nuggets of tea out of the freshest, sweetest leaves. The result is immaculately clean, translucent liquor with a smooth, round taste followed by the subtle aftertaste of fresh green leaves.
Organic Chinese Gunpowder Green Tea
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s NEW Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
And since it is St. Patrick’s Day, what better tea to celebrate with than a green tea? Specifically, this Organic Gunpowder Green Tea from Simple Loose Leaf!
And this is a really good quality Gunpowder Green! I love that it’s an organic tea. The more I’m trying organic teas, the more I’m starting to notice a slight difference in flavor in the organic teas versus the conventionally grown teas. Maybe it’s all in my head, but … I think I do notice a slight difference.
For the record, I did at one time do a side by side comparison of an organically grown rooibos versus a conventionally grown rooibos, and the organic rooibos did taste better. Now, that’s not saying that it is true of camellia sinensis leaves. I just noticed a difference in the taste of the rooibos.
Anyway, let’s get back to this Gunpowder Green. It has a pleasant, smooth texture to it. I want to call it “brothy” because it reminds me a bit of the mouthfeel I’d experience if I were sipping a vegetable broth. Sort of thick and silky. But I’d much rather be sipping on this over a vegetable broth!
It does have a vegetative tone to it, though. It tastes of lima beans, only sweeter! There is a light buttery note to this as well as a toasted nut flavor. It has a nice complexity and a well-rounded flavor. Unlike some Gunpowder teas, I don’t taste the slight “smokiness” that I sometimes taste. This tastes cleaner … fresher!
One of the better Gunpowder Green teas I’ve tasted!
Namring 2nd Flush Darjeeling Tea from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Tea Description:
Grown high in the Teesta valley at the base of the Himalayas, this 2nd flush brews up with the famed muscatel aroma associated with high grade Darjeelings. A classic afternoon tea.
Learn more about Steepster Select here.
Taster’s Review:
Lovely! I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again anyway … I love second flush Darjeeling teas. And this Namring 2nd Flush Darjeeling Tea from Upton Tea Imports is a delightful example of why I adore them.
It has a pleasant fruity character that is reminiscent of a wine. I taste black currant and grape! These fruit notes deliver sweetness and a hint of tart. There is a somewhat tannic quality to this tea that is also reminiscent of that aforementioned wine, and it finishes with a dry astringency.
But when it comes to a second flush Darjeeling, it’s really all about that muscatel note. And this has a really lovely muscatel. It’s sweet and fruity. Notes of wood. Subtle hints of earth. Everything melds together in a very enjoyable way, bringing those delectable fruit notes forward, while the earthier tones fill in the background.
It’s a very elegant tasting tea, one that would be a good choice to serve to friends. A nice afternoon tea.
Another wonderful tea brought to me by Steepster Select!
Yunomi Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club: Genmai (Toasted Rice) from Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantation
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: It isn’t a leaf at all, it’s toasted rice!
Where to Buy: Yunomi
Tea Description:
Genmaicha or brown rice tea is made by combining genmai (toasted rice) with our Yanagi Bancha. However, we know genmaicha fans may already have their favorite, higher grade senchas, so we sell our genmai separately to allow you to create your own combination. The genmai also makes a delicious garnishing for miso soup, salad, or as a simple, healthy snack.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Yunomi’s Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club here.
Taster’s Review:
The September monthly mystery tea sampler’s club from Yunomi offered subscribers a very unique opportunity in this month’s package. Instead of a package of pre-blended Genmaicha, I can customize my own Genmaicha experience using Genmai (Toasted Rice) from Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantation! Awesome!
In addition to the packet of Genmai I received in my September package, I also received a packet of Houjicha and Bancha, so I decided to start with these two teas to customize my own Genmaicha. Then I decided to try something a little bit different … and try some Genmai with a black tea. But before I did that, I brewed a small amount of Genmai to try on its own … just to see what this brewed toasted rice tastes like!
Genmai from Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantation
The aroma of the toasted rice is really delightful. It smells a little bit like freshly roasted nuts, but with a grainy sort of fragrance to it too. It smells delicious. And the flavor is remarkable! If you drink a Genmaicha because you love that roasty-toasty flavor … you really should try the Genmai on it’s own! Sweet, deliciously roasty and toasty with a lovely rice note. This sort of reminds me of horchata but without the cinnamon and the creamy consistency. And I LOVE horchata!
Custom Genmaicha made with Bancha
To make my custom Genmaicha with Bancha, I used the organic Autumn Bancha from NaturaliTea which was also in September’s mystery tea sampler’s club package. I used 1 part Genmai to 1 part Bancha which I measured using a teaspoon. Mmm! I like this a lot. There is more Genmai to this than in a typical pre-blended Genmaicha, so I get to really experience the sweet, toasted rice flavor. I taste the light, vegetal taste of the Bancha and I love the way the natural nutty tones of the two components accentuate each other. This is one of the very best Genmaicha teas I’ve ever tasted.
Custom Genmaicha made with Houjicha
Oh wow! Totally yum! To make my custom Genmaicha with Houjicha, again, I turned again to the teas that were included in September’s mystery tea sampler’s tea club package, and used 1 part Genmai to 1 part Autumn Houjicha from the Takea Family. This is my favorite way to enjoy the Genmai. This is total roasty-toasty goodness … so autumnal, so perfect for this chilly evening. So comforting and cozy to sip. I love how TOASTY this tastes! Absolute awesomeness!
Custom Genmaicha made with Hawaiian Black Tea
I also wanted to try the Genmai with some black tea … but what black tea to use? I wanted to use a pure leaf, and my first thought was a Lapsang Souchong as I was imagining how the toasty notes of the Genmai would taste with the smoky Lapsang Souchong. But, I don’t have any Lapsang Souchong at the moment, as it’s not something that I keep on hand generally … I generally just go for sample sizes of the smoky teas like Lapsang, because I’m not a huge fan of it. But what I did have is a Hawaiian grown black tea (I won’t tell you where I got this tea since I didn’t get it from Yunomi). The black tea isn’t a smoky tea; it is a sweet, caramel-y tea with rye bread-ish type notes.
I’m liking how the roasty-toasty flavor from the Genmai meld with the sweet, burnt-sugar caramel. These two flavors seem made for each other! I really like the black tea Genmaicha … if for no other reason than it’s different … but really, there’s a lot of reasons to love this tea. Sweet, smooth, rich … toasty, delicious flavor. YUM! (Oh … and just for point of reference, I used the same 1:1 ratio.)
In Summary…
I really enjoyed all the different ways that Genmai allowed me to experiment. My favorite, as I said, is the Genmai with the Houjicha, but, I really enjoyed it with the other teas too … as well as on its own! Tasting it on its own like this evokes thoughts of using the Genmai for something like a simple broth with some green onions and wontons. I really, really like this product a whole lot!
Yunomi Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club: Autumn Houjicha from the Takea Family
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Yunomi
Tea Description:
Houjicha is made by roasting ryokucha (green tea) over a strong fire. The greatest characteristics is in the roasted flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Yunomi’s Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club here.
Taster’s Review:
I absolutely LOVE the aroma of the dry leaf of this Autumn Houjicha from the Takea Family … part of August’s Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club package from Yunomi! It SMELLS like autumn! I can smell the roasted leaves, and it smells a bit like the smoke wafting out of a fireplace … but there’s something else about the fragrance of this tea too that is evoking the spirit of autumn for me. It … makes me think of the leaves as they change from green to orange, yellow and red before they fall to the ground. It reminds me of the smell of the crisp air that surrounds me as I go for a walk on an autumn afternoon. Yes … all of this from just a quick whiff of the dry leaf of the tea!
The flavor is also very autumnal with it’s roasty-toasty taste. This is one of those teas that you want to pour into a cup and then just cuddle under a blanket and enjoy the splendor of autumn from your favorite space in front of the fireplace.
This is toasty and nutty in taste. It has a nice sweetness, reminiscent of honey but not quite as thick. It also has notes of caramel … but this would be a very light, thin caramel … like the taste the sugar begins to take on just as it’s starting to break down from the heat when you’re making homemade caramel. It isn’t an overpowering sweetness … just enough to keep me coming back for more!
It has a warm, roasted taste to it … and as I sip it, I’m contemplating how this will taste when I add some genmai to it for my review of the Genmai later this month. The Genmai was also in this month’s Yunomi Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club package, so I’ll get to make my own “custom” genmaicha using some of this delicious Houjicha (as well as the Bancha that I reviewed previously.)
I’m thinking that this was a perfect tea to include in this package to enjoy during these first few days of autumn … because it’s such a lovely celebration of the season! I love this!
Yunomi Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club: NaturaliTea #11: Organic Autumn Bancha Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Yunomi
Tea Description:
Grown under the strong summer sun and harvested in autumn, this bancha tea has stronger astringency and less caffeine than sencha.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Yunomi’s Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club here.
Taster’s Review:
The Monthly Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club package from Yunomi promises to be FUN! In addition to this Organic Autumn Bancha from NaturaliTea, there is also a package of Genmai … which is just the toasted rice! I get to custom blend my own Genmaicha! Yay! I look forward to that … so, that review will be coming later. (I’ll probably be using some of this Bancha to make my first cup of custom Genmaicha!)
Before I do that though, I think I’d like to sample this Bancha on it’s own and give you my thoughts on the tea. And my thoughts? This is a really nice Bancha! The dry leaf is cut small, and I noticed a couple of stems in with the leaves.
I like Bancha … it’s less celebrated than Sencha tea, but, I find that the two are really quite similar. It is as the description above implies, though, it does have a bit more astringency than a typical Japanese Sencha. But here’s what else I’m noticing … this is deliciously sweet, vegetative, and has less noticeable bitterness – at least to this taster’s palate – than a typical Japanese Sencha. This is perhaps a little less sweet than a Japanese Sencha, but it has a nice, buttery taste and texture to it that I quite enjoy.
It’s a smooth, delicious green tea with a brothy mouthfeel – reminiscent of the broth of a soup that might have been crafted with mild green vegetables. It has a sweet yet savory taste to it … and I find that the sweet and the savory notes are well-balanced. It’s a mellow, lovely cuppa, and I look forward to blending this Bancha with the Genmai that was provided in this month’s Mystery Tea sampler’s Club package for a tasty Genmaicha!