Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Rington’s Premium English Teas
Tea Description:
Our modern version of green tea. The unfermented tea leaves are processed gently, encouraging the mellow tea flavours to come through to give a smoother flavour with no harshness. Ideal with or without milk!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I had my reservations about this Everyday Green Tea from Rington’s Premium English Teas. I think that by now, I’ve shown that I’m a little less than enthusiastic when it comes to bagged tea. That said, I do occasionally find not only what I’d deem ‘acceptable’ bagged tea but what I might even call tasty!
This is one such bagged tea. Sure, I’d be happier if this were a loose leaf tea. But, for a bagged tea, this is pleasant. It’s tasty.
To brew it, I heated my kettle of freshly filtered water to 175°F and put one tea bag into a mug. Then I added the heated water and let it steep for 2 minutes.
It tastes like ‘green tea.’ It’s smooth, sweet and buttery. It has vegetal notes that are a little grassy and a little like lima beans.
The tea is not bitter but there is a fair amount of astringency to this – much more so than I’m used to experiencing with a green tea. It starts out rather subtle and it develops and now that I’m halfway through the cup I’m finding this to have a dry, astringent finish.
Overall, this is alright. It isn’t something I’m likely to stock in my pantry but it’s not something I’d refuse if I were offered it, either.
Matcha Green Tea Powder from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Our Matcha is a thin Matcha called Usucha and best for the everyday Matcha drinker. It is the perfect quality for enjoying the genuine taste of Matcha. Our Matcha is a light creamy liquid with a very sweet and mild flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve tried quite a few different Matcha teas over the years. And while I must admit that the best Matcha teas are those that come from companies that specialize in offering only the very best Japanese teas, I’ve quite enjoyed Matcha teas from other sources as well. Like this Matcha from Culinary Teas.
To prepare this Matcha, I used my chashaku to scoop out three scoops of Matcha powder into my sifter (I just use a basic wire mesh sieve that I picked up in the grocery store in the kitchen utensil aisle for a couple of bucks. It’s small enough to fit in my tea bowl and it’s got a couple of “feet” on it that hook onto the edge of the bowl, a plastic handle and a wire mesh “bowl”.) I then sifted the powder.
Now, I don’t consider myself a Matcha expert by any stretch of the imagination, so I’ll just offer my opinion as to why Matcha is sifted. I think that it not only eliminates clumps (clumps will turn into lumps of dry powder in the finished product and that doesn’t sound very yummy) but I believe it also aerates the powder a little bit – lightens it? So that the proper flavor and texture is achieved in the final product. That’s my opinion and not necessarily fact but I do know that I find that I prefer the Matcha when I sift it.
After I’ve sifted the powder, then I add hot water (160°F) and here’s where I become less useful to the beginner/novice Matcha drinker, because I don’t measure out the water. I eyeball it. Yeah, I told you that it wouldn’t be helpful, didn’t I? I pour in about what I think is the right amount, aiming for “less” than “more” than the right amount, if you get what I’m saying, because you can always add a little more water but you can’t really take it away once it’s been poured into the bowl (chawan).
Then I whisk away. I whisk with my chasen vigorously in a “W” motion until I’m confident that all the powder has been incorporated. Then I give it a taste and see if it needs more water. Usually, I need a little bit more because as I said, I tend to aim for “less” than I need than more than I need. And I did today. Now that I’ve added a final splash of water to the Matcha, I whisk again and then I enjoy!
The color of this Matcha is not quite as bright and vibrant as some of the pricier Matcha teas that I’ve tried. But it does whisk up well and the powder stays incorporated until I’ve finished the last sip. The tea froths up nicely with lots of bubbles. It’s more of a bubbly, dry froth than it is a silky froth. If you’ve consumed many different types of Matcha, you understand what I mean by that. Some Matcha has a very fluffy, bubbly kind of froth, and some of it is a very silky froth with very fine bubbles.
The froth stays around for a little while and eventually disappears. The flavor of this Matcha is nice. It’s got a smooth, buttery flavor and a creamy smooth texture. I notice notes of raw cacao, which I like Matcha to have. Its sweet with some bittersweet notes.
Overall, I found this Matcha to be quite enjoyable and the price of this Matcha is extraordinarily affordable! If you’re one who wants to drink Matcha everyday but find the prices of some Matcha offerings to be to excessive, you should give this Matcha a try! You’ll get more Matcha bang for your buck!
Monk’s Choice Tea from Mellow Monk
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Mellow Monk
Product Description:
Monk’s Choice™ is the grower’s most popular tea among his Japanese customers for its full herbaceous flavor complimented perfectly with brisk citrus overtones and a subtle berry-like sweetness. This is truly a tea you can sip all day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of the nicest Guricha teas that I’ve tasted in quite a while.
It has a delicious earthy/vegetative tone, complimented with a slight roasted nutty flavor in the background and hints of fruit throughout. The above description depicts notes of citrus and a berry sweetness, and I get those notes too. It is a very flavorful tea.
There is no bitterness to this tea and only a moderate amount of astringency toward the tail that ties in well with the citrus notes. The sweetness is remarkable, it doesn’t taste like sugar, or honey or caramel or any of those other descriptive flavors that I often use, it really does taste like a fruit-sweetness. Even in the aftertaste, I have just a hint of that berry tangy note on the tongue. That is indeed interesting!
If I had to choose only one word to describe this tea, though, I think I would choose the word mild, because even though it is not what I would consider delicate or light in any way, it has a soothing character to it – mild and relaxing – as it mildly and calmly recharges the batteries, so to speak.
It has a smooth tone to it, making it incredibly easy to sip – a perfect every day kind of tea that goes well with meals or just any time of day when you want a green tea pick-me-up. And it is very reasonably priced, making it incredibly easy on the pocketbook!
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!