Steeping specs: 3 g 1 cup 175° 1.5 minutes
This one was a tea that I could not find on the company’s website, so please forgive me if I don’t steep it according to the ideal specifications. I kind of guessed a bit and I hope I didn’t steep it too hot. It turned out pretty well with the steeping specs I tried, but who knows what would happen with different steeping specs? (I didn’t have a large enough sample to really experiment.)
As it steeps I’m catching buttery, seaweedy fragrances. After steeping, the liquid isn’t nearly as clear as I would’ve expected. It’s cloudy and has what look like tiny T specks throughout the liquid, similar to matcha specks (?) and much smaller than the type of tea specks that normally escape from my tea strainer. So I’m thinking maybe this is an intentional feature of this tea and not a bug. It doesn’t seem to detract from the drinking experience at all and does enhance the tea’s strength.
The flavor is rich and full, with vegetal savory notes, not bitter, and only a little astringent. And it’s very fragrant, but not really floral– it’s more on the grassy side. Its flavor is not just vegetal, but savory in a smooth and buttery kind of way which creates a cohesive flavor profile.
This seems to be quite a strong green tea with plenty of flavor, yet without any unpleasant bitterness. It goes well with sugar too, but seems to be a somewhat less immersive experience somehow once the sugar has been added. Also, I notice the seaweedy notes more once sugar has been added.
This tea is great for when you want a strong, unflavored and non-floral green tea that’s more on the savory side and yet has a very strong presence of its own without any bitterness. (If you don’t like the tiny specks floating around your tea, I would recommend using a very fine steeping mesh or strainer.)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Aiya
Description
Kukicha literally means “stem tea” and is made from different varieties of tea stems. Aiya’s Kukicha is a blend of stems from Gyokuro and Sencha. Most of Kukicha available in the market is made by stems from 100% Sencha, however, Aiya’s Kukicha is adding more than 50% of Gyokuro stems for more natural sweetness and rich aroma
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Monkey King Jasmine Green Tea from Numi. . . . .
Steeping specs: 170° with one teabag in one cup of water for about 2 to 3 minutes
This green tea is a great responsible option for travelers who need the convenience of a teabag but don’t want to go with a low-quality commercialized option. This one has fair trade certified ingredients (tea leaves infused with jasmine that is also certified organic) and a biodegradable teabag. So there’s some social responsibility for you.
The tea water while steeping turns a yellowish color and immediately gives off a very very floral scent from all that jasmine. Jasmine is actually quite a piercing sent, unlike the green tea flavor in the tea (which I can’t smell at all due to the heady flower fragrance). This particular batch of jasmine flavor, though, is actually much more approachable than some that I’ve tried recently. It’s not so penetrating that you want to run and hide, and it doesn’t make you feel like a perfume shop. It just lingers around the tea and makes everything sweeter.
I should probably also mention that I am almost unable to taste any green tea flavor over the jasmine once I start drinking it. Not quite unable, though. I am finding a bit of astringency that could only come from the tea itself, and there are a couple of other notes that may be tea-related, although it’s a little hard to tell this point. In addition, the Jasmine actually makes this tea really really sweet, which means it doesn’t need sugar (making it even healthier to drink and even more convenient for traveling).
Overall I’d say this is a very exceptional option considering that it came from a tea bag (I try not to be too much of a loose leaf snob, but some teabags make it so easy). The leaves in the teabag are chopped up pretty finely but still manage to deliver excellent flavor, especially excellent Jasmine flavor.
I would be careful with the directions given on the packet though, since they’re a little unspecific. It says to boil your water and then allow to cool slightly before steeping. What you really need to do is allow to cool significantly to about 170-180° or you’re likely to end up with bitter tea. My tea was steeped at about 170F and is almost verging on bitter already. Of course you can always add sugar if it starts to get bitter too.
So as mentioned above, I think this is a great option for traveling, what with its socially responsible packaging and convenience of use (and higher-quality ingredients than other conveniently packaged teas), or you could even keep it around the house for a great flowery-tasting option when you’re in a hurry or don’t want to bother with loose leaves.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Numi Tea
Description
This tea is not currently on the website but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sencha Green Tea by The Tea Can Company. . . . .
I steeped this tea in one cup of 175° water. It comes in a sweet little tea sachet that I somehow managed to rip a hole in. (Good job, me.) So I’m steeping this for about three minutes and the color of the water is not changing all that much, although it is taking on a greenish yellow tint.
The tea liquid is ever so slightly viscous, with teeny tiny specks dancing in it that I can barely even see. It’s not fragrant from across the room, but I can catch a whiff if I’m bending over the tea itself. I steeped for two minutes but then decided to put the tea sachet back in for another minute or two because it wasn’t strong enough for my taste yet. The thing about green tea is that you can’t see bit too hot or it will turn bitter; however, if you have cooler water it doesn’t steep as fast. (Plus of course steeping too long can induce bitterness as well.) Also I have no recommendations for this tea so I don’t know the best way to steep it and consequently I am just basically making an educated guess. As I’m looking at the tea leaves inside this teabag, I can see that they’re all chopped up, but they’re definitely not crushed into dust. In fact, they are not nearly as quick to jump out the hole in my sachet as I anticipated they would be.
After sitting for another minute, the tea liquid does look slightly yellower. It does not have a much stronger fragrance, however. But the flavor is quite nice now, with some astringency and quite strong vegetal overtones. I may have pushed it over the edge with my slightly longer steeping though because it is almost verging on bitterness at the end of the sip now. It’s still not what I really call bitter though. It has mostly bright flavors, seaweed and vegetal, with only a hint of buttery flavor. It’s very green flavored and I’m not catching many floral notes either, although perhaps a hint here and there.
I enjoyed this tea, and although I probably wouldn’t drink it on a daily basis, I would definitely consider it for a great travel option because of the convenience of the prepackaged sachet.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Tea Can Company
Description
This pan-fired Green Tea is simply the best. Savor this clean and robust flavor while you enjoy the many health benefits. High in antioxidants. Serve hot or cold.
Ingredients: Pan-Fired Green Tea, Contains Caffeine
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Genmaicha (Australia) from Blue Hour Tea. . . .
I steeped this at 190 degrees with 1stp tea and 1 cup water for about one minute. (The recommendation was 1-3 minutes, but after one minute it smelled super toasty even from across the room so I figured I’d better drink it before it got strong enough to knock me over.)
This tea does interestingly include a bit of matcha in the ingredients despite being a genmaicha, which is a great addition as far as I’m concerned. Also, I’ve never had a tea from Australia before (that I know of), so I was quite excited by this opportunity!
Once steeped, the tea was hazy and a bit cloudy, possibly from the dissolved matcha, and had a grassy but very light green color. Even in the fragrance I could definitely find the green-tea-flavor melding with the toasted-rice flavor. The liquid was a little thicker than expected, and as I took my first sip I found that it doesn’t taste quite as toasty as it smells. There was a bit more of the buttery, savory green tea flavor than I’d expected based on the fragrance, especially at the beginning of the sip. However, the overall flavor profile was nicely blended with most of the strength of the nutty, toasty flavor coming more at the end of the sip. This tea was smooth, not bitter at all, and it was somewhat astringent but not too astringent.
So the verdict altogether is that if you like genmaicha, you’ll like this tea, and if you like matcha-flavored cereal, you should try it with milk and sugar. In addition to being delicious it should also be really great for you (unless your doctor has told you not to drink caffeine, of course), since green tea and matcha both have plentiful health benefits. The only downside is that, although you can steep it multiple times, the second steeping isn’t quite the same because the match gets mostly used up in the first steeping.
I really enjoyed drinking this tea and would happily drink lots more of it if given the opportunity.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Blue Hour Tea
Description
Our Genmaicha is a combination of the fresh flavour of green tea with the undertones of roasted rice and the added richness of matcha tea. This premium Genmaicha is grown in the Acheron Valley in Victoria, Australia. There are only a handful of farms growing tea in Australia and this is one of our favourites.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Skysamurai checks out Lu Shan Yun Wu from Teavivre. . . .
After reading my review go to the webpage listed before for this tea. It is packed full of great information regarding where the tea came from, how it was processed, and even how the climate affects the leaves. One who loves tea should also love to learn. . . . .
Let’s start off with the dry leaves. They have a truly unique aroma. Mainly chocolate and malt. If you were to pass this sample around I can guarantee you that only a few people would guess that it is not flavored.
Knowing that these tea leaves are hand rolled makes me want to be extra gentle with them. Xie Xie to whoever worked on this sample of tea.
The wet leaves have no chocolate to them. Which is good. That would freak me out. Only the essences of sweet grass and a somewhat nutty aroma reside now. The flavor is nice and crisp with a golden water color to match.
Overall the flavor is grassy. For those who enjoys grassy flavors this is a must try. It’s so refreshing.
Next time I would like to brew it Gongfu style to see if it opens any other tasting notes. Anyone who has been to China will automatically be pulled back into their memories while drinking this.
Personally, I’m thinking about the college trip I took there for my marketing major.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
- Grown in Lushan Mountain (庐山) in Jiangxi Province, China
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Harvest time: April 16, 2016.
- Lushan Mountain (庐山) in Jiangxi Province
- Tea Liquid: bight, clean in light green color
- Flavor: brisk and refreshing, heavy sweet flavor with light roasted chestnut fragrance. Has sweet aftertaste and long-lasting brisk fragrance in your mouth.
- Low caffeine (Less than 10%’s amount in a cup of coffee)
The fresh tea leaves of Lu Shan Yun Wu are picked under strict requirement of one bud with one leaf or one bud with two leaves. After processed, the leaves will shape into tight, curly and strong strips. The liquid presents bright and green color while showing brisk fragrance. The scent of roasted chestnut lasts long. This Lu Shan Yun Wu is better to be brewed with big glass. It will has brisk and refreshing flavor and sweet taste. After several steeps, you will see the tea leaves tenderly stretched and showing its soft and light yellow appearance.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
