Ichiban

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Green

Tea Description:

Roasted in small batches, this houjicha comes from exclusive 1st flush leaves and stems. Constant monitoring during production ensures a perfectly balanced sweet (caramel-like) and salty (umami richness) flavor profile. A daily favorite at Steepster!

Taster’s Review:

When I opened the single serving pouch of this Houjicha Ichiban Green Tea from Steepster (the second tea that I’m sampling from my February Steepster Select Box!) I was greeted with a delicious, roasty-toasty scent. I love the aroma of a good Houjicha, it smells so warm and cozy, like comfort food. Houjicha is comfort tea!

And this is an amazing Houjicha! It is sweet and delicious with its warm, toasty nut flavor. Some of the other tasting notes written about this tea suggest a grassy taste, but I don’t get a lot of grassy/vegetative notes from this tea nor can I recall any Houjicha right off hand that I’ve tasted where I’ve experienced a vegetative note. Usually, the roasting of the leaves turns the vegetal notes of the green tea into a nuttier flavor, and that’s what I’m tasting now.

But I do taste a slight buttery quality and hints of chocolate … a very subtle chocolate note that I can’t recall noticing in a Houjicha before. Interesting! And I also do taste a slight “saltiness” to this that accentuates the nutty flavors very nicely. It’s a nice balance between savory and sweet.

This is a mighty fine Houjicha! I’m glad I got to try it!

Learn more about Steepster Select here.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Green Tea