Morita Sayama Sencha from Yunomi

Morita Sayama Sencha
Morita Sayama Sencha

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Green

Where to Buy: Yunomi 

Tea Description:

The Morita family’s quality sencha is a result of 10 generations of tea farming. Like their premium sencha (but with smaller leaves), this Sayama region green tea is can be steeped to be very astringent with a touch of umami (savoriness) using hot water, or with a great balance between astringency (shibumi) and umami savoriness using warm water.

Morita Family
Morita Family

The Morita family are 10th generation tea farmers, and the eldest son (pictured above) has just decided to become the 11th generation. He is currently studying under ObubuTea.com’s president Akihiro Kita in Wazuka, Kyoto.

Located in the Sayama region of Saitama Prefecture, the Morita family was affected by the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant failure in March, 2011. While their tea is tested to be radiation free (test results available), Sayama-cha is being avoided by vendors. We hope to help out the Morita family by connecting them with tea lovers around the world.

On behalf of the Morita family, we greatly appreciate your understanding and trust that the tea provided here is completely safe.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

The leaves of this Morita Sayama Sencha from Yunomi and the Morita family are indeed very fine. You will need a better steeping apparatus than I have to keep all of the small leaves within it, but I worked it out. The leaves may be fine, but they are not lacking in flavor whatsoever.

I have to say this is one of the freshest cups of sencha I have experienced to date. The taste of this tea reminds me of the aroma of fresh cut grass in the summertime. The flavor is so natural, and in a way light and refreshing, yet the body is so deep and complex that I can’t decide which way to describe it. Can it possibly be both light and rich at the same time? Indeed it can!

There is also a lovely butteriness to the tea that I absolutely love, crave in green teas, many lack this quality, but Morita Sayama Sencha has it in spades! A nice nuttiness comes over on the palate like a wave, and lingers long after the tea has flowed like silk into my belly. Prior to sipping this tea I was feeling rather a bit queasy and was about to steep some puerh to settle my tummy, but I knew I had this tea to review so I picked it up instead. I am glad that I did because it has not only settled my tummy but I have found a new green tea love!

I would absolutely order more of this tea and am happy to have discovered Yunomi! I think it is wonderful that they support small tea farmers in Japan and are supporters of Tsunami Recovery.

I am also in love with their tea selection and selection of other items from tea ware, to tea candy, fashions, furnishings, and so much more! I will be stalking their website until I can afford a hefty order with them!

Nina’s Japon from Nina’s Paris

Nina's Japon from Nina's Paris
Nina’s Japon from Nina’s Paris

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Black, Green

Where to Buy: Nina’s Paris

Tea Description:

NINA’S JAPON

Black tea, sencha, genmaicha, caramel, vanilla

A marvelous blend of black tea and roasted green tea from Japan. An irresistible dreamy concoction made with crispy rice, vanilla and caramel.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

When I opened by sample bag of Nina’s Japon from Nina’s Paris the first aroma that struck me was the genmaicha. That fresh popcorn smell was captivating as it always is for me when I smell Genmaicha. This was different though. A sweet caramel aroma wafted up into my nasal cavities seducing me! I could only hope the flavor was as wonderful as the scent!

It was!

Creamy, and sweetly caramel flavored tea with a wonderful base of black tea for a robust kick, yet the sencha still shining through, with the genmaicha playing nice in a supporting role. I had thought maybe the genmaicha would overtake the cup since it was the predominant smell.

The after taste is that of caramel popcorn and really so very good. I can’t believe I have taken so long to review this tea. I have had it waiting on me to try for over a month or two. This is a definite reorder once I let myself off tea buying hiatus.

Somehow this blend is creating a chocolate flavor in my mouth even though there is no chocolate in the blend. It is delightful, surprising, and trust me I need a surprise in tea now and then. It is wonderful to try so many teas, write about them, but this is a tea that renews my faith that there are new things out there to discover!

Now I admit, I failed to look up brewing instructions before making this tea. I steeped it in 195 degree water for 3 minutes. I did not realize before steeping that it had green teas in the blend. Yet, not one bit of bitterness, nor astringency in this cup. Amazing, it is idiot proof!

The vanilla has a lovely presence in this tea and I keep getting seduced and charmed by it as I sip I just keep thinking about letting myself our of the corner and buying this tea! I think I could have let it steep a little longer without getting any bitterness as well and perhaps even more depth to flavor but it is not necessary as this cup is just astounding.

I will admit, when I try new teas, from new (to me) companies I am always apprehensive. Nina’s Paris has not let me down! The cup has a mouth watering aroma, the flavor is perfection, I can taste the sencha, the black tea, and the genmaicha, all of them melding in beautiful harmony together! Caramel and vanilla always play nicely together, and nothing about this cup tastes artificial.

I am really very impressed here! A big thanks to Nina’s for this sample. Request your samples too! Nina’s Paris has been more than accommodating to new customers who would like to sample their teas. You can request three samples at a time and trust me, you will want to order once you try them!

Chiran Sencha from O5 Tea

Chiran Sencha from O5 Tea
Chiran Sencha from O5 Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Green

Where to Buy: Amoda 

Tea Description:

Sweet, thick and full-bodied. A grassy and vegetal green tea with
refreshing astringency and light cream aroma.

From grower Furuichi Shoji. It is grown in the old Samurai town Chiran, in Kagoshima prefecture, Japan. Here, the climate is ideal for tea – warm air mixed with cool breezes from the Bay of Kagoshima.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Chiran Sencha from O5 Tea brings us something slightly different in a sencha. My SororiTea Sister Anne reviewd this tea here.

The reason I am pointing out her review is so that you can understand this is in fact a really good sencha, but I am not as in love with it as my sister is. Its good, its very grassy, but for me, I always appreciate the buttery note that is lacking in this one. I suppose I’m stuck in my ways but I say “bring on the butter” okay confession time… I’m a butter addict. I love butter, I’d eat a whole stick of the stuff if I knew it would not be terrible for me, but I digress, the only think truly lacking in this sencha is the butter note. So with that said, this is a really great sencha! It is in fact one of the greenest, freshest tasting sencha I have ever tried with the longest lingering after taste.

I will say this however, for those of you like myself who want that buttery sensation, wait for it. Really, wait for it, the buttery comes out when this tea gets to be around room temperature, depending on how cool you keep your home anyway. This would be a lovely iced sencha and I typically do not like sencha iced!

Be sure you have a really fine strainer when brewing this as I had quite a bit of bits in the bottom of my cup, but I really do need to invest in a new strainer. The color of the liquor is really pretty, a light almost limey colored green. It is not murky at all though even with the particles laying on the bottom of the cup, I can see them all. Hummm this is inspiring of a tea leaf reading when the tea is gone!

Fruity Pebbles Green Tea Blend from Tiesta Tea

fruity_pebblesTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  Tiesta Tea

Tea Description:

The 2008 World Tea Champion is a smooth and sweet blend of flowery fruit and sencha with a fantastic base that no one can resist. The synchronization of pineapple, passion fruit, and strawberry form a perfect fruity triangle.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Oh wow … this Fruity Pebbles Green Tea Blend from Tiesta Tea smells AMAZING!  The dry leaf is very fragrant with floral notes and strong fruity tones.  It smells like something you’d want to set out as potpourri to freshen your home!

I kind of chuckled when I read the name of this tea … of course, my thoughts turned to the popular rice cereal (which I LOVE but try to avoid because it isn’t the healthiest item in the cereal aisle, is it?) As I waited for the tea to brew, I found myself wondering just how similar it would taste to the cereal.

OK, so it doesn’t TASTE like the cereal.  But, I can see the connection.  The cereal is sweet and fruity … this tea is sweet and fruity too.  But I like that I still taste TEA in there.  There is a balance.

The green tea is soft and buttery, with subtle notes of vegetation that meld well with the notes of fruit and flower.  I don’t notice quite as much of the white tea notes in this … the Pai Mu Tan is very subtle here, but, this blend would not be the same without it.  It adds a lightness and a certain earthiness that directs the palate toward the “tea” notes, if that makes sense.  The earthiness is what makes this taste more like tea than of a fruit drink.

The combination of pineapple, papaya and strawberry is delectable!  It is definitely tropical-ish because the pineapple and papaya are strong here, but they do not overwhelm the delicious, sweet-tart notes of the berry.  I like that I taste elements of each fruit in this tea.

The rose is a little less apparent, and its contribution is definitely seen and smelled more than it is tasted … but, there are very subtle floral tones to the taste and it really heightens the overall experience by adding just a hint of SOMETHING, you know?  Just that subtle touch … makes a big difference to the cup.

I really enjoyed this tea immensely … I look forward to trying more of Tiesta Tea’s green tea offerings too … their Jolly Green Kiwi looks intriguing!

Peach Cardamom Green Tea Blend from 52Teas

CardamomPeachTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Tea Description:

Yummm. Our buttery Chinese sencha blended with cardamom and freeze-dried peaches. A little tang, a little sweet, a lot of soothing refreshment.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I’m loving this!  Before opening the pouch of this Peach Cardamom Green Tea Blend from 52Teas, I was excited to try it:  I love Peach teas, I love the Chinese Sencha Green Tea that 52Teas uses as the base of most of their Green Tea blends and I love cardamom. I was fairly certain I’d really enjoy this blend.  And then when I opened the pouch – the aroma of the tea was just … amazing!   The peach together with the warm, exotic smell of cardamom was really compelling.

The flavors meld together in a really beautiful way.  The peach is sweet and tastes like a fresh, juicy peach!  The cardamom has a distinct flavor to it, and it imparts a certain warmth and accents the peach nicely.  The Chinese Sencha was the right base to choose for this blend – it is soft and buttery, and it doesn’t give the blend a heavy “vegetative” or green taste … there are soft, vegetal notes to the cup but nothing that overwhelms the sweet peach and gentle spice of the cardamom.

My cup of this tea disappeared WAY too fast – that’s how good it is!  I couldn’t stop drinking it!  This one is going to be AMAZING iced and that time of year is fast approaching, but I also enjoy it served hot (let it cool for a couple of minutes, this really enhances the flavor tremendously!)  It doesn’t need sweetener to enjoy it, but, I found that by adding a half a teaspoon of turbinado sugar, the flavor of the peach really shined through and the sweetening did help bring out the flavor of the cardamom as well.

Its so smooth and delicious!  I like this one a lot!  And do yourself a favor with this tea – take the leaves for a second steep … the second infusion is even better than the first!


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