Hello tea friends,
It’s always nice to drink something with the word superior in it’s title. From what I understand; superior Sencha is one of the highest grades of Sencha. It is also more refined and elegant in general, from those that I have tried anyway.
This tea is no longer sold by Compass Tea but it may be something they restock in the future, or have something similar to.
The leaf is dark green with a high shine and a sweet, floral scent with a touch of grass. The leaves are of medium size with some broken pieces present, overall it looks as expected ie no discolouration or holes.
Steeping this at a lower temperature around 65C for one minute to try and draw out some of the umami and sweetness.
A golden brown/green liquid is produced (again typical of Superior Sencha) and it bares a toasted grass and seaweed scent, also slightly vegetal.
Flavour is medium strength with sweet grass highs and toasted peony lows, with a salty seaweed and kale type mineral after taste that lingers and becomes dry.Only a touch of astringency but some umami is present. Half way down my yunomi and it becomes so sweet and floral it’s picked up a perfumed quality has real mouth feel to it. Also slightly bitty at the bottom of my bowl.
A second steep of the same parameters reveals: less sweetness but more umami, mimicking soup broth in this steep. More mouth feel and dryness in the after taste and less perfume. Still it bares little astringency as such and it remains vegetal. It reminds me of Matcha, has a similar sort of flavour and feel about it in this steep. Just a very watery and non foamy Matcha.
Overall I was impressed. The quality was expected (average for a Superior Sencha) but it steeped well and had wonderful characteristics and flavours. A nice example of Sencha and pleasing to drink. I recommend low temperatures if your an umami fan though, at least to start with, I’m an umami fan at heart.
A nice introduction to Compass Teas for me and while this is no longer sold I will certainly keep my eyes open to see what line of Sencha it has in the future.
Happy Steeping!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Compass Teas
Description: This tea is no longer available for sale but they have many other teas for sale.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dragonfruit Green Tea +C from Sen Cha Naturals- Pump Up The Vitamin C!
I’m not sick but it seems like everyone else around me is lately. I figured it was time for a BOOST. Enter DRAGONFRUIT GREEN TEA +C from Sen Cha Naturals.
The ingredients include: Organic Matcha & Organic Sencha Green Tea, Acerola Cherry, Citric Acid, Natural Sodium Bicarbonate, Dragonfruit Extract, Natural Malic Acid, Ginger Root, Coconut Water Powder, Organic Orange Peel, Turmeric Root, Stevia. It’s Vegan, Gluten Free, and Non-GMO. Excellent! I have had one of Sen Cha Naturals +C’s before and I remember it being a fizzy-fun experience! This one followed suit!
The differences being…the flavor, of course! This time around I could certainly taste the Dragonfruit, Acerola Cherry, and Citrus flavors. They were VERY potent and impressive. If you LOVE fully flavored fizzy drinks you will have to give this one a try! Yes – it has Stevia in it and YES you can taste it but it goes hand-in-hand with the over-all flavor profile.
This was an eye-opening flavor experience and another tasty taste-taste of Sen Cha Naturals offerings! I’m a fan – that’s for sure!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Sen Cha
Description
We believe that nutrition should come from whole food ingredients, not synthetic vitamins. Whole leaf green tea, acerola cherry, coconut water, and supporting herbs to help you stay well. Exotic dragonfruit has a tangy, yet slightly sweet flavor profile we think tastes extra amazing over ice.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Kenya Zebra Sencha Tea From Green Tea Lovers
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Green Tea Lovers
Tea Description:
Light green tea notes with floral accents and exceptionally smooth finish. Produced from an imported Japanese Sencha tea genus. Certain plots of Kosabei Estate shared similar ph levels to traditional Sencha plots in Shizuoka, Japan. The broad-leafed bushes proved highly adaptable in the Kenyan soil. The Japanese method of steaming the leaf before production is employed the final cup is bright with notes of grass, moss, honey and delicate seaweed. What makes Kenya teas so excellent (and called the Tuscany of tea) are its excellent climactic conditions and rich soil found east of Kenya’s Rift valley. This tea estate is pesticide and herbicide free. Pests can’t survive the high altitudes. Nitrogen is used as a natural fertilizer to boost yield and ensure continuous crop. The all natural farming methods produce tea of unsurpassed flavor and high antioxidant content. Grown with no pesticides needed/used due to high altitudes.
Country of Origin: Kenya
Region: Kericho
Grade: Sencha
Altitude: 6500′ ft. above sea level
Manuf. Type: Orthodox
Infusion: Rich russet gold.
Ingredients: Luxury green teaAn Ethical Tea Partnership and Fair Trade Tea.
Hot Tea: This tea is best enjoyed by pouring 180F/90C water over the leaves (1 tsp per cup) for 3 minutes (longer=stronger). Don’t remove the leaves. Can be infused repeatedly 2-3 times using higher temperatures & shorter infusions until flavor is exhausted.Iced Tea: Pour 1 1/4 cups of hot water over 6 teaspoons of tea and steep for 5 minutes. Pour into pitcher while straining leaves, add ice and top up with cold water to make a quart of iced tea. Garnish and sweeten to taste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
My sample package of this tea says Kenya Zebra Sencha Tea From Green Tea Lovers or Sencha Zebra (Kenya) as it is listed on their website is an interesting green tea. The leaves are unlike other Senchas or Green Teas I have had before. These appear to be a greyish-light-brown that are randomly flattened but not completely flatted such as those you would see being paper thin…these have a three- layer dimensional view to them. The aroma of the dry leaf is more reminiscent of a gentle pu-erh than a green.
Once you infuse this leaf in hot water the tea water is a little cloudy and more of a mucky color instead of a vibrant yellow or green or combo of the two. The aroma of the tea post-infusion is certainly more of a roasted green or even that of a roasted oolong that I have sniffed in the past.
The first sip of this Kenya Zebra Sencha Tea From Green Tea Lovers – I have to say I wasn’t overly impressed with – however – I know to always give teas a 2nd chance once it has time to cool at room temperature for a bit. Glad I did because my 2nd sip was far better than my 1st. This green tea isn’t a mouth watering green tea, nor is it a vibrant or springy green tea. It’s more of an earthy and roasted green tea. It has a character and identity of it’s own. It’s pretty good and I always enjoy trying more teas from Kenya.
S’mores Genmaicha Green Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
I reblended this tea to fulfill part of our start-up Kickstarter campaign’s add-on offers! This was part of the Genmaicha 3-Tier collection – a yummy blend of Matcha infused Genmaicha green tea and chocolate and marshmallow flavors. I added cacao shells & nibs, mini vegan chocolate chips and marshmallow root to the blend. This is yummy!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This gemaicha is a perfect tea for the weather out there today! I’ve battened down the hatches and hunkered down, because the outside world has turned completely white. I’m living in a surreal ghost town of powder. It certainly doesn’t help that the wind keeps whipping up the 3 feet of snow that has already fallen. I can’t even open my front door! And to think it was almost 70 degrees yesterday. That’s Denver spring for ya.
I can’t believe I have already finished this package! I received the 3-tier genmaicha tin set from 52Teas’ initial kickstarter not too long ago. At first I didn’t care for the flavor, especially with the chocolate pieces. It’s a personal pet peeve of mine to have chocolate chips in tea. But I love the flavors of marshmallows and graham crackers, and I did not want to allow these chocolate abominations to keep me from enjoying this tea. So I just picked out and straight up ate the chocolate chips. May I just say that they are a great compliment to the tea – better than if they were in the blend, fusing to the sides of my teapot and creating an odd sludge.
I quickly became addicted to this blend. I think I drank nothing but this tea for about a week straight. It’s so on point – each flavor is well developed and distinct, from the smooth and mellow marshmallow to the crisp and sweet graham cracker right up to the vegetal grassiness and toasty rice flavor of the genmaicha. I love flavored genmaicha, and this blend is a great combination of a funky flavor idea and the classic Japanese green tea.
Getting Lei’d Green Tea by Luhse Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Luhse Tea
Tea Description:
STORY:
Tommy Gunns and Lulu’s first island trip was unforgettable. After too many cocktails and too little sun screen, ego shattering surf lessons, and a severe lei allergic reaction, the sparks were still flying. Life doesn’t always go as planned. The couple’s advice is to take the road less travelled, laugh in the face of adversity, and drink tea.
TEA DESCRIPTION:
A party on the palate, pineapple, mango, and papaya make the perfect threesome.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I ordered a bunch of samples from Luhse a while back, because I’d long been curious about the company and their tea. Their branding is fairly unique – I like the 20s, prohibition theme, and the use of characters to give their teas a backstory. It’s definitely different! The samples contain enough tea for 2-3 cups, depending on leaf type, and are packaged in square foli-lined pouches with a brown, Kraft paper exterior. They’re not resealable, but as they’re so tiny that’s not really a problem.
Getting Lei’d is a green blend with pineapple flavouring. I love pineapple, so I pretty much had to give this one a try. The tea leaves are a fairly uniform dark green, folded and flat, but fairly small. I’d say Sencha, as an educated guess. There are blue cornflower and red safflower petals scattered throughout, which gives this blend a really pretty appearance, and one or two chunks of freeze-dried pineapple. The scent is beautifully tropical, with strong notes of pineapple. I have high hopes for this one!
As per the recommended parameters, I used 1 tsp of leaf and gave it 2 minutes in water cooled to around 175 degrees. The resulting liquor is a medium yellow-green, and the scent is faintly tropical. Unfortunately, faint is probably the operative word as far as this tea is concerned. The pineapple flavouring is just about discernible, but sadly nowhere near as strong as I’d like. Saying that, I can taste it throughout the sip, and it’s obvious what it is, so they’re both points in its favour. I can also taste the green tea base, which is a touch floral and a touch grassy – it suits the image of the Lei in that respect! There’s no bitterness or astringency here, which are also favourable points. I’m just left feeling that I’d like a lot more punchiness, and I’m a little underwhelmed by this one as a whole. This is a pleasant tea, and while I wouldn’t turn down the occasional cup, it’s not one I’d look to repurchase in quantity.
