Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green Teas
Where to Buy: Nina’s Tea Store
Tea Description:
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:
Mmm! This tea is TASTY!
I’ve said before that as a rule, I have my reservations about a tea blend comprised of two different tea types like this one which is composed of both green and black tea leaves. It makes deciding how to brew the tea a little more difficult, because you aren’t entirely sure the best way to proceed in a way to get the most flavor out of the tea. Generally, boiling water is the way to brew black teas for the best flavor, but, green teas require a lower temperature to avoid scorching these tea leaves as they are more delicate.
When I have a blend like this one, I usually opt to go with the lower temperature requirements of the more delicate leaf, because it is possible to achieve flavor from the black tea at a lower temperature, and I’d rather lose a little bit of flavor from the black tea than to possibly scorch the green tea and have bitter flavor. So I used 185°F water and steeped the tea for 3 minutes.
And I’m quite happy with the result.
I taste the rich notes of the black tea, the warm, toasty notes of the genmaicha green and the sweet, fresh notes of the Sencha. And these flavors meld beautifully with the caramel and vanilla notes of this blend. It’s really quite yum!
The sip starts out sweet. The first notes I recognize are the roasty-toasty notes of the genmaicha’s brown rice, and I love how the roasted rice harmoniously marries with the sweet, luscious caramel flavor. These two flavors were made for each other. Then I notice the vanilla, it’s a top note here, but it’s not an intrusive flavor. It sort of gently blankets the flavors with it’s soft, creamy sweetness. Delightful!
The rich, smooth flavor of black tea starts to work its way into the sip shortly after I experience the rice and caramel, and the black tea adds a whole other dimension of sweetness and flavor. It adds a real depth to the flavor that makes this tea special.
The freshness of the green tea notes arrive on the palate at about mid-sip. While Japanese Sencha teas can sometimes taste bittersweet, right now I just notice sweetness. There is a slight bittersweet note that I experience in the aftertaste, and I like that savory element.
A delight to sip, from start to finish!
