For this – part 2 of my review of Yunomi’s Tea Discoveries Club, Volume 17 – I will be reviewing the remaining three tisanes that I received in this month’s package.

The three teas that I’ll be examining a little closer in this article are Hatomugi Tea, Mulberry Leaf Tea and Roasted Barley Tea.

The first tea that I’ll be tasting is the Hatomugi Tea – or Job’s Tears Tea – from Kanazawa Daichi.  This tisane was processed in tea bags and when I first opened the pouch, it smelled remarkably like Roasted Barley – that I had to do a double take and make sure I was opening the correct package!

Then I looked closer at the Yunomi website and learned that this is a type of barley.  It’s organic and it’s roasted – hence the familiar aroma.

The flavor is very much like I expected after experiencing the fragrance – that is to say that this tastes like roasted barley tea.  And it’s YUMMY!  Roasty-toasty, nutty and sweet.  There is a slight ‘grain’ taste, like … well, like barley.  It reminds me of wheat, like Wheat-Hearts cereal.

The second tea that I’m going to review for this article is the Mulberry Leaf Tea from Kesennuma Kuwacha.  I’ve actually reviewed this tisane previously, but I don’t mind revisiting it!

I believe I may have brewed this tisane differently this time than I did previously, because when I brewed it before, I think I might have been under the misconception that it was a blend of mulberry leaf and Japanese Sencha because if you look at these leaves – they look like Japanese Sencha leaves!

So, I’m guessing that I went with a lower temperature and a 1 -2 minute steep previously.  This time, I’m more ‘in the know’ so I went ahead and increased the temperature to 185°F and the steep time for 3 1/2 minutes.

While the dry leaf looks very much like a Japanese Sencha, the brewed liquid does not!  The color is darker, like a forest-y green.  But the Japanese Sencha flavor that I expected was there.  This tastes very much like a Japanese Sencha and would make an ideal substitute for someone who loves their Japanese green teas but needs to cut back a little on caffeine.  It’s a little sweeter than a typical Japanese Sencha – this doesn’t have as much of the savory quality that I’d taste with a Japanese Sencha.  This is more fruity and sweet, but it still is very similar to a Sencha to me.  Very nice!

My final tea journey with Yunomi this month is with the tisane that I figured would be my favorite from this Tea Discoveries Club package:  Roasted Barley tea, which like the Job’s Tears, is also produced by Kanazawa Daichi.

And I was right – this is my favorite.  I enjoyed almost all of the tisanes from this month’s package, the only one that I wasn’t all that crazy about was the Japanese Mugwort tea that I reviewed in part one of this series.

But this … ahhh!  This is my favorite.  I could drink this every day.

This Roasted Barley Tea also came in a tea bag – and yeah, if I’m going to offer any kind of criticism about this tisane at all, it would be that it’s a bagged ‘tea.’  I’d certainly rather it not be bagged.

But other than that, this is so yummy.  It’s deliciously roasty-toasty, nutty, sweet and so comforting.  It is sweet enough that it could even serve as a dessert substitute.  It has a very coffee-ish sort of flavor to it – but without the bitterness of the coffee.  If someone were looking for an ideal substitution for coffee – this would be it.  It tastes more like coffee to me than chicory (which is an herb often used as a coffee substitute).

So my journey with Yunomi’s Tea Discoveries this month ends on a very high note!  A very high – and delicious! – note, indeed.

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 Fruit/Herbal Tisane