Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Bancha, Green
Where to Buy: Harney and Sons
Tea Description:
Japan’s capital is the inspiration of this tea. Green Bancha is blended with toasted sesame seeds and caramel flavors. The delightful flavor is reminiscent of some of Tokyo’s best desserts.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I really enjoy this tea although I find it interesting that many I have shared it with and myself can’t quite seem to figure out if we all agree on its flavor. It states that it is a toasted sesame/caramel flavored tea, and I do detect both flavors. The sesame however is very light and difficult to detect. The caramel is more present to me, although others have said they can not detect it at all. What most of us agree on however, is a fruity flavor! I can only determine that somehow, this wonderful Bancha, along with the mixture of caramel and toasted sesame somehow create this wonderful fruity flavor simply by being blended together!
Regardless of wether the flavor that is the overall outcome is true to the ingredients or not, what we do have here is a tea everyone seems to agree tastes wonderful! Even though we do not all tend to agree on the flavors we pick out from the blend, everyone seems to enjoy it quite much!
I absolutely love the Bancha base tea in this blend, its a good quality that comes through marvelously! The caramel is natural tasting and not over done, and the sesame could be a bit stronger because I adore sesame! Keep in mind however when I prepare asian food my plate is so covered in sesame you can’t see any of the food underneath it! So with that said I am sure this tastes like sesame just fine, it is my personal issue that I desire so much of it!
What matters in the end however is if a tea blends into something we want to sip again and again, and this for me does! I even pick up those fruity notes in the aroma of the tea!
I think what it comes down to is simply my own lack of understanding what “some of Tokyo’s best desserts” taste like, as I have never been to Tokyo, and living in the midwest, specifically Kansas, does not really afford me some of the best Asian dining experiences! So we will chalk my confusion over this tea up to ignorance, however in this case, ignorance is bliss, as I am blissfully enjoying this Tokyo tea from Harney and Sons!
Tokyo from Harney & Sons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Tea Description:
Japan’s capital is the inspiration of this tea. Green Bancha is blended with toasted sesame seeds and caramel flavors. The delightful flavor is reminiscent of some of Tokyo’s best desserts.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The description of this tea sounded just unusual enough to make me want to try it … sesame seeds and caramel? Hmm… I’m intrigued!
The fragrance of the dry leaf has a caramel overtone, with a toasted, nutty scent in the background, as well as a hint of grassy notes. The brewed tea has a stronger caramel-y scent, together with a strong vegetal note (it almost smells like celery… you know that aroma that fills the kitchen when you saute celery to soften it? Yeah, that’s what it smells like to me… slightly browned butter and celery!)
This is quite tasty! The Bancha offers a slight vegetal flavor that develops as I continue to sip. It doesn’t really taste grassy, but more like steamed spinach: mild and savory. There is a buttery tone to the cup as well, although not quite as buttery as you might taste from a Sencha.
The caramel offers a pleasing sweetness that melds nicely with the natural sweetness of the green tea, while the toasted sesame seeds give a toasty nut flavor that marries well with the natural nutty flavors of the tea. The overall cup is very harmonious and deliciously sweet and creamy, with just enough savory tones to keep it interesting. There is a mellow astringency that is neither too dry nor too tangy, but it does manage to cleanse the palate to ready it for another sip.
This is the kind of tea that keeps me sipping … and I like that!
