It’s been a busy Friday and while my husband is away at poker I thought I would stay up late and have some tea. This was a new item that arrived the other day from NBT’s sale.
The loose tea is rather cute with medium green short, twisted leaves with small yellow/orange Osmanthus petals dotted around. The mixture smells fresh and green, perhaps a little bitter.
Once brewed the tea soup is a cloudy golden colour that has a slightly sweet and ricey fragrance.
I’m loving the natural sweetness and slightly ricey and grassy tones that dance on my tongue. It’s similar to Genmaicha but not nearly as gluttonous or stodgy and this is also sweeter. I can taste the green tea which is slightly bitter yet vegetal but nicely manageable with the sweet floral Osmanthus. It’s quite strong and I think next time I would try a 2 minute steep rather than the 3 minutes I have done this time.
The tea picks up in strength as it cools and it becomes thicker and heavier to drink but the slow gradualness of it all makes it easier to manage.
Overall I like this blend, even more so than the Genmaicha. It’s light (to start with), sweet, green and quite relaxing. Very happy I bought this, my only negative point is the bitterness which increases more and more but this was only a cheap version.
