Shinobi_cha

What is up with this tea?

Yesterday I tried a suggested brewing parameter for Sencha (I’m considering this a sencha, since Yamamotoyama calls it a gyokuro ‘blend’ sencha) that is supposed to be more along the lines of Japanese tastes (stronger)…
So I did 4 tsp in 16oz water (one 8oz cup for me, one for my wife), at 160 for 1 minute. By the time it was done steeping, I could tell by the color it was going to be way too strong. In fact, it was SO bitter I dumped both cups out and re-steeped the leaves, hoping the 2nd time through it would be better. This time, it tasted like water!

So I dumped out the leaves too, put 2 tsp back in the pot, and covered them with ice. Unfortunately, had to wait for it to melt. But it’s much better today, just like last time I did shinobicha on this tea.

Either these are very sensitive leaves and you’ve got to be an expert to get it right, or it’s just not good quality tea. I’m going to try 2 more things to see if it improves… 2 tsp in 12 oz at 160 for 1min, and 2 tsp in 12 oz at 140 for 1.5 min.

Put some 3 tsp of this in a bag in 16oz water in the fridge last night.
This morning I had a very yummy bottle of tea waiting!
I shared some with a coworker, who said it tasted like mango — I had never noticed a fruity taste to it, but sure it enough, it had a very fruity, mango-like flavor. It was very refreshing and a fun way to brew this.

Ok, I tried this again, and it came out ENTIRELY different.
First, I did the Shinobicha method, of Ice-brewing the tea—go here if you want to know more: http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:agAyOfC0rPgJ:www.mellowmonk.com/2009/08/gongfu-girl-makes-mellow-monk.html+shinobicha&cd=3&hl=de&ct=clnk&gl=us

It tasted wonderful and refreshing and much better than the other attempts.

Then I steeped it a 2nd time in 160 degree water, for just a few seconds and poured again…this time the flavor was as I had originally expected it to be, full, ‘vegetal’, umami…Mmmmm

So I’m putting this one higher up…80

I bought this also at the local Japanese store.
This tea is very good, and for a simple fukamushi has a surprising amount of fullness to the flavor, even umami. It leaves a nice aftertaste in the mouth, and makes one want to make another cup!
The color is a nice deep green, and the loose tea has a delicious flowery smell. I love opening my tea cannister every time.

Rating -
For Fukamushi: 88/100
For Green Tea: 80/100
Overall: 84/100

Bought this at the local Japanese grocery store.
I’m not sure whether to brew like Gyokuro or Sencha…I’ve tried both and both times it has come out fairly bitter or tasteless. It smells good, but this was not a good one to try for my first ‘gyokuro’… If I were you I would just pass.

(gave it a 50/100)

This tea is very good, but you can tell flavorings have been added. Nonetheless, it does taste like you’re drinking a sugar cookie!

Rating -
For Barley Tea: 65/100
For Celestial Seasonings: 70/100
Overall: 67/100

There is nothing like Rooibos with Vanilla. Very popular in Germany.
I could drink this all the time and never get tired of it! (especially because it’s caffeine-free)
This is more of a review for Rooibos Vanille (Red Bush with Vanilla) than Celestial Seasonings-specific tea.

I was pleasantly surprised by this tea.
I don’t care too much for fruit teas (at least, ones where fruit is intended to be the main flavor of interest), but this actually had very good flavor.

Rating -
For fruit teas: 95/100
For Celestial Seasonings: 80/100
Overall: 75/100

Who couldn’t like this tea and the classic Bear mascot?
Very relaxing.

Rating –
For other Celestial Seasonings: 75/100
Overall: 70/100

My wife really likes this tea, and I tend to agree with her.
Trader Joe’s sells the same stuff but in different packaging….

It has a very nice mint taste, along with a few other flavors I can’t quite describe, but it is fuller and (in my opinion) better than normal green tea with mint.
It’s nice that it’s decaffeinated as well.

Rating –
For green tea w/ mint: 90/100
For Celestial Seasonings: 90/100
Overall: 85/100 (It compares well to similar teas and is one of my favorite Celestial seasonings, but it isn’t among my most favorite teas)

This tea is sweet, but delicious! There is a lot more to the flavor than sweetness, and has a floral, relaxing, aroma.
It is hard not to just gulp it all down!

For what it is and what you pay, this is great value. Excellent flavor and quality for being in a pyramid tea bag. If you want to drink Sencha often and keep things cheap, this is a good way to go.

Again, this isn’t an 85 if you compare it to other Sencha or other types of Japanese Green Tea. But if you compare it to other Senchas in tea bags, then it is very good.

Rating -
For Sencha: 74/100
For Green Tea: 64/100
Value: 100/100
Overall: 84

No notes yet.

This is my first experience with Matcha, so it is hard to compare it to anything.

As others have said, it is very smoothe—however, it does have a little bit of a bitter flavor that I did not taste when I drank other Den’s Teas that had matcha added. The bitterness wasn’t terrible, but it hasn’t made me excited about Matcha. I will say that this Matcha is good enough to show me what the taste/texture of Matcha is aiming for, and it helps me to imagine what a good Matcha could taste like…. so I do want to try a higher quality one sometime. However, I’m not ready to go out and buy 20g more…so hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to try a cup of the high quality stuff to see if its worth paying the higher price.

Nonetheless, this is good value for the price. If you like Matcha and have a limited budget, you probably won’t go wrong with this.

For Matcha of this quality/cost (just a guess): 84
For Green Tea (just a guess): 74
Overall (just a guess): 79

Got this in the $3 sampler pack…

When I was a kid, I used to use a magnifying lens to burn leaves that had fallen from trees. I remember it always brought out a very nice, roasted smell from the leaf.
This tea has that exact same smell that I remember from childhood!

Once brewed, it has a nice roasted aroma and taste, but yet is still comes across as being refreshing. However it ends with a surprising sweetness that makes you want to gulp it down. Plus it’s nice to be able to drink it in the evening with the low caffeine.

I have yet to try it iced but it’s on my to do list!

Rating -
For Houjicha (in my very limited experience): 92/100
For Green Tea Overall: 82/100
Overall: 87

The aroma is wonderful—deliciously cherry-without smelling like fake cherry cough syrup. I almost like opening the bag and smelling the tea as much as drinking it!

The taste is just enough cherry as to enhance the Sencha, without overpowering it. That’s the point of flavored senchas after all, right? To add a twist to the original, a new way to enjoy the normal cup of sencha.

If you find the cherry flavor not strong enough, especially on the 2nd brew, brew it hotter (between 190 – 200) and it will come out more.

Rating –
For Sakura Sencha: 100/100 (I doubt there are much better Sakura Senchas out there — any one challenge that, or have any suggestions to try?)
For Green Tea: 90/100
Overall: 95/100