Shinobi_cha

This is an excellent chai!
Obviously, as others have said, the base makes a huge difference.

At first, the dry leaf smelled quite strongly of ginger…while I like it a lot, my wife and I were a little concerned it would be overpowering.

The aroma of the leaves after the first steep (when I focused away from the spices) was just like chocolate, and also some kind of grain… I think barley or buckwheat.
But with the whole combination, it really smelled just like Lebkuchen. If you haven’t had Lebkuchen, you are missing out. My wife is from Germany, and she thought of this too… she thought it smelled like some kind of Christmas candy she would eat every year.

Contrary to our concern about the ginger being overpowering, this was not the case at all. It was a very delicious, balanced chai, and remained strong for 2-3 steepings.

The leaves were beautifully long, dark, and continued to look nice after every steep… they invited me to just keep steeping (all western style brewing) several cups after the tea started being weak. (We probably steeped it 5-6 times, even though the last three weren’t as good, I just couldn’t bring myself to dump the leaves out, which is unusual for me).

Thanks to Ginko for the free sample of this tea back in February this year!

Since I recently sampled a sheng from Verdant Tea, I wanted to try this quickly, so I could make a better comparison and hopefully learn a bit more about sheng in the process.

Similar to the Artisan Stone-pressed from Verdant, the leaves from the sample were mostly loose. Since I don’t know if the whole cake is loosely packed (via stone pressing) or this is just because Gingko broke off a sample, I don’t know. But I liked the look of the twisted, grey-brown leaves anyhow.
I also went ahead and did a gaiwan brewing, to try to replicate as much as possible the way I drank the other sample.

After the rinse, the leaves smelled incredible! Like maple syrup, or honey-smoked. The liquor of the real first infusion was also very good… this sweet, maple-like flavor was very present, and I was totally impressed. I thought that if the flavors continued like this, it would be by far the best sheng I’ve had (out of very few) and I would really have a grip on what’s so delicious about puerh (or, at least one aspect).

That maple (though not quite like sugar) sweetness was, as I said, on top of a nice earthy, smokiness. The first steep had it most strongly, and the second slightly.

After this, the tea seemed to simply smooth out. I detected some bitterness…it didn’t bother me, but I’ve learned by now this is a feature of ‘young’ shengs. The tea aroma and flavor remained woody and earthy for many more steepings… probably to about 9 or 10. It actually didn’t weaken much at all, but neither did it grow more interesting. About this far I did detect some hints of flowers and the aroma of the wet leaves was very interesting – exactly like baked beans (honey-baked, I think). This didn’t exactly translate into the flavor, but that was still fun.

I went to 15 steepings or so, and it didn’t seem to change much, just starting to weaken in the last cup or two. Anyway, this seemed to have a lot of potential, and was definitely interesting, but maybe it would be great in another 5-10 years. As for now, it’s about par for the course with my sheng experience thus far.

What I guessed would be a particularly unique sencha in the same vein as a few others I’ve reviewed from Thes du Japon, has actually felt a little more like ‘coming home’ to a familiar tea.

If I were to name one sencha that I really enjoy, have had more than others, and is always appreciated, it would be Sencha Zuiko from Den’s Tea. It’s a classic light-steamed sencha, from Honyama. But, I don’t love the fact that it only comes in 2oz packages, rather than 100g…anyway…

This tea has the very same dry leaf smell (once put into the warm teapot, they become very sweet and bakey-like), and the very same aroma from the liquor, a nice mix of nori, bakey, bitter, and sweet. I don’t know for sure, but I think this tea had these qualities and felt familiar because it is also made from the Yabukita cultivar.

What made it unique and distinct, however was a delicious, sweet, flower tone that lay underneath these other, familiar flavors. The sweetness, maybe like honeysuckle, was really good, and most apparent on the first two steeps.

This distinct floral aroma becomes less sweet, but more clear as floral, in the aftertaste. No, it’s nothing like the orchid taste of oolong, nor is the aftertaste a strong sweetness that remains in the throat for a long time. Instead, it is a very refreshing, subtle aroma that is more clear after the other, typical sencha flavors have disappeared.

I was most surprised by the fact that this aroma only grew stronger after additional steeps! Most senchas I find I’m done at 3-4 steeps… this one seems to get a real second wind at the 4th and easily goes 5… maybe more.

If you like standard, quality, light-steamed sencha, this tea is a good fit—with a delicious twist.

Let this be a lesson… how you brew a tea matters!

I’ve tried experimenting and brewing this tea multiple ways, how I would expect to brew an oolong. Boiling water for 2-4 minutes. Gongfu style, boiling water, starting at 10 seconds and increasing by a little each infusion, etc. etc. I even tried brewing it like a gyokuro; 140F for 2minutes; this probably yielded the best results. (Also, each time I tried to use a 1g/1oz water ratio.) I kept feeling like I wasn’t getting the whole picture. Most of the time, it tasted overcooked or weak.

So I finally contacted them to ask how best to brew it (since the information was not on the website). The answer I got back was simple… boiling water for 1 minute, 30 seconds. Ok… I hadn’t tried that yet, why not?!

So yesterday evening, I used 3g of leaf (of the last 6g, out of the total 1oz), put it in the pre-warmed kyusu and followed the suggestion, not really expecting a significantly different result. I also let the tea cool off a bit once I had decanted; I thought that I’d probably been drinking it too quickly, so it was hot enough to (likely) limit the aroma/flavors I could detect. And the result?

WOW!!!

I was blown away by the result. Each sip was incredible and I felt so excited to have my expectations so turned on their head. I’ve haven’t had a moment with a tea like this in a while!

It started, as I said on the previous note, similar to sencha; slightly bitter and sweet at the beginning. In the middle it became rounder and creamier, and had a heaviness similar to gyokuro. I’m not exactly sure why it reminded me of gyokuro— probably the presence of umami. Finally, it finished very sweet and fruity, like cooked fruit or apricots or peaches. It was a flavor that very much reminded me of the fruit you might get from phoenix oolong (the limited experience I’ve had with these).

The combination of the bitter/sweet qualities of sencha and the creaminess of a milk oolong and the fruit of a phoenix oolong was amazing. This tea went from being interesting and glad to have at least learned something to being… uh oh, I am really going to have to buy more at some point. I just wish it was easier to obtain!

The only reason this isn’t getting a higher rating is because it is quite picky, and the incredible first infusion really is the best one. The subsequent ones were still quite good, but I could tell it is still a delicate tea, and could easily become overcooked or weak. However, a jump from 68 to 94 is something I never expected to experience, and it was quite fun!

There was just too much talk about Verdant here to not at least give them a try, especially their green tea and pu’er, so when they had an excellent deal recently, I took them up.

This was one of the samples I requested. I have very limited experience with pu’er… just two others; one ‘beginner-friendly’ shu from a tea store that wasn’t too bad, and a sample of Guan Zi Zai 2005 from Life in Teacup.

I don’t have any concerns about sheng; to me, aged tea is no more strange than other aged things, cheese, wine, etc. So approaching this tea was no concern. In fact, I imagine shu is to tea as cabbage is to kim chee, sauerkraut, etc. and I love certain things that have been fermented well, so I can imagine enjoying shu a lot, as well. On the other hand, I have heard a lot of horror stories about it, so I would probably approach it more carefully.

I also enjoy (to a certain extent) earthy and smokey flavors, like mate (which is almost always smoked) or houjicha, so pu’er hasn’t seemed a strange concept to me, rather very intriguing.

I followed Verdant’s instructions, and using my makeshift gaiwan, put the remainder of my sample (3-4g) in, rinsed once, and used 2-3oz water per infusion, going up to about 17.

The leaf looked like it had actually been loose pu’er rather than pressed into a cake (the leaves were not stuck together and looked like dried, unrolled, dong fang mei ren [oriental beauty]), and as their description states, it sounds like the method of stone pressing causes the leaf to be loosely packed into the cake.

Since I have so little experience with sheng, I don’t know how that influences my impression of this tea. The first steepings (esp the first) had an underlying citrus-like sweetness. It wasn’t sweet like the returning sweetness in the back of the throat, but left an almost sweet flavor somewhere in the middle.

The aroma was a smokey-woody-earthiness, similar to mate but much smoother. I could say it was almost like what you would imagine an earthy cave to smell like (“not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole”).
EDIT: I meant to add here – this was the best part about it for me and delicious!
Besides this smokey-woody flavor, which in one steeping reminded me of a nice savory/salty stew, it was a very smooth tea. I didn’t get much else from it, actually.

Late into the steepings, I experienced a very mouth-drying sensation that was almost unpleasant. I was hoping this would signal a shift in what the tea became/tasted like, but unfortunately it seemed to mean that the tea had only a couple pleasant (but not overly interesting) infusions left.

So, take my long review as you like, since while I know I am someone who could probably really enjoy pu’er, I don’t know a lot of what to expect (what makes one good or not). As far as whether I simply liked this tea- yes, I did, but it just wasn’t the same as Japanese greens.

I think I knew this before I started, but I don’t believe pu’er is something I will ever get into, at least not for this season of life. I don’t have hours to do long tea sessions and many infusions. The best I can get most days is one pot/4 infusions, but more often it is 3 infusions (for a Japanese tea, which is an easier brewing method than gaiwan, imo). I will certainly enjoy a few pots of pu’er here and there, but I simply don’t have the time to do it proper justice (via gaiwan).

Unless, someone who has a lot of experience with it can say that the western method works well? If I could do the western method and drink 3-4 infusions, instead of 15-20, that would be doable. Let me know if that really does good sheng/shu justice and what the parameters for each infusion could be (in general).

I have had the hardest time figuring this tea out!

My first expectation was that it would be similar to a phoenix oolong or another dark oolong. However, it is more like a dark green oolong, in that the liquor is a light greenish-yellow (rather than amber, red, or gold); but like a darker oolong, there is little sweetness nor floral notes present.

The leaves are rolled (mostly) lengthwise, so they are still somewhat long (not rolled up like a ball, but more like phoenix oolong). They aren’t completely black or dark either, there is a slight hunter green hint to them. And they open huge, so it is clearly a hand-picked tea.

There isn’t a strong aroma present, I find mostly the more savory notes you might find from shaded tea, like gyokuro— slightly bitter, very slight marine, and an underlying sweetness that just refuses to come out as much as I’d like. The main flavor the tea leaves in the mouth is strange and unique, like squash or gourd vegetables. Later steeps often taste a bit overcooked, unfortunately.

Like I said, I’ve had a very hard time figuring this tea out; not only what it’s supposed to be like, but how to brew it. However, the more I think of it like a sencha or gyokuro, the more I’ve enjoyed it. I think when I recognized these similarities to other Japanese teas (after drinking and experimenting with most of the ounce I bought!), the more I found redeemable and enjoyable things about it.

That being said, finding a good Japanese oolong is something I’ll still be keeping my eyes open for.

I am so glad I got this tea!

I’ve never had this cultivar before, so it was fun to notice the similarities and differences to others. I asked Florent (one of the owners) which of two Kabusechas to recommend, and he said this one. This isn’t technically a true Kabusecha, but the lines are very blurred (the leaves were shaded 1 week prior to picking).

As the description states, the tea is machine harvested, so the leaves are small. However, there are very little tiny bits of leaf like you would find in a fukamushi; instead, they are very consistent, dark, twisted leaves. When brewed, they open up very nicely as well.

Amazingly (for a Japanese green), the liquor is very consistent in color from steep to steep. Typically, I expect the first to be clearer, and the second to be quite dark and full of little bits of leaf. Instead, this tea is a very pleasing, bright, yellowish-green, every single time.

I’m going to have to keep cupping this to get a good description/idea of all the various aromas present, but it is definitely like fresh green beans, flowers, and has a sweet, delicious, noticeable aftertaste.

Once I had tasted the first sip, I was so thankful to know I’d have it around for a while!

This tea is delicious, as so many others have noted.

So far, while I really like 52teas, the three teas I’ve tried from them haven’t been as flavorful as I expected. Each time I opened a bag, the incredible aroma set big expectations for me, but the flavor of the liquor wasn’t as strong as I hoped (and had read about here on Steepster). This tea, however, broke that trend!

It was full of juicy, mouth-watering pineapple. I’ll have to see if I notice the coconut and slight rum that the description says…

However, I bet those flavors were present, too. I was just too busy enjoying this cup of tea to think about it!

A friend of mine has a wife who works at Peet’s Coffee & Tea. And she gets a free tin of coffee or tea every week or two! And yes, I was the lucky beneficiary this time!

I am very glad to have another Yunnan black around…so far, while my black tea experience is limited, I haven’t found another kind of black tea I like better. And of course, the more golden tips, the better. If you like black tea, do yourself a favor and try one from Yunnan.

My first experience with Dian Hong was from Life in Teacup (Golden Buds) then Rishi (Golden Needle). As far as this kind of tea goes, I think I’ve been ruined by those. As smooth, floral, and enjoyable as Peet’s version is, it just doesn’t compare to the others.
It isn’t as rich, spiced, or as sweet, and has a slight edge of astringency that the others did not.

Having said that, this is an excellent every-day tea and I’ll enjoy it every time. And who can complain about getting free tea?! :-)

Recently got a sample of this tea, and one of my favorite parts was that the dry leaf has a very nice roasted vanilla aroma to it.

As for the actual tea, I slightly detected marshmallow, but not really the smokiness. (Many seem to have detected it the other way around!).

I wouldn’t actually go for this to have a ‘Toasted Marshmallow’ tea, but instead a really smooth, enjoyable black tea. The Oolong definitely comes through and adds a well-rounded, nice aftertaste.
It didn’t put up well to a resteep, however (though… I may not have brewed it long enough).

I’m glad to have been able to try this, it was very enjoyable!

Found this tea from a local cafe!
Interestingly, while I’ve enjoyed flavored sencha, I haven’t enjoyed flavored houjicha as much in the past (I’ve had vanilla houjicha before, maybe others, but that’s the only one I can remember).

This begins with that familiar roasted aroma, but ends very sweet. The presence of the white chocolate seems to add some real sugar to this (though, probably not a lot). I think their description is somewhat accurate— especially in the aftertaste, the aroma and flavor are like toasted marshmallows. Pretty good.

That being said, I still think I prefer regular houjicha to this. But, Art of Tea has created a unique and enjoyable blend that, I’d guess, many would really enjoy.

Out of curiosity, this was the only tea I requested as a sample in my recent order (Thes du Japon generously throwing in 3 more!). This tea was a real surprise!

I have enjoyed Chinese green teas before, but for the most part, I prefer the effect steaming has on green teas, as opposed to pan-frying (typical Chinese method to prevent further oxidation). But, I had to try this tea, because it is so unique for a Japanese green, and must be more similar to the original teas that came over to Japan from China.

The opened (sample) pack smelled like chocolate, maybe like chocolate raspberries, and slightly earthy. The dry leaves were very similar in shape to Mellow Monk’s ‘Top Leaf’ or Den’s Tea’s ‘Guricha’ … but once they had been steeped several times, they opened up to be huge. You would never have guessed.

I was expecting the tea to be interesting, but not so delicious! The aroma is probably one of the best parts, faintly like stir-fryed snap peas, but as the description says, exactly like smell of roasting chestnuts. I knew that is a nice smell and all, but I never expected it to be so irresistible!

Finally, the flavor wasn’t (as I had been predicting) completely unlike regular sencha. No, this is definitely still a (unique) sencha. I was expecting a very Chinese-like, pan-fried, green tea. Instead, I got a nice union of the two – warming and tasty chestnuts, followed by a faint, but deliciously sweet bitterness.

I might have rated this higher, but it didn’t keep such a strong flavor or aroma for more than 2 infusions. The 3rd and 4th were still good, but didn’t have the same punch. However, I am definitely interested in trying more!

This tea is similar to Thes du Japon’s “Sayama-kaori” micro-fermented (or oxidized) sencha. However, while that tea is very much like a green oolong (losing most of its sencha characteristics), this tea is a nice balance.

As seems to be the norm with Thes du Japon, at least the teas they carry produced by Mr. Hiruma, the leaves of this one are a mix of sizes, with a good percentage being very long, beautiful needles (1" – 1.5").

I’ve brewed it for the recommended lengths of time (40s, 50s), but have found I enjoy it on the longer end (50s or 1 minute).

At first, it is refreshing, slightly astringent and earthy, its sencha-like qualities coming through. Unique and fun though, is that oolong qualities follow – a pleasant, flowery aroma.

The best part though is at the end — it leaves an intense and deliciously sweet (and flowery) aftertaste… and remains for a good while (I noticed it still present at least 10-15 minutes later).

I’m glad I chose this one, it is excellent.

So now to the first of the teas I actually bought from Thes du Japon, rather than one sent as a free sample…

Before I say anything else, I’m definitely going to have to drink more of this to really get a good idea. But, the first several cups have impressed me.

For a fukamushi—the leaves (like the other micro-oxidized sencha produced by Hiruma san I recently reviewed), were surprising. While the leaves were broken up, I’d say nearly half of them were still long, fine needles. Some as long as 1.5"!!

Brewed, the leaves looked very dark, as if they had been shaded for a little while. Perhaps this is not the case, but they did remind me of the color of brewed gyokuro.

What I also did not expect (since it was not in the tea description), was that this tea is also very slightly oxidized. This shows on the brewed leaves (and buds), as some have brown edges, or (for the buds) completely brown.

The result was a very unique fukamushi. Instead of the neon green, strong, forceful liquor, which could be considered a soup, you get a soft (not weak!), fruity, and subtle cup.
Normally, I read the words ‘soft’ and/or ‘subtle’ to mean, ‘weak’ or ‘too complicated for my palate’. But, now I think I understand what people mean when they use these words.

This tea is also similar to a green oolong/sencha cross… except instead of flowery oolong like the other Hiruma sencha, this has all the fruit-like flavors. I think my favorite time was when it came out tasting very similar to cherries, or actually, like marzipan. You may hate marzipan, but for me it was amazing. If you hate marzipan though, don’t fear, I don’t think that would be a way many would describe it.

I look forward to (God willing) many more good cups of this, and to get a better idea of what it is like. So far it is certainly not what I expected, but in a delicious way.

Thanks to Jerry Ma for the free sample!
This tea is excellent!!
This is only Grade ‘A’, but it was better (imho) than the ‘AAA’ Da Hong Pao sample…
It was deliciously fruity – strong honey and cinnamon, along with some kind of tropical fruit (not tart-, nor berry-, nor plum-, fruit like).

The cinnamon flavor was clearly present at first, but it always ended with a really good honey-like flavor, and a nice returning sweetness. I haven’t had much Wuyi Oolong before, but this was very good.

I’ve never logged this tea! It was one of the very first green teas that I ever had.
I recently bought some, because I had only had a sample of it very early on. I’ve had a cold recently, so that may have affected my opinion some . . .
However, this is a great, everyday tea. I kept thinking I wished it was slightly more roasted tasting, than umami or sweet tasting (it is none of those in a strong degree, but leans slightly more toward umami or sweet).

But anyway, it is well balanced and though not my favorite from Den’s Tea, I’d enjoy a cup of it anytime.

I had this for the first time yesterday; yet another of the free samples that Thes du Japon included in my order.

Wow! I mean, I knew from the description that it would taste or be reminiscent of an Oolong, but wow. The dry leaves filled the whole mini-package full of a flowery ali shan or tie guan yin aroma. The leaves were also very much intact, some as long as 1" (before infusion!).

I was a little intrigued by their infusion directions – 158F, 40 seconds, 3-4g per 70ml (2+oz), because it looked like they were for a fukamushi sencha. But, I heeded them.
And, this tasted just like a green oolong up front (flowery), followed by the nice refreshing bitter-sweetness of sencha.

I am very impressed… I just kept taking sips couldn’t believe this was a Japanese green tea! The fragrance and flavor were very strong and pleasant.

Interestingly, the wet leaves opened up huge to show mostly whole leaves, and many of them had a lot of browning along the edges, as a result of the withering/partial-oxidation process.

What a fun experience! This is an awesome, unique tea, and I look forward to comparing this sample, to the other micro-oxidized tea that I actually bought from them.

This came as a free (unexpected) sample, in my first order from Thes du Japon.
(Actually, they included 3x this tea, and 4 others!). I love free samples. But, I guess, who doesn’t?

Not surprisingly, this tea reminds me very much of ‘Fukamushi Sencha Yame’ from Den’s Tea. It has that familiar, slightly-roasted aroma and flavor, that I love so much. This tea is apparently light-steamed, though the leaves are more broken up than what I’ve come to expect from a typical asamushi (ie from Uji or Honyama, etc.). Anyway, perhaps it’s on the ‘deeper’ end of light-steamed teas.

The aroma continues to be strong, and very enjoyable through three steepings. As their description states, I think anyone new to green teas, who likes a strong flavor, would enjoy this. It doesn’t have any of the typical bitterness that can turn people off of green tea.

For a first impression, this is definitely a good one. So far, I like teas from Yame, the extra ‘hi ire’ that seems to be typical of their Sencha (I think that’s the word for the roasting) is unique, and I just happen to really enjoy it.

Finally drank the last of this today. Used a lot of leaf (probably slightly more than 1g/oz). The flavor had clear notes of sweet orange/citrus, and left a delicious aftertaste that lasted (I kept noticing the flavor in my mouth, even 15 – 30 minutes later, which was really a surprise).

This is an excellent shincha. I hope they offer it next year!

This is a good tea, even better iced actually.
Its easy to brew, turns out well at 170, 180, and boiling… probably other temperatures, too. It isn’t bitter (at least in my experience), but has a nice fresh, grassy, semi-sweet flavor, that’s a little astringent.

(This is definitely worth the price, though, if I was looking for a tea from Den’s at this price range, I’d probably go for Green Kukicha instead, as that is even better!).

Wasn’t I surprised by this tea?

This was the last and final tea of the gyokuro sampler from Maiko tea, that I bought when it was on sale towards the beginning of the year… otherwise, I never would have tried this, as it is just too expensive. In the sampler though, it became much more reasonable. Anyway, I simply went through each tea, from the ‘lowest quality’ (though all 5 were, according to Maiko, of exceptional quality) to now this, the supposed ‘highest quality’.

In fact, this is not just supposed to be a extremely unique and well-made tea, but it’s also entirely made by hand (instead of a machine rolling the leaves, it’s all rolled by hand).

But, to my surprise, this wasn’t my favorite of the 5.
Now, the trouble with samplers, is that you only get one shot… so if you mess up the brewing, you’ll never know. I usually think I need at least 50g before I can get a decent idea about a tea, so, this review is hardly sufficient.
Nevertheless, while this was definitely delicious, and high quality (in terms of my own experience only, which is limited), it wasn’t nearly as good as the two others from the sampler that are supposedly not quite as decadent.

Once I opened the small bag, it had a very nice, pure sweetness to the smell. The sweetness actually masked the expected marine gyokuro aroma I’ve come to expect. This was very nice, and made me look forward what I hoped would be pure, sweet, and subtle.

The first steeping was good (around 120F for 2+ minutes, 8g sample to 2oz water); there was a soft sweetness present, and I felt like there was a lot going on – macademia nuts, a hint of cherry, and definitely a salty marine/seaweed— more like stir-fried bok choy. However, instead of the tea leaving a strong sweetness in my mouth after the first cup was over, it left a strong, somewhat nutty flavor. None of the pure sweetness that I detected in the aroma. I enjoyed it, but it was strange, not what I expected from gyokuro.

I enjoyed the color of the tea, which was a pale yellow. The 2nd and 3rd steepings, (I went up to 5, but the last two were unremarkable) were decent, the 2nd similar to the first just less intense, the third finally added some of that sweetness I detected in the aroma as well. But, nothing to knock one’s socks of or to pay as much as they’re asking.

One last thing that surprised me about this tea, is that, though it is supposedly hand-rolled, it was nothing like Sugimoto America’s Temomi Shincha (that I had last year). That tea was simply perfect, whole, rolled up leaves that were not broken at all. This tea had many long leaves, but also plenty of small bits and other broken leaves. It just didn’t look like temomicha… though again, my experience is limited.

To conclude this rather long note, I’d say if you’re really splurging, go for Yamshita’s Takumi, Nomigoro, Shuppin, or Jirushi (all of these I’ve posted notes of here on Steepster)… or just go for the sampler, as it is well worth the money. As for this offering though… the jury’s still out.

I have been wanting to try this tea for quite a while (about a year).
When shincha season came up this year, and I saw that Den’s Tea was not offering it, I was disappointed… but then I discovered that one can order from their Parent Co. directly in Japan (though, it is a bit tricky to do so).
And with the help of Google translate, I saw they were selling this tea!

It has intrigued me for several reasons; first, it is a high elevation tea, and that often can mean good quality. Second, the method and care described by which the farmer, Sugiyama, goes about growing the tea was fascinating and the results just called out to be experienced. Finally, this tea is not the usual Japanese green tea cultivar, Yabukita. Instead it is ‘Zairai’ which I’ve wanted to try for some time, as well.

My first time having Zairai though, was not this tea, but Obubu (they offer a few, but their best of this cultivar is Sencha of the Earth, definitely recommend!).
Anyway, Zairai is quite interesting to me because it is actually the original tea cultivar that was brought from China (at least, if I’m remembering correctly) when tea was introduced to Japan.

This shincha has been excellent so far. The aroma of the dry leaf is especially strong and delicious. I typically enjoy the smell of dry leaf, but it is often not very pronounced until the leaves have been brewed for the first time. Not so with this tea!
It smells strongly of pine, somewhat sweet, somewhat (pleasantly) bitter—just irresistible.

I’ve managed to get three good infusions out of it each time. I might be able to get a decent fourth, but haven’t had the time to usually do so.
The tea reminds me of Sencha Zuiko (also by Den’s Tea), but it is less like fresh-baked bread, and more pine and lemon. There are probably other nuances to it that I can’t remember right now, but I’ve enjoyed every cup.

My intrigue in this tea has not been disappointed!

Thanks to Cole for the sample of this. This is the only other Sakura sencha that I’ve ever had (the first, and still favorite, being from Den’s).

The fact that this is mostly kukicha makes this fun (and different from the true sencha version of the other). The aroma is really strong and probably the best thing about this tea. The flavor of cherry is definitely present, but not overpowering… actually it’s pretty amazing that this has such a nice flavor and aroma without anything other than sakura leaves (no flavors, oils, etc.). Nothing wrong with flavoring of course, but it surprised me.

There really is nothing to not like about this tea. It is one of those things that anyone would enjoy, from those who only know tea as coming from a bag, to those who drink “the real stuff” all the time.

This is a very enjoyable, great quality fukamushi sencha, all around.
It’s isn’t quite as good as a few others I’ve had, but looking at the price O-cha asks, as others have said, it is great value. I would buy it. I’ve gotten 3 excellent steeps out of it today, and can probably get a decent 4th.

Thanks Cole for the good-sized sample!