Den's Tea

This is another tea I just don’t love as much as everyone else does. I was excited to try it after reading all the rave reviews. Plus, I had no idea what to expect – I’d never had sakura-flavored anything before – and I enjoy trying new and (to me) unusual flavors.

As others have mentioned, this is an absolutely gorgeous tea. And the flavor is perfectly pleasant. The sencha dominates, and it’s quite vegetal. Depending on how the tea is prepared, the cherry blossom can come through reasonably well or hardly at all – more on this below. The cherry blossom flavor, when present, is light and sweet, a combination of fruit and floral (although I find it veers more toward the floral side of things). It’s nothing like cherries, or like cherry flavoring. It tastes quite natural. It’s by no means bad, although it’s not as mind-blowing as I’d expected it to be. I thought it would be more strongly floral, and perhaps less sweet – more along the lines of a jasmine or elderflower, both of which are floral flavors I adore in teas.

I feel like I’d probably enjoy the sencha base more on its own, minus the cherry blossom flavoring. In addition to the qualms voiced in the paragraph above, I’m just not sure I like the combination of vegetal green teas and fruity/floral/sweet flavors. I like to keep sweet and salty/savory flavors separate when it comes to food, so I suppose it’s not surprising that my preferences on this carry over to tea.

I’ve tried preparing this tea several different ways. The first time I made it, I followed the instructions Den’s provides. Subsequently, I’ve made many cups’ worth of this tea western style; I’ve also tried it as a cold brew (my first!). I think my least favorite of the three methods was, surprisingly, the official one. This is partly due to my bias toward quick and easy tea preparation – I like to keep tea relaxing, and all the timing and measuring involved in gongfu brewing just doesn’t do that for me. But it’s also partly due to the differing flavor profiles – I found that the western and cold brews both gave me stronger flavors (in terms of both the sencha and the cherry blossom) than did the official method, and I like strong flavors. I found the western hot brew (which I drink hot) and the cold brew (drunk cold, obviously) to taste pretty similar, although I haven’t done a side-by-side comparison.

No notes yet.

Man, this one is hella good cold! I’m definitely going to end up finishing my pouch this summer iced :)

No notes yet.

Finally making this tea properly with my new variable temp kettle! Deeeelish! I still prefer it a little weaker than the package directions. 2tsp in 8oz at 160.

I got the little packet sample with my last order from Den’s Tea. It sounded so healthy I was worried it’d taste horrible lol, but it’s ok. It just tastes like mild seaweed. I may have used too much water, also the water was room temperature and neither hot or cold. Having things in it to suppress histamines, this might be a good present for my mom since she has pretty bad allergies at times. Wonder if it would help me when the vog is strong and I suffer with itchy eyes and runny nose? The little packet is the perfect size to carry around. Also, no clumps. When I plopped the whole thing in the bottle, there were clumpy bits so I thought it’d be like when i didn’t sift and my matcha has clumps and stick that way even when shaken but the benefuki powder dissolved really nicely. Not even a chalky texture at all while drinking.

This was much lighter in flavor than I expected. No bitterness, and it’s really smooth. Some sweetness, not overly grassy. The brewed tea is murky, and a few bits escaped the tea bag but that’s fine with me. I would have preferred a little more flavor, but overall it’s a good green tea! Especially for a bagged one!

This is wonderful; light and sweet, with a very natural pineapple flavor. I drank it hot this morning but cannot wait to have it iced this weekend.

This came as part of my sampler and for some reason I was a little afraid of it. For some reason I thought it would have a strong, funky flavor (I knew from others’ notes that this was not the case but my brain was refusing to believe it).

But my brain was wrong and Steepsterites were right. It’s like a more mellow genmaicha; less green tea-ness and more roasty-toastyness. But not in a ricey way; this roastiness has another layer of flavor, almost a creaminess. I’m quite enjoying this and can see myself purchasing it as a relaxing tea after a meal or in the evening. I’m glad I finally put my reservations aside and gave it a try. But now I’m also sad that there’s no more!

First time trying Houjicha and I am enjoying it very much. I like roasty teas. This also has some sweetness. It’s actually reminding me of ginseng oolong a little bit. I haven’t had that tea for a while in my steeper, so I don’t think there’s any lingering flavor that’s causing it. But it has the same seaweedy sweetness that I like.
I brewed this as suggested; heaping teaspoon, boiling water, 30 seconds. Yummm!

I can see why this is Den’s best selling Sencha. It’s sweet, vegetal, and not too bitter or astringent (when brewed according to Den’s instructions). I absolutely love a good green tea, but I’ve had trouble working with Sencha in the past. It’s so easy to over steep or to steep with the wrong temperature. Even following guidelines have given me mediocre results in the past. This one has a very slight bitterness, but it is a welcome addition to the sweetness. My husband really likes it too :)

ETA: This tea does leave a lot of powdered debris in my cup with lend to more bitterness as I near the bottom. It seems that Dens has a thing for powdery greens.

Quiet, but happy midnight. Sleepy, but not tired; a bit sick, but with good humor. Needing a reliable tea to tie this all together. Genmaicha is such a solid companion of a tea, and this matcha-iri version of it is just as reliable, but more light-hearted. Just as easy to brew, easy to drink, so aromatic, full and true in scent, flavorful but uncomplicated, and so delicious. Also, that cute, cheerful neon color that I really enjoy seeing in my green-tea cups. Instant mood elevator. Going up?

Tonight’s two cups are light; the toasty, slightly sweet, and marine profile of stronger brews manifests as steamed, lightly salted veggies here. Definitely carrot this time, somehow. Raw carrot with the first, short steep, grilled carrot on the prolonged, second steep. Strange, but it does make some sense – both have a bit of salt, a bit of earthy sweetness, and a whole lot of bright, full flavor.

Although I like traditional genmaicha, the matcha here makes it so cute, and keeps it tasting more fresh and upbeat! I may switch to normal genmaicha when it gets cold again, since it settles and warms more, but for these months, a brightened matcha-iri genmaicha seems much more appealing. And now, I’ve been both refreshed and comforted by the scent and flavor of this tea – still ready to sleep, but more ‘relaxed’ than ‘drowsy’, and more cheerful about the world. Genmaicha really has a lot of influence on me, apparently…

I don’t often drink green teas, but I have a fondness for Senchas, especially these first flush ones from Den’s tea. The broth looks like lemon-lime Gatorade and smells like fresh grass, Miso and seaweed. I probably brewed this a little hot; nonetheless, this is such a pure, essential tea, so reminiscent of the terroir from which it springs; drinking it is akin to hauling oysters out of the cold Gulf of Maine, shucking them and pouring the icy cold meat down your throat. There are some elemental tastes that should never be diluted. This tremendously fresh and energizing tea is one of them.

^{Crisp, cool air past midnight, and a barely imperfect white half-moon. It takes the most special of mundane moments to inspire this tea; I can’t seem to brew it on a whim. I can’t seem to brew it perfectly either, or so it feels, since this tea is so lovely that I’m certain these hands are doing something wrong.}

Both dry and wet, the tea blend feels alive, vivid green and gentle pink, very soft, and natural in scent. While other profiles might be more cohesive and focused, making a strong statement, this tea paints a whole picture with careful details, it feels. The notes are everywhere – cherry scent, but cherry fruit, but cherry blossom, and fresh tea, but steamed tea, and sweet tea, but bitter – all without being overwhelming, without confusion.

It really does best with very short, careful infusions and a slight overleaf; it develops dryness very easily, and loses precious complexity and completeness with even slight error. Such sensitivity can be a bit frustrating, but the quality is evident even through an imperfect brew, and inspires the pursuit of better (‘less bad’?) tea technique to coax even more from the leaves…

^{Night ends like this, beautiful white near-half moon is still just a big rock in space, lovely spring cherry blossom tea is still just flavored leaf juice. Another mundane night, but just a bit special enough to tide us over till morning.}

My first cold steep! I put 1 tablespoon of leaves in 2 cups water in a mason jar in the fridge over night and took out the leaves and drank it with my lunch today. Tasty!!!!

No notes yet.

Pleasant day brings pleasant tea.
This was a good teabag – it steeped well, and had full taste. It’s more toasty and more like regular genmaicha than the loose leaf version. There wasn’t the same bright, cheery character of the loose leaf, which is not too surprising, but still notable, since I found myself looking for that resemblance.

Overall, good bagged tea, perhaps a little too mild or underleafed for a convenience tea, but satisfying and still recognizably genmaicha.

Yay, genmaicha! I’m trying this using one of the filters they provided in my sample kit, which is très convenient because the matcha isn’t settling to the bottom of my mug.

The bright green colour of the dry leaf is lovely. Looks and smells fresh.

The addition of matcha here makes this a little more vegetal, and maybe a touch sweeter too. The rice is as toasty as ever, which balances out that extra green vegetal vibe.

Very well done, Den’s Tea. Although I’ll admit that I’m old-fashioned and still prefer my genmaicha on the toastier side.

Today was a day on the go! I usually carry a teabag or two, and today I finally opted to use this one from Den’s Sampler for a fresh lunch.

This is lighter than expected, and surprisingly soft. No dryness or bitterness whatsoever. It’s a bit more like a generic grocery ryokucha, than sencha in particular, since it’s not especially buttery, or seaweedy, or grassy, or minerally… It’s a just light, clean green tea. At least it resteeps well, and doesn’t overbrew easily!

I’d have liked it to have a bit more character, just so that it’d have something memorable to seek out again. There’s nothing wrong with it, and it really is nice, but there’s also nothing that makes it stand out from any other half-decent grocery tea bag that would warrant a repurchase. Actually, other half-decent grocery green tea bags are probably a bit stronger, which I’d prefer from an on-the-go tea that might be subjected to restaurants and such…

After some playing around, I got the right taste ( thanks Stephanie and moraiwe) and I do like it very much. It is nutty and slightly sweet, although it has that distinctly japanese green mouthfeel/taste that is not my favorite, although not a bad thing either (is it the astringency?). I think I will have to keep on having this one, but it’s definitely a grower.

Well, I guess I will add to the rave reviews of this tea. It is perfectly balanced, and the pineapple taste is so perfect. It is the best iced tea I’ve had!

I got this as a sample with my Shincha, and was pleasantly surprised with it! It’s not a super lively green tea (think fireplaces and snowflakes), but it has a fair amount of natural sweetness and a nice hay-like flavor. I’m actually curious about cold water and allergy easing potential here. Probably enough to snag some on my next order.

I love genmaïcha. This one is very tasty, but I feel like the added matcha doesn’t add as much flavour as I was expecting. I’d have to compare it side by side with a “normal” genmaïcha. Still, I like it a lot and it has a balanced flavour between the green tea and the toasted rice.

The matcha gives this genmaicha a little kick! I did not see any popcorn in my bag, just popped rice. I of course could not taste it either. The roasted rice had a nice flavor, though.

After my disappointing tea this morning I was looking for something a little simpler and with quieter flavors. My Tower of London made the whole room smell like cherries, which I actually did not enjoy. The smell was a little like artificial candy or cough syrup. I wanted something green and nice after that!

This was a good tea. I think perhaps I steeped it too long, but it did not seem to matter. Still delicious and roasty! Yum, just right on this chilly morning.