45 Tasting Notes
Had this quirky number at a Kyoto restaurant. It seems to be quite a popular dish. I could not taste the tea in it as it was overpowered by other flavors but my guess is that the tea was oolong judging by the color and that oolong is second favorite to green tea in Japan. The taste was nice but it was mainly a mental “I am eating a tea porridge” experience than anything else.
I am not big on Chamomile but I am ending my day with this cup today since I have been staying up till 5am for the past 2 weeks and just can’t seem to get myself to bed any earlier, hoping this helps. Somehow I never really want to have Chamomile so only drink it in hopes of a quiet night or as a mix with other herbs when I am experimenting. But when I do have it the taste is unique and pleasant.
Tried Dimbula tea at Independants Cafe at Kyoto. Never heard of it before, which was a definite blessing in disguise because I don’t usually drink Ceylon black tea. I found this one tasted like a light Assam and had a whole palette of varied tastes in each sip. This has sparked my interest in trying and drinking various black teas which is going to start a whole new tea exploration chapter.
I am actually traveling in Kyoto at the moment and almost everywhere you order green tea (vending machines, restaurants, etc) you get it with toasted rice flavour. I did not like the flavour first time I had it back in Vanuatu. But here I like it a lot, not sure if it is due to tea quality or my changing tastes or probably both. Another side note is that in most Japanese restaurants you get served hot green tea free which is a nice tradition, all you have to do is ask for hotto Ocha (not matcha).
Had a Ginger Black tea (of unknown brand) recently at Falafel garden in Kyoto. Since I never used to drink much black tea I would guess it might even been my first. The flavour was subtle but still the gingery bite came through. I prefer brewing my own fresh ginger and a lot more stronger but nevertheless it was a nice new tea experience.
