Review of Sencha Shinrikyu’s The Tao of Tea sampler
This sampler arrived in a round tin disc like a Petri dish. Upon opening this sampler I could not help but take of the smell, which is like fresh milk and honey hovering in the air and lingering on my fingertips through out the day. This is a very nice smell indeed.
The leaves are finely chopped (resembling very minute straw flakes). The leaves are bitter and crunchy. I placed two teaspoons in the cup and poured the boiling water into the cup. I like all tea steeped (boiled) very hot. In smelling the tin with the leaves inside, I can’t help in recalling the smell of freshly cut grass; moistened-dew after a rainfall.
1st steep of this tea is strongest with a prevailing vegetal quality. Its flavor is slightly bitter and the color a rich liquorish brown.
2nd steep of this tea is lighter in color, feigning to light brownish tan and one can start to appreciate that milky dew trace of the cut grass in the texturing of this drink.
3rd steep is very similar to previous steep; the color is lighter still since adding hot water is diluting the tonal notes and strength. The leaves at bottom of the cup are loose not full leaves and the coloring is light greenish in color.
Adjectives in describing the quality/tone of this tea would be: Delicate, slightly sweet within 2nd and 3rd steeps. Overall it is a calm tea for contentedness during a lazy, rainy or hazy day. It is a cup of goodness with calming qualities.
I have had Sencha Green tea in tea bags and now I can truly appreciate the texturing layers in the notes as loose-leaf tea in this Sencha Shinrikyu from the Tao of Tea sold at Lelia’s Tea Ware whose motto: Pure Enjoyment!
