Joshua Smith

Joshua Smith drank Ilam Sencha by Nepali Tea Traders

Once more, a sample from the amazing Nepali Tea Traders!

I opened the bag, and it smeels almost exctly like a sencha, but there is something that makes it stand apart that I just can’t quite put my finger on…regardless the aroma is pleasantly grassy and very fresh, both of which suggest a very nice tea. I put this in my teapot, and steeped it with fooler water for 20 second, since I’m not familiar with the tea, and it’s better to be safe than sorry with green tea in general. The result is amazingly sweet, with a hint of grass thrown in to really make it taste authentic. The thing that really stands out is that the smooth texture and slight mineral flavor that I’m geting out of this tea. It’s a very nice addition to what I normally get out of a sencha, and I can’t wait to see what else this tea has to offer.

The much-delayed second infusion was steeded for 15 secodns at a bit of a warmer temperature than the first. The results has a bit more astringency, but still retains all of the sweetness to balance it out, resulting in a vey pleasant cup of tea. There’s an intereesting almost-metalic aftertaste that lingers on the roof of my mouth for over a minute as well, and I’m really pleased by this development. This tea seems to get better and better.

2013-02-15 14:19:54 -0500

175 °F / 79 °C

0 min 15 sec

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Bonnie 2013-02-15 15:01:39 -0500

I talked to George (the owner of Happy Lucky’s) and he said that all the rules about timing from Nepali didn’t seem to work, so they threw them out and tried different times finding that some of the green tea’s that were bitter at first were fantastic when the time was lowered. Playing with time on these tea’s and noting them in reviews will help the next person since this is a new company.

Amy oh 2013-02-15 15:16:12 -0500

oooh, I might need to order some of these. :)

Joshua Smith 2013-02-15 16:11:38 -0500

I agree with Goerge, the timings don’t work at all. I wold never steep green tea for 2-3 minutes, that would make it fairly bitter, unless you use lukewarm water.

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Bio

I am a university student, studying Computer Science, who found that I really enjoy a nice cup of tea. I finally got into loose-leaf tea in August of 2011. I am currently in the process of expanding my horizons, and have found that I have a particular fondness for Oolongs in general, and Wuyi Yanchas in particular. The unique mineral taste is very appealing to me, as well as a nice Sencha. More recently, I’ve developed a taste for Sheng puerh, white tea, and black teas. The only things I’ve tried that I didn’t like was Shu puerh, but that might have been because it was quite young. Regardless, I’ve been slowly expanding my horizons, so if you have any recommendations, please feel free to send me a PM.

I’m working at a tech internship right now, so my free time is a bit limited. Expect infrequent notes for the rest of the summer.

Just for the heck of it, my other interests include classical musics (Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Debussy, Shostakovitch, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, and Wagner, to name a few composers). I also have a fondness for a bit more modern music, like The Beatles, all Jazz (by all, I really do mean all), Gorillaz (I love Demon Days), and a couple of Indie artists you will never run across unless you play a lot of semi obscure Indie games. Also, I love cats. When I can afford to have a pet (and when I live on my own…), I want to get an Abyssinian. That, or a Korat (but this is unlikely). Or an Egyptian Mau. I’ll narrow it down at some point…