Garden Bancha

I came down with a nasty bout of the flu and was out of it for a few days which is why you didn’t see me on here much. I didn’t really even have the strength to make myself a pot of tea, much less sit in front of the computer. And one thing I learned is that I know I’m REALLY sick if I don’t even have the strength to make a pot of tea! Last night, I brewed a pot and it tasted perfect, so I suspect that my taste buds are working fine now though. I’ll have to backlog a few different tea experiences in a bit, but for now, I thought I’d enjoy a cup of Garden Bancha and write about it as I sip it.

This is really quite nice. It starts out really mellow. Almost too mellow, because it got me to question my taste buds ability again. But after a few sips, the tea became more focused, although it is still quite mild.

It has a strong vegetal quality to it in both its flavor and its scent. Earthy. It is light to medium bodied, with a bit of dry astringency toward the tail of the sip. It is a little sweet and a little savory. Very enjoyable.

I guess I won’t rate this yet. I should try a fresh brew and see if I like it better. It just does not seem like anything special to me yet I see others rating it so high I feel I am missing something. I am not saying I can’t find the flavor notes they mention as much as it just is not that impressive to me.

Smells like leafy greens (near Spinach) and Chinese Food (maybe Rice Dishes) post infusion. This tastes REALLY NICE! Very “filling” sweet and slightly vegetal and earthy…but green-earthy not woodsy or muddy type earthy. LOL

YUM! Fairly Thirst-Quenching, too! This is darned dandy!

This is my first time drinking a plain Bancha, all others I’ve had are flavored, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I open the bag and smell a sweet vegetal tea with a floral hint. I apologize for being vague, but I can’t say exactly what the vegetal or floral notes were. The leaves were a darker green and flat and there were stems mixed in the bag as well. Wet the leaves smelled of cooked spinach with some of the floral notes and a sweetness.

The taste is surprising to me, this is probably because I’ve never had Bancha before. But I’m tasting sencha notes, the sweet, savory, smooth notes of sencha, just not as prominent. There’s a lightly roasted note, a hint of woodiness, and that floral notes that I can’t pinpoint what it is.

As the tea cools the roasted, woody notes become stronger and the sweet, savory notes mellow out more. The aftertaste contains more of the floral notes with some sweetness and a slight astringency. Overall I’m enjoying this tea, not something I would drink everyday, I still prefer sencha over this, but not bad at all. Perhaps I’ll develop more of a taste for this as I drink more.

There is a pleasant vegital aroma after steeping the tea. There is a slight sweetness in the taste that I can’t quite place, but it isn’t overbearing making for a nice balance with the grassy flavor. It is also light on the drying astringency which some teas have.

See TeaEqualsBliss’ review. Spot on ;)