David's Green Tea Private Reserve

I’m not too sure about the “this green tea will never taste bitter” part…. I should have listened to the steeping instructions and stuck with one minute, but I went with two instead and boy was this incredibly strong and bitter. Nothing a bit of water couldn’t remedy.

Four infusions later later, it was still fairly delicious. It’s a pretty good green, but nothing really stood out to me aside from the initial whiff/sip. Vegetal taste and a burst of floral sweetness. The flavors weren’t as strong afterwards, but that may have been due to the fact that I became accustomed to the flavors.

Thanks to these damp tea leaves, I now understand the proper meaning of “vegetal.” I won’t confirm whether this is positive or negative…

Anyway. This tea is pretty tasty. Lately I’ve been trying to branch out from greens, because it was all I drank when I learned of proper tea, but it’s my fallback. So when I requested a free sample from Chicago Tea Garden, I went with the green. I can’t resist it.

Good choice, though. This steeps up practically clear and has a light taste. I tend to oversteep my greens, but it’s no big deal with this one. Despite the ridiculous amount of green tea I have in my cupboard, I would buy this one, too. It has a complex fragrance, like a hint or roasted nuts or something beneath the tea. It’s quite fun.

Slight green, mostly straw colored with a nutty aroma and taste. Very nice.

I followed the steeping/resteeping suggestions: 1 tsp./6oz. 1. 1 min.—very pale greeny-yellow tea. Sweet aroma with undernote of something more toasty, almost roasted spice. Light flavor with starchy finish. Wet leaves smelled like almond cookies. 2. 1 min—something in the aroma I can’t quite identify, cardamom-like maybe. Not overly vegetal but in a good way. 3. 1 1/2 min.—very light flavor with a glaze of sweet spice. 4. 1 3/4 min.—floral aroma!! Starchy with a hint of sweetness.

Overall, I found this one of the most interesting, complex green teas I have tried. I liked the spicy surprises and the fact that the vegetal notes were there but subdued to allow other elements to come forward. I want more of this tea!