Sencha Fuka-midori

This sencha is one of the loose tea samples included in Den’s Tea’s Green Tea Novice sampler. The dry leaves are lovely to look at – shiny, dark green needles of tea that have a full, savory sort of smell with hints of nuttiness. When I took the leaves out after they’d steeped they looked almost like pieces of fresh leaves that had been picked today.

The colour of the tea is a vivid lemon-yellow hue despite having a fairly short steeping time. The tea itself hovers somewhere between the grassiness of matcha and the flavour of cooked vegetables. It has a distinct savory undertone to it – I think someone else called it umami and I agree with that. There’s also a bitter tang on the end of each sip that leaves a bit of a sour aftertaste in the mouth. Nothing too horrible though, and the other attributes of the tea more or less make up for it in my opinion.

I’ve not had much experience with authentic, good-quality Japanese teas, but within my limited experience I can say that I think this is an excellent sencha and something that I might consider buying a full bag of one day.

This is the last of the sample that I got from Den’s novice sampler.

Buttery, sweet, fantastic! I wish all Sencha teas could taste as good as this!

I’m plowing my way through the Den’s Sampler. I’ve never had a Sencha before, and I’m still unsure whether or not I actually like green tea or not.

It smells like roasted and cooked vegetables. This is a medium bodied, lightly sweet tea. I’m not getting any of the bitterness that Den’s tea described. The aftertaste is very much like cooked vegetables. I think I like this best out of all the samples I’ve tried so far, but I’m still not in love with Japanese greens.

My Den’s order came today! Talk about super quick service. I reallllly want to try the matcha, but it’s too late in the evening for that. So I decided to try this out first, which came in my sampler.

This is pretty freaking great. As I’ve said a million times before, I generally don’t love green teas. But this is sweet, soft, and so soothing. There is a bitterness at the end of the sip that I don’t love – I’m not sure if I steeped too long or if that’s supposed to be there; Den’s website does mention a bitterness with this sencha.

This is the beginning and end of my sample, since I made a whole pot. Will report back on the next steep.

This is my first loose leaf from the Den’s sampler, and already the greens are growing on me. The dry leaves here are a really rich emerald green color, and the liqueur is a pretty spring green. The flavor is green, of course, but a very savory/sweet richness; a little bit umami, I’d say. There is a hint of bitterness, but just a hint, at the beginning of the aftertaste. The lingering taste is sweet and mouthwatering.

This is delicious for what it is, but I’m not sure that I like greens enough in general that I’ll be buying a larger quantity yet. I’m trying, though!

3 steeps and counting, though they only suggest 2, all around 1 minute steep times.

Den’s tea sample number three. Compared to the organic sencha of last night: these leaves look similar — feathery and delicate, but are a bit darker green. I had thought the organic sencha leaves smelled vegetal last night, but it’s interesting, compared to these they smell less vegetal and more, for lack of a better word, herbaceous. The liquor looks similar, a chartreuse color with tiny particles suspended in it. The aroma is similiarly cabbagy/spinachy/asparagussy, but more buttery and not grassy at all.

I did not get any bitterness in the taste, which was vaguely reminiscent of steamed broccoli, right when it turns that very bright green color and is still al dente. There’s a mildness that isn’t quite sweetness.

I’m not really sure which I like better, but I’m giving this one just a tiny bit higher rating because it seems to have just a tad more depth.

Yummy for breakfast, with my PB&J sammich. I actually left my packet of Sencha Fuka-Midori at a friend’s house and only recently retrieved it, so for almost a month I was drinking mostly chinese greens. Today, reunited with my tea, I was reminded why there was a time early this year when I just HAD to have my morning sencha at the office. If not, I’d get really snappy by 9:30 a.m. You do not want snappy. I have pointy objects in reach at my desk.

To be completely honest though, I can’t really tell the difference yet between this tea and my cheaper Japanese supermarket sencha. Can’t afford the premo stuff now either, which is a shame, what with Shincha season around. But for now, I love this for what it is: a good staple.

And oh crap I forgot to try this out with my banko houhin. (d’oh!) Next time.

PS. I have to make a not-so-secret confession. After my second steep I peered into my kyusu and those slices of leaves just looked so delish so I reached in a pinched me a bit and gave it a nibble. heh-heh… It’s actually not bad. But I still felt sheepish about it, for some reason. But why should I? I’ve read you can really eat the leaves anyway. So there’s nothing wrong with me, right? Right?? Gah. Joins Tea Leaf Eaters Anonymous

This one from my Den’s sampler pack; it gives me a chance to compare it to their Fukamushi sencha. The dry leaves are dark and feathery light, and exude a clean vegetal scent with an interesting top note. What is that? It’s very clean, so clean in fact it reminds me of soap!

1st steep: 180 degrees, 60 seconds. Like lots of different green vegetables all rolled up into one. I taste broccoli and spinach, slightly sweetened. Den’s tasting notes indicate a slight bitterness, but I’d go so far as to say very slight. There’s also a slick background of roastiness – one coat of paint on the walls of the room the veggies are sitting in.

2nd steep: boiling, 15 seconds. It’s amazing how far these leaves transform themselves during the short second steep. They are now bright green and easy to make out as large pieces of torn up tea leaves. Beautiful! The aroma is great – I want to put butter on that scent and serve it up with brown rice. The taste: much more pronounced astringency this time, sweetness toned down, vegetables still very much present.

I like this tea, slightly more than their Fukamushi.

Steepster’s seems a tad quiet on Christmas Eve :D Catching a quick break as this Sencha deserves a taste log. I’ve finally found a non Adagio Sencha that has flavor! Yay! When the leaves first brewed up it was a bright emerald green type of color. Slowly it turned into a dark green. The taste was bitter / sweet. It’s been a while since I could taste Sencha. I think I might have used more than 1 teaspoon though and definitely brewed more than 30 seconds. I usually wing it, but minutes are easier to wing than seconds. It’s a delightful cup of tea and Den’s Tea has yet to disappoint.

This is the first tea I’ve ever tried from Den’s Tea! I bought the Green Tea Sampler for novices, a really cute kokoro (kyusu) teapot, and the sakura sencha gift set. I must say, I am so impressed with this sencha fuka-midori. ! I steeped it according to Den’s recommended brewing instructions. Delicious! I steeped it twice and shared it with my boyfriend, who is starting to like greens!

A great way to enjoy the mornings. There is enough in the sampler to make 2-3 pots!

My first taste of Sencha and I really enjoy it. I have to say it is unlike any other flavor I have had with a tea. I am looking forward to trying other Japanese green teas from Den’s Tea. The best $3 I have spent in 2010. Can’t beat this sampler pack.

The leaves are a deep dark green. It brews into a pale green liquid with floating sencha dust that smells delightfully nutty and has a light sweet taste.

I got this from Den’s sampler pack when I went to buy some green tea for my mom. I only chose Den’s because it happens to be a few blocks away from my house, so I can just go pick up my orders instead of waiting for shipping. I was really happy to find out that the tea is quite good!

I brewed this with only 3 oz of water, like Den suggests. Such a small cup of tea, but I like the strong taste. It’s just the right amount of bitter, with a bit of that sweet vegetal taste that green tea has. I find it very refreshing. A yummy way to start the day.

YAY! My Den’s sampler came yesterday! Unfortunately, the first tea I tried (this one) was expressly the type of green tea I DON’T like. :( It just tastes too vegetal for me, with some bitterness I’m not a fan of. I can tell, though, that this is high quality stuff. It’s just not the type I like.

Oh well. On to the next cup!

Extremely fine, dark leaves on this one. Has a very nice, subtle vegetal taste. Definitely a good quality Sencha. Fairly complex as well. Has a strange, and oddly familiar aroma that reminds me of something unrelated to tea. Not an overload of sea-weed taste, has a deep sweetness to it that’s hard to describe.