Japan Houjicha-"Roasted Tea"

I drink tea, I buy tea, I drink tea, I buy tea!

My previous review found me sitting at the tea bar at Happy Lucky’s Tea House having a pot of Taiwanese Ruby 18 and chatting away with Sam about a particular Assam/Oolong blend that I was drinking.
How we began talking about Green Tea (which I rarely drink) I DO NOT KNOW! But, somehow or another I left the shop with an ounce of Green Tea! All I had to do is smell it once and I was hooked. (The look in Sam’s eye was a knowing look… as though he knew this would be irresistable). (I think I was mesmerized by Sam’s purple Cambodian shirt!)

I left the house in the first place to mail tea samples to a couple people (hey!) and get some groceries. By the time I came home through the fire produced fog, I was wanting more tea. (the smoke makes me really thirsty!) This was my tea choice.

Sam said this was a toasted but sweet Green Tea from Japan.
The dry leaf smelled like Sesame Oil. It smelled just like that and like dry seaweed.
I steeped the leaves 3 minutes…the wet brew smelling very salty like a salted fish but not fishy. (that makes no sense except that fresh fish never smells fishy!)

The pale amber liquor was sweet and light with a toasted flavor on the sesame seed side with a fuzzy mouthfeel. No astringency or bitterness. Very light. This tea is a bit salty. I added some sweetening to heighten the contrast between the sweet and salty and loved that the best. There is juice and enough body to enjoy along with edamame, light Asian salad, stir fry veggies or rice dishes. (I’ve got an idea to steam some vegetables with this!)

This tea is a nice change from my usual Black Tea’s, Pu-erhs and Oolongs!
Very good and tasty!

Sample from Bonnie. Thank you.

The dry leaf smells of sesame oil. The tea tastes of sesame. Although light, it has a very round flavour that is silky in the mouth and pleasant. I suspect this is a tea that I need to be in the right mood for. Still, I am enjoying this pot of it and shall no doubt enjoy the next pot too. Thank you, Bonnie.

Thanks to Bonnie for this sample ;)

This tea had a very light smokiness that was very mild with a very silky mouth feel. It was very easy to drink..in a comforting and familiar way!! The very light roasted flavors, reminded me A lot of roasted sesame seeds!! A pleasant tea to be infused at any time of the day ;)

Song Pairing “Seashell” By Skylab http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhIN-4NXFXA

Whoa- I love this stuff! I’m a big fan of Dragonwell, so I was intrigued with this roasted tea sent to me by Bonnie. Now I want MORE- and was disappointed to find that Happy Lucky’s is apparently all brick-and-mortar, no online sales. Drats. I will definitely be looking for Japanese roasted greens to try now. I love the strong steeping aroma, which reminds me of a forest during a rain, dense with humidity. The roasted quality is what I really relish, but I don’t have the vocabulary to describe the dimension it adds to this tea. I truly look forward to stocking my shelves with this wonderful addition.

Thank you Bonnie for this sample!

The tea sample in the baggie smelled good.
This is a watery roasted tea.
The tea tasted and looked like like a watered down coca-cola.
I was very light.
I tried it plain, no milk or sugar.
I drank it before bed.
I made a small pot and used the entire sample.

I googled “happy luckys tea house”
and got:
http://www.happyluckys.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/happy-luckys-teahouse-and-treasures-fort-collins

Overall: Light tea, tastes like roasted “water”, good for sleep
watery, kind of a dud.

Pros: I would like to check out the Happy Luck’s Tea house if I ever go to Colorado.