Matsuda's Sencha

I’ve never had a Japanese green that I didn’t like….until this one. Although I guess since I typically DO like sencha, I still like all Japanese greens.
The smell of this tea was so promising – nutty and sweet, not at all grassy. After brewing, however, I was a bit confused. The wet leaves had swollen up a lot and were sticking together like a clump of wet grass. The tea was very cloudy and murky. There was also a very distinctive grassy scent along with the sweet scent from the dry tea. The tea tasted like sweet grass and not in a good way at all.
Now, I don’t typically think Japanese greens taste overly grassy, I actually usually enjoy the grassy aspect, but this one was way overdone. I was able to make it through 4 sips before dumping both the tea and the leaves in my infuser. I’m a bit disappointed and now I have a very strong grass aftertaste lingering. On to more tea!

I love this tea! The dark green blades open up to slick leaves with stems, and the pale green liquor is very attractive. The fragrance is sublime, for those who love strong, fresh, vegetal aromas. There’s even a popcorn-like background scent to the freshly-poured cup, which is the roasted “nori” that Harney detects. I like this tea as it cools as well. I steeped the first cup for about one minute. The second, about three minutes, which was probably a minute too long as it was slightly bitter (but not ruined).

Matsua’s Sencha is a truly sublime sencha experience. However, this tea is quite fussy, and easy to brew wrong. When brewed at a correct temperature and time, a beautiful balance of sweet and vegetal will enchant the taste buds.
-RA