Sencha

This is the flavour I always associated with “green tea”… and the reason I never really enjoyed it much. For awhile there I was thinking, hey green tea isn’t so bad, it must have been the jasmine that was throwing me off! but no, now I remember… it’s the plain sencha’s that threw me off. I’ll try the genmaicha later and see if that fares any better.
Overall, the quality is not terrible, but it certainly does not appeal to me in any way except for when it cools and there is a sweet, yet incredibly tart finish. The nuttiness that emerges just prior is nice as well, but needs to be stronger for any lasting impression to form.
Otherwise, it leaves me mildly nauseous and craving that added complexity I so love in other teas. I could see this one being served in a restaurant- bland enough to go with most any food.
So: Points for the acceptable quality leaf, and surprising finish (but only half because it’s absent when hot) and points for nutty flavour (but half because it lacks any punch) BUT negative points for nausea and a generally boring profile.
I will not be purchasing this again.

I’m still a little inexperienced with sencha varieties, so I don’t exactly know what to look for … but compared to the Oren’s Daily Roast Sencha I tried recently, this is a little yellower and a little lighter. Very nice sweet, pale flavor, but not as nutty as the O.D.R. Good for afternoon when you just need something a little warm and pleasant.

One thing I may never understand about tea is that smell never seems to equal taste. For example, I was in Teaopia and I smelled some of their Jasmine tea and it hit me like a shot of heroin, or at least similar to what I expect that to feel like. When I smell a quality Jasmine tea that I haven’t had in a while I am instantly in love. But here is the problem, when the tea is actually brewed it’s taste seems to degrade after every sip. Eventually it becomes tiring and almost like a bitter tasting perfume when drank and I realize it will take me at least a year to drink the mere 50 grams which is the minimum that they make you buy.

Point is, plain Sencha probably has the least inspiring scent out of all the teas teaopia has to offer. The dry smell is “meh”, the wet smell is still “meh”, but when I actually taste it I have no problem drinking 4 litres at a time. I actually expected to like the Temple of Heaven Gunpowder more than the Sencha, since it smells very rich dry and it does happen to cost a bit more, but no. While the gunpowder in no way tastes bad, it also seems to taste very flat, boring, and ordinary. Japinesse style is the way to go. Especially if you like a savory brew like genmaicha or tarry lapsang souchong as opposed to a tea that would be good with sugar added. Pu-erh is also terrible with sweetener added, but I guess the person who made the sample pot in the store doesn’t think so.

This might be unusual but I like to tier my steeping time and temperature quite a bit when making this tea. This way the last steep is always the best and the first steep is cold enough to drink right away.
-1st steep: 2 min at 55 Celsius
- 2nd steep: 3 min at 65 Celsius
- 3rd steep: 4 min at 75 Celsius
- 4th steep: 10 min at 85 Celsius

I really enjoyed the smell of the leaves in the tin, although I was a little surprised by the slightly sweet scent I got. As a straight green tea, I wasn’t expecting sweet.

Good thing since there isn’t a hint of sweet once the leaves are steeped. the wet leaves have lost most of their scent and the tea is hardly scented at all which is fine.

I primarily drink flavored teas so rating and describing this one is a little harder to do. I would drink it again, absolutely. Just maybe not on a Friday morning. Maybe it’s more of a Monday morning, “Oh God, there’s so much week left!” tea.

It does have a nice, delicate flavor. It isn’t overpowering or bitter. I’m ok with it, but not wowed.

Aroma: Bright, Grassy
Liquor: Pale Yellow/Green – Like Olive Oil
Flavour: Vegetal, Robust
Steeped Leafs: Expanded nicely, not uniform (brewed leafs different sizes, flaky), weak smell

Comments: Please Note: This is my first loose leaf tea tasting while taking notes. I found the flavour not too strong or too weak. This is a good Green Tea for everday drinking. Would recommend this as an afternoon tea.