Thank you to Wanja Tea for this lovely sample!
My friend Joe at Happy Lucky’s is the ‘tea guru’ who teaches classes on ‘Green Tea’, especially Japanese and Korean tea’s.
We were expecting snow a few days ago, so I made my last run to the store and took this tea by the tea house to share, knowing that around dinner time…the shop would be pretty empty.
Joe was a little surprised that I had a green tea from Kenya (his eyebrows went up!), but carefully read the instructions and followed them. (note: The tea was prepared in a Gaiwan, not in 8oz of water).
We both said, “OH!” and smiled when the top came off the Gaiwan and the scent began to waft up to our noses.
He poured the tea into a small pot, then placed the wet leaves in front of me so that I could smell the aroma.
The leaves smelled fruity and savory… like pear and buttered green beans (but not exactly).
Both of us were very surprised when we tasted the tea.
The flavor was smooth and refined, leading Joe to remark that he never would have guessed the tea was from Kenya. It was the as fine as any good Japanese tea he had tasted.
The flavor was very clean without being dry or harsh.
The savory taste developed into a gentle Umami with bitterness in the way that I desire in tea, and which makes the flavor linger.
The Bosc Pear in Butter scent was unusual and a delicious sensory balance.
There’s something special about this Green Tea that should not be overlooked! I’m not sure what it is, but the tea keeps drawing me back! This may be the best of ALL the Wanja Tea’s!
