Lupicia
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Last of this one (still attempting to finish of drips and drabs – go me!)
Super lazy – used a steeping ball in my tea pot so I could make two cups of this without having to worry about a slow pour making it bitter. Go steeping ball. Yeah, I feel a bit like a loser when I use it but hey, it worked well so I’m going with it.
For being so freakin’ old, this tea’s still pretty decent. Good mouth feel, nice full(ish) flavor. Still don’t get sweet potato out of it.
9.5g/18oz
Preparation
Good, very grassy, sweet. Not as buttery/creamy as the Imari nor with the same mouth-feel but still good. Still has a great fresh taste which is surprising since it’s best by date was in July. (Oops). Don’t think I get any sweet potato taste out of it though. If pushed I might say the taste I get when I hold it in my mouth is raw sweet potato but I don’t think anyone would ever drink this and good “mmm, sweet potato”. Though they might go “mmm, grass clippings”. But you know, good grass clippings.
Preparation
I don’t really know the differences between the types of sencha. I know of them and I’ve had ones from the different types. But I can’t look at a tea and go “Oh, because of the leaf shape and color and size in addition to the color and clarity of the liquid, I can tell this sencha is…” Yeah. Can’t do that. Pretty much all I know is that deeper steamed senchas have smaller pieces and thus clog my filter more easily and that I typically like those senchas because they are sweeter.
I do know that this is my least favorite of the three Lupicia teas I have in my pantry. However this is the one that I’ve managed to go through first. How did that happen?
There’s a tarter taste on the front end of this and the body isn’t as thick, sweet and fuzzy as I tend to like in senchas. Also, there is a tiny bit of astringency towards the end of this but not so much that it feels bitter or drying. But it’s there. And I’m kind of a wuss when it comes to things like that.
But it still smells so rich and buttery when I toss the leaves into a preheated pot and that makes me very happy. So very happy. Seriously worth it just for that.
I think I’m going to have to do some exploring of the different types of senchas this upcoming year, learn more about ID’ing sencha types. Can I make that a new year’s resolution?
Preparation
A Taiwanese Winter oolong from Mingjian. pretty good quality.
The name is very well-suited – When brewed right, has a very light oolong flavor, and a creamy taste, almost as if you actually added milk to the tea. That might sound a bit off-putting, as Oolong isn’t really a tea that one would put milk in, but it’s a very well-balanced nuance to the taste. Great for mellow moments, and I’m sure an interesting experience to treat a guest to.
Used my last bag today—I will definitely be repurchasing this! For some reason, every time I brew this, I think “coffee” when I first smell it. That’s odd because A) I hate coffee, and even the smell of it makes me kind of sick, but Cookie still smells wonderful and B) there’s nothing even remotely coffee-like in it so that doesn’t even make sense. Maybe it’s a strange association I’m making with something in the tea.
Anyway, once again I forgot to add milk (since I never use it in my tea) but I bet Cookie would be even better with just a little milk added. The last cup was just as good as the other 9 were—his is one of my favourite blends! Very different from anything else I own.
