Thai Nguyen Green Tea from Vietnam

Tea Swap Session/Sipdown

I oftentimes enjoy anything given through a tea swap, even when I don’t. The fact that someone has taken the time to swap their stash with me is a humbling experience. I always do everything to appreciate the tea at hand and review it fairly, as well as boost the score slightly, on their account. Ha-ha. However, I cannot do that with this tea, and for that, I apologize…

Firstly, the dry leaf had an odd punch to it. It had the average vegetal notes to it, but there was a bitterness in the leaf itself. I had shrugged that off, assuming that it was a part my imagination; however, once the leaf was wet, I definitely could smell a bitterness/sourness in the leaf.

Secondly, with those notes jumping in on the nose from the dry & wet leaf, I continued on with the session. I made a note stating that “the smell of the leaf can sometimes not carry on into the flavor.” I, of course, was wrong with the assessment. There was a instant bitterness in the mouth, following with a sour “rice & seaweed combo” which wasn’t pleasant. I figured at first that the temperature of the water might’ve had an effect on the tea (170 F), however, it may have been the tea itself. Either way, I didn’t like this one…One bad tea out of few isn’t the end of the journey for me; so, I shall carry onto the next session shortly.