Sencha "Tanegashima"

Back to the last few Book of Tea samples. The dry sachet for this tea has an aroma unlike any other sencha I’ve tried—it’s quite captivating and hard to describe, a complex blend of sweet and savory. The usual descriptors for sencha smells (nori, vegetal, etc) fall short here, and it’s much more inviting than that. If this tea were a perfume, I would definitely wear it.

After brewing with the recommended parameters, it comes out to a surprisingly subtle cup, with very light flavor and hue. This is one of the mildest sencha I’ve tried, which is a little bit of a letdown after the incredible aroma, but still enjoyable. There’s a certain quality to it that makes me think the leaves must have been very fresh and tender when picked.

Let me start by saying, I haven’t met a green tea I didn’t like.

I’ve been sticking with the black teas from my Lupicia Book of Teas, but I needed a break. The green tea I tried today is the Sencha “Tanegashima.”

My palate for tea isn’t strong (many of them taste the same to me) but I immediately noticed that the tea smelled milky (Lupicia notes that there is a sweet vanilla-like aroma) that transferred over mildly in texture. I can’t quite articulate the subtleties of this tea, but it left an impression.

I enjoyed this tea, and would consider buying after I go through all of my samples