TGFOP Tea Reviews (c) Silverneedles est.2005

ItoEn Flagship Store. $6/oz = 72/lb.

second ‘real’ sencha straight from sencha mother’s tit, 1st was Kawane.

dry leaf: low smell. leaf seems smaller cut than Kawane. picture is of the entire 1oz, it looks small but leaf has small volume and so occupies less space in threeDee thus not disturbing the time space continuum… right? right.

this one is a fukamushi cha: its deep-steamed (longer), loose leaf is finer, infusion is cloudy.

infusion: ~1.5min in 4oz @ 130F (they say 1tsp 6oz 176F, i’ll try that later)

liquor: dark green and cloudy (with lots of floating thingys.)

taste:
interesting, green vegetal different than kawane, i like this one, has a little flavor similar to “egg” flavor (as in this oolong huang jin gui), cant say any astringency? …
2nd infusion has a sweet aftertaste.
3rd infusion watery.

overall: i like this one. seems similar experience to the Sencha from Zhong Guo Cha, but don’t remember that having sweet aftertaste.

ItoEn Flagship Store, $5.5/lb = $66/lb

first ‘real’ sencha straight from sencha mother’s tit. i say ‘real’ since its from a Japanese company who just shipped it directly from the Japanese tea growing fields. heres #2: Sencha Megami

dry leaf: aroma sweet grassy. picture is of the entire 1oz, it looks small but leaf has small volume and so occupies less space in 3D.

infusion: ~1.5min in 4oz @ 120F (they say 1tsp 6oz 176F, i’ll try that later)

taste:
some vegetal “generic” greenish reminds of chinese green panfried-oily stuff. . good straight flavor.
2nd infusion starts tasting a little overextracted?- not really astringent?maybe some acidity? in back of throat (very mild but thats how i feel it). some grass aftertaste on tongue.

overall: …not very exciting. eh. (I’ll try different infusions but i only expect it to enhance previous flavors.)

found at Ito En’s Flagship Store.

Aroma: very light, couldn’t really tell what it is. sort of sweet.

Taste: light roasted, green tea (couldn’t pinpoint what, not real clear), sort of softness? very very mild astringency(it doesnt feel over-infused as their other bottled teas, like oi ocha, even teas tea.)

Overall: Good but flavor too mild for me and even with the lack of astringency i prefer their oi ocha japanese green. also too expensive (as this entire Weil for tea line is, $1.9/can (245ml)… i like their Darjeeling better.)

This is your big boy, brother of its little sibling oiocha .5L
the most liters of clean bottled tea one can buy… in the WORLD !!!!

and its pretty good taste too !

Pkg: nice and symetric, contains just green tea and vitamin c (works to keep it good). very low level of bullshit on antioxidants etc.

Price: in my little supermarket … 6$ , sort of expensive, might be better priced elsewhere with more population, like Manhattan/Chinatown/Flushing.

Taste: green tea - the type which tastes roasted-toasty-pan-fried, astringency (medium-mild). Not quite as clear taste as a fresh looseleaf brew.

Compared to others, cant really say much difference: Pokka’s can of green tea seemed more defined, Tea’s Tea green (still ito en) seemed less astringent, Adagio’s Green seemed less defined, with a weird little tiny flavor in there.

Overall: the best bottled tea out there (in the USA, in a 2L pkg)

*no, ito en doesn’t pay me in moneys, stocks or free shit. i just like their product.  

Found at Whole Foods Market, $1.5

^ click for bigger image.

Dont remember having this before, so i thought i’d give it some tongue time.
Was imagining it to be like the ItoEn’s OiOcha Green Tea but it went like this:

flavor: green tea on the roasted/fried flavor side, no nasty baggy tastes, astringency is low and blends nice with the green flavor. The Pokka’s Japanese Green Tea had a more of a crispy grassy green flavor.

overall: GOOD! i like it. you go on the list.

1 can $1.5 incl tax, found somewhere on Broadway, at a Sushi restaurant.
label says made in Singapore for Pokka of Japan, under strictest control.

As i remember its better than the Green Tea.Pokka i tasted a while back.

Method: pay, open can, drink, take picture of can, give crazy look back to people looking weird at your for taking pictures of a can!

Taste: Green tea, good, nice flavor, maybe sencha, mildly fried sensation. Astringency-tannin present at low intensity, unlike ItoEn’s teas. Its better than i remember, and somewhat more pleasant than ItoEn’s green tea. (unless my tongue is not at its best today.). I do have to revisit ItoEn’s products, its been too long since last time. Good thing their store is close by, i should check it out.

There are no weird tasting flavors, no cruddy bag tea astringency or vitamin C or anything unpleasant.

Aftertaste: low.

Again: Yes. and it goes on my list.

Adagio Teas 17$/8oz , $27/lb … thats pretty cheap

leaf: see some snails, but the leaf doesnt look very good, kind of beat up, see some ‘hairs’, also some fine dust either pollen or broken ‘hairs’. Along this… one can also find… seeds(1st pic center and a little low right)…?! and something that looks like clumps of pollen(2nd pic) (or maybe its the clumps of broken ‘hairs’) not that i care about the former, but the later - seeds…?! ahem… never seen that before.

techniques:
@ 120F x 2-3min theres pretty strong green astringency-tannin back sides of mouth + tartness.
@ less than 100? F + 3 min or longer –> BLC flavor (green) + some ‘fruity’ somewhere around apricot skin (as i would imagine that would be like) but… a little tangy astringent-tanninic).
@ room temp water x ~10min –>better, more fruity bi-lo-chunnish, less tarty, & flavor held good for at least 3 more infusions. here the liquor: light green.

taste: Compared to Wing Hop Fung’s BLC Adagio’s seems not very defined in taste, more astringent-tanninic+tartness, and seems more sensitive to “high” temperatures.

^ LEFT: Adagio (gaiwan) …..^RIGHT: WHF (in my*sniff* broken cup)

wet leaf: after about 3 times, the leaf almost unfurled completely you can see many leafs are cut, there is alot of little bits that escape if using the gaiwan, and also found some of the seeds.

overall: …uhh…the taste dont like too much, the dubious quality (leaf, seed,cuts,tannin) kind of deterring me from buying again.

Adagio Teas 2$/ea or 24$/case of 15 + s&h
anteadote Black, Oolong, Green, White … i dont know what anteadote means, obviously a play on the Tea word, but to me it just sounds related to a medical drug or something. antidote is a substance used to neutralize a toxic substance.

Package:

Product of China.
not going to spank the monkey on the whole organic thing again, am tired of typing about it. whatever.

nice packaging, this one is less appealing as the name does not stand out. should be bigger/bold and darker. label is crooked and stretched. (i’m feeling very picky… calm down…should drink some of the white tea)

Liquor: golden-yellow meaning i hope tea is oxidated & most likely not much preservatives.

Smell: faint, imho a bit of medicinal but lets see taste.

Taste: some mild astringency-tannin back of throat/tongue, then swishing around feel “roasted-toasted fried” green tea taste - ok, tastes like tea. no medicinal flavors, no citric acid-lemon. But… after tasting the 4 teas from them i have to say there is sort of a funky flavor in there, in all them bottles… its not the lemon taste, its a weird faint medicinal maybe kind of funk…

Faint aftertaste, but doesn’t feel completely watery, some remnants on tongue and back of throat but again, faint. i think it kind of feels fatty-coating on the tongue in the aftertaste(might be wrong).

Overall: taste is mild-medium, ok, not bad, i wouldnt go out of my way to buy it again, and if ito en was there i’d pick that first. compared to itoen’s green tea, adagio is more mild, subdued, less astringent-tanninic, less defined, and it also has a funk-o-flavor on my tongue.

Zhong Guo Cha G-17-3-2 Sencha *sample . 15$/50g = 8.52/oz = 136/lb ? is that right?

looks like sencha, it must be sencha imho kind of small cuts but what do i know about proper sencha?! the other senchas i tried from Kowa, Chado seemed to be bigger.

liquor: nice and green, tiny particulate matter giving it a ‘cloudy’ appearance.

taste: strong presence, vegetal, feels ‘fresh’ in some way to me, a small twiggy feel, a tiny feel of sweet on the tip of the tongue that goes with a small reminder of “egg” flavor (as in this oolong huang jin gui), some astringency feeling green.

leaf bits are small and so hard to drink straight from cup (ok, actually i did drink straight from the cup, and chewed on some of the little bits of leaf), but if one wants to down one real fast you’ll get a mouthfull. so you need a good strainer.

this feels like a good quality tea & leaf-’cos of the strong flavor, but i’m not experienced with many senchas.

Yunnan Sourcing LLC
$12.5 /250g = $1.42/oz :O !
Fall 2007 Harvest
“flavor is bold and nutty but if not over-brewed is smooth and satisfying”

need to edit pics

Dry leaf looks great, really really nice (imho)

Yes! another new flavor. I love good tea!

first green tea where the liquor came out green! (picture is not green, but trust me, it is )

flavor: just like it smells, green, fresh, a tad on a flowery side but its not predominant
somewhere out of a pungently fresh green vegetal, has its own specific flavor, never had before. maybe reminds of 1/3 of the biluochun mixed + 1/3 kuding + 1/3 smoky black yunnan

NICE ! I LIKE

Zhong Guo Cha

no time to edit pics

dont know name, not on their website

taste: green+twiggy+hay and a little nutty, flavor strength is medium(2/3) oversteeped a stronger greenish astringency, not unpleasant.

but its not my like.

Zhong Guo Cha G-1-3-3 Dragon Well (Long Jing) Green Tea
50g $5.50 = $3.1/oz = $49.6/lb yeah, my kind of price 3$/oz

Leaf: looks like pieces, small, ~1.5cm, flat, nice colors.

Pictures: infusion 1, 2, wet leaf

10oz dixiecup + tea about .75cm + roomtemp water to half + rest with 200F water
good param
#1 ~3min : good strong smell, flavor of “pan-fried” green not as strong but getting there, seems on the watery side tho, maybe should’ve infused longer.
#2 ~3min : i’d say something of a greenish astringency twiggy, pan-friedness low now.

~2scoops ~5 oz ~170?F
liquor: nice and yellow-a tad fluorescent , i hope its natural
smell: ok
flavor: good, cant describe exactly, i’ll say its somewhere around pan-fried…vegetal…
wet leaf looks green and young

2 infusions (~10oz) kept all taste.
3rd infusion ~6oz lost “pan-friedness” more green vegetal

not the most original/complex/strong flavor…the huan shan mao feng, similar taste profile >> fried flavor <<, plus… i like the leaf better.

Zhong Guo Cha G-1-12-3
50g(1.76oz)/$4.99 = $2.83/oz (! cheap, lets see if taste is cheap).

Dry leaf looks good, has a golden hue (ok maybe not, i think im color blind today).
~2tbsp dispenser + 4oz gaiwan.

infusion reveals bits and pieces, seems this is the normal Huang Shan Mao Feng appearance.

150F - taste: flavor medium-low strength: green pan fried oil sensation.
did 3 infusions = 12 oz.
not enough flavor strength for me, seems less than HSMF (hair tip) from Chado. but this one is not hair tip.

200F - taste: flavor medium strength: green pan fried oil sensation. + deep astringency-bitterness. (duh! what did you think boiling water would do to a green leaf???).

will have to redo, more leaf, temp 160-180-190

$3.9 /bag = cheap & nasty. found it at Hong Kong supermarket, Flushing ny.

just horrible experience: dry leaf has a bluish-grey dust like appearance, so i washed it for 30 sec. guess what
after brewing the liquor was so cloudy i could not see the bottom of the cup (1 inch below)! and this was a light yellow color liquor with tiny white and black dust floating among an opaque liquid.

i drank it, then cursed.

.no. i have no idea how this gets to be on a market shelf.

local market ~4$/1.something oz.

individual packets of instant tea powder destined for 8oz cold water.

lets see how it goes.

1 pack in 7oz water:
smell faintly grassy,
taste: very faint (1/7) grassy

2 pack in 8oz water:
faint-mild grassy smell,
taste: thick, milky, feel dust on tongue, faint 2.5/7 grassy, astringency.

…ymy… come on… i know you can do it, but this is not it.

? too flavorless, no.no. YAMAmotoYAMA’s Green Tea bags are better. then again, you could always get some loose leaf tea…

found @ Whole Foods NYC @ Columbus Circle, along with a couple other rtd tea bottles,
then i took them out for a walk in Central Park… me, my tea bags, and my bitches…

enjoying the shade… and a couple wild vultures…

Well … guess what… yeah… shit.
but anyway, here’s the shits description: smell 1/3 lemony. drink: 1/3 flavor of ?tea? mixed with 0.5/3 vitamin c or whatever everybody mixes this shit with these days. = .no. rebuy.

issues…:

1. Forgot to take a pic of the cap, a Roosevelt saying “Women are like teabags…” jesus. whatever it said after that didnt matter anyway. but maybe its just me.

2. wtf is with the name? just green tea… hmmm… are they gonna sue me? the wayback machine only got me archived in feb’07 with the category name

3. now along organic, natural, ecgc pc dc, antioxidant, and other bullshit the tea companies have a new label to wank: ‘FAIR TRADE’. like i give a rats ass, and like i believe any of their bullshit - how can we really check anyway how much the tea pickers get paid, without it being relayed thru many intermediaries.

did drink something good today tho, >> yeah its looseleaf tea, thank god!

dont know what this is, from the looks might be a bi luo chun.

This is the “majestic” ‘Qing Shan Lu Shui’ “qing shan lv shui” (青山绿水) Ku Ding tea (cha).

wet leaf: looks like small tender young top leaf and buds.

liquor photo: L is 3 minute, R is after the infusion liquor was left a couple hours. (thats alot of oxidation going on!)

smell: somewhat medicinal… not my favorite

140F
- method 1:1 leaf volume:water volume ratio @ ~40sec: flavor: seems more distinct taste than previous, same sweetness perceived on the back sides of the tongue, and its particular ‘green’-astringent taste.
- regular brew method: flavor: a strange sensation: warm mildly sweet feeling with even more mild ‘bitter’/astringent feel. brewed longer the sweetness did not become stronger, but there was an unpleasant aftertaste - like after drinking earl grey with lots of sugar.

190F
flavor: pop of medium-high dose of astringency-bitterness on the tip of the tongue, then tongue senses some medicinal mixed green vegetal flavor. theres a touch of sweetness in here somewhere. …dont know…. maybe i brewed too much leaf. 1.3 tbsp measurer 6oz 190F 3min.
usually dont get this strong out of greens. neither the liquor color change! (must be the young leaves)
redo.

done with this. not very exciting to me, .no.

made in taiwan

found at Singapore Banana Leaf (Farmers Market at the Grove). SBL is on my top list of the food court restaurants (wonderful consistent good food and great flavor).

liquor yellow

taste: flavor 3/7 some kind of strange green tea bag concoction… an awful sour powerful astringency hit my tastebuds… it reminds me of aspirin dissolved in water. After it thoroughly numbed my mouth, astringency and other tastes could not be felt like normal, had to rinse my mouth couple times…

no. definitely wouldn’t touch this ever again even if there was no water around.

again, seems like everybody wants to stick their tail into the tea market. Which TJ does due to a desire to lower end product cost to consumer, since they brand their own products…

was happy to see it,

99c /1L ! …maybe because its new to market.

similar bottle with Tejava, except for a green tint and different label.
ive seen ascorbate (vit C) on other tea labels so i thought nothing of it.

opened bottle… oh-oh… smells like lemon … errr

taste: lemon flavor 3/4, tea astringency 1/4 … fudge pack…

i guess someone told them, yeah, mask that shit it dont taste like nothing anyways, just drop a ton of ascorbic acid in the mix, them suckers wont know and we’ll get our money anyway. damnit TJ get some better TEA people.

overall: NO. i like Ito En Japanese Green tea (Oi Ocha) actually tastes good…

dry leaf appearance: good, has a grayish haze (not from the photo processing).
in the 2nd pic (not the best), you can make out little hairs on the leaf so ‘hair tip’ is  accurate description!

~2teaspoons dispenser + 4oz

taste: flavor ~medium strength flavor, mostly ‘regular green’ feel, pan fried oil sensation with something of a honey sensation (can be felt in the smell as well). some sweet aftertaste coating left over on the tongue and palate which does last a couple minutes. [compare w HSMF.Zhong Guo Cha,  HS Yun Feng .Wing Hop Fung]

at most 2 infusions maintain taste, subsequently flavor drops, astringency takes its place.

HSYF.WHF: mostly 1leaf+bud (maybe its not the same type of processing anyway)

wet leaf is not what i like - too much chopped up stuff. color is darker - dont know if pick is older in age, or part of bush, or storage, or processing.

me try again: .maybe

found at Assi supermarket

heres some paparazzi for ya:

flavor: 0/7

if i’d cut out the cardboard box and infused it in boiling water - that would’ve had more flavor than this ‘tea’.

buy again: aaaa hell no.

T1096 39.99/lb

a mao feng.

1st infusion 194F 3min:

tea smell: present, greenish vegetal.
aspect: green leaf in water looks ok, length <.75inch. more open leaves with darker colors, less ‘young looking’ green tips, but they are smaller.
flavor: 4/7 green vegetal, astringency when present even when strong is green vegetal (pleasant to me, unlike black tea astringency.)

(^ .^)/

dont know why this theme’s indent shows up as a talk-baloon.

T1110 68.99/lb

pi luo chun = Pi Lo Chun, Bi Luo Chun, BiLuoChun , Xia Sha Ren Xiang, Tai Hu lu cha, Green Snail Spring, Green Snail Springtime, but hey! I’M NOT CONFUSED, maybe if i learn chinese writing it will be easier…. ill make my own translation.

about 2tsp ~160F water. ~3minutes, if astringency comes its probably over-steeped.
flavor 4/7: greenish + unknown fruit (maybe apricot).

flavor fades by the 3rd infusion, astringency dominating the subsequent infusions.
astringency produces a sweetish aftertaste.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1st infusion 194F 3min:~~~might not have been enough tea~~~

tea smell: medium.
aspect: green leaf in water looks ok, length <.75inch, more broken leafs.
flavor: 3.5/7 green vegetal… i have a sensation of fried but not very outspoken, astringency when present is ~ok ~green vegetal (pleasant to me, unlike black tea astringency.)

T1137 39.99/lb

a mao feng (from Feng Huang Shan, Guangdong Province … i think)

1st infusion 194F, 3min

tea smell: present, greenish vegetal
aspect: green leaf in water looks good, length .75inch
flavor: 4/7 green vegetal, astringency when present even when strong is clear green vegetal (pleasant to me unlike black tea astringency.)

2nd, subsequent steeps

flavor: starts to get fruity: apricot, yum! very pleasant clear taste, low astringency.

infusion in cold water does not come out too well. 1st and 2nd are ok but subsequent fail to extract flavor out of the leaf.

looseleaf green tea little pellets. “gunpowder”

Kinda taste like a milder version of this Japan Sencha (Kowa).

there was alot of POWDER in this gunpowder… lots of dust, and it made the liquor murky/opaque-not very sexy…

flavor 3/7 greenish, some green astringency, no fried & no fish taste. some twig taste, very mild lemony.

no.

5.4oz 190ml @ ~ $1.6

can is already printed in english unlike the plastic bottles which have a sticker attached with english translation.
the can repeats on the “catechin” & “antioxidant” words.

liquor: green (finally. i guess the light-proof can protects from oxidation as well).
taste: smoother than the plastic bottles (oi ocha).
astringency: 2.5/7 tanninic (less than the oi ocha) with a twist of fried oil as usual(less than oi ocha).
flavor: 2.5/7 (less than the oi ocha), mildly green grass …mild…
minor aftertaste.

somewhat disappointed with this product, was expecting a shot of grass-like taste.
size is also annoying.

buy again: no. (would rather get the oi ocha hit me with its astringency).

~$2

i don’t know what oi ocha koi aji ryokucha means but it sounds Japanese

Damn! is this green tea concentrate ??? (which I’d rate as astringency 7/7 no green tea flavor).

liquor: brown
taste: hit by tannins-astringency, some faint green tea flavor but toasty,

as far as i remember its almost identical to the oi ocha green tea .ito en …

keepo? .maybe (kinda bummed it doesn’t have a distinctive flavor).

side note: had the pork bao (char siew pork) at Famima!! but didn’t enjoy it- breading was nice and fluffy tho not as fluffy as the one i had in Chinatown (forgot store); filling was sweet, then a taste of canned meat(kinda bitter), then some pork taste (filling was quite similar to the one in Chinatown).

where? Mitsuwa market/Torrance
dinero? .98/can+tax
package? aluminium can

flavor: 3/7 fried green tea taste, some minor green tea flavor, minor astringency.

again: no.

this is starting to frustrate me, all the bottled teas tasted sofar taste basically the same…

looseleaf 8.99 made by Kowa company (i think they’re into the coffee business.)
my bugger with this: they call it ‘Japan Sencha’ yet its made in Spain?

great packaging: airtight metal box (this should be a model to all who boast about their supposed ‘freshness’.)

dry leaf: varying shapes, some stem, some brown stem = “quality is low”

flavor: tastes green, astringency does not bother too much.

astringent continues in the aftertaste along with a lemony sensation.
if this is all sencha green tea leaf and nothing else thats good because i detect some lemon on my tongue. or maybe its the green twigs or something from the plant… i remember chewing tree leaves when young… but im pretty sure its lemony… i think i sense it in the smell as well.

buy again: yes. nah, made up my mind. i don’t think so.

found at Fujiya Market /Silverlake. cost $ 2.50 !!!

good thing i had notes, otherwise i wouldve rated them all a 1. (%_%) ! ?

flavor 1.5/7 (’fried’ green tea flavor ~0.5) astringent 2/7, aftertaste 0.

again: no. (id pick itoen green tea bottle, at least i know im paying for some astringency).

Had a fun 15 minutes at Fujiya Market in Silverlake on Virgil, they had couple of ready to drink ‘real’ teas in the fridges. After tasting them, it wasnt too much excitement but at least it wasn’t a totally worthless experience.

Here we have a can of Green Tea made by ‘UCC’ Ueshima Coffee Co of Japan.
Can’s description is not far from the truth as i see it:
“we present: mild body and aroma to you”

maybe being refrigerated numbs my tastebuds but here it is: watery flavor 1.5/7 (I’m exaggerating), astringent 2/7, there is a little tiny sneaky lemon flavor but maybe its just me., aftertaste 0/7.

again: no. I’d choose the Ito En Green Tea bottle over any of these i took today.

found at Famima!! -they had all the Ito En products: Sencha Shot, Ocha green tea, Tea’s Tea… while at Whole Foods they only had Tea’s Tea and the sweetened tea bottles.

was ~ $2.03 for .5L bottle. nice packaging. NYC seems to have english labels naming the tea ‘Japanese Green Tea’ (see photo). in Los Angeles i had Japan import bottle, with a little translation sticker on it - original named ‘oi ocha’ (dont have pic of that)

Smell: toasty

Taste: yay! finally, a good, un-sugarized tea … strong full flavor ‘pleasantly’ astringent tea taste, tho faintly green, there was some toasty ?rice? taste in there…
overall…ok…flavor, astringent. This is alot better taste than any teabag i ever brewed, not as good as a good looseleaf tea, but its a fast, ready to drink substitute.

Overall: keep-r-us? YES!

Competition: Pokka’s Japanese Green Tea, Pure Green Teas Tea(still by Ito En), Japanese green tea 2L bottle (same)

wish they’d sell this at Ralphs or Savon or Whole foods…but probably those have exclusive contracts with lipton or some other marketers of sugarized ‘tea’ shit.

translators unite!

dry leaf smell: YES (of what? kinda green)

194F @ 3min exactly (1cup 1tbsp)
liquor strong yellow-green
taste:
flavor 5/7 (bit of green, tiny bit of fish, tiny bit of oil), pleasant flavor . a little fruity-flowery.
goes well with food (cha cha chicken :D)

re-dunk the leaves in room temp water, about 5 min.
liquor: greenish
taste: full of flavor, no more greenish, but a fruity flavor, i think peach nectar.

re-re-dunk the leaves, room temp, 10min:
liquor: light green
taste: fruity, 1/7 feel the astringency coming about.

keep? maybe. yes.

bags

astringency 7/10, verrrry loooow tea flavor 1/7, bitter 0, not fishy, not oily.

what the hell are they selling here?
verdict: NO.

well, i had to validate parking…

at The Coffee Bean … $1.75, eh, not bad on a windy summer night.

taste: well, again, after waiting some 15min for the water to cool down to a comfortable temperature, i proceeded on sipping the cup. : some sort of green/oolong kinda but not grassy not oily not fishy, i think there was a kindof tiny peachy flavor?. in all, it was ok.

shanghai corp import & export
made in china
2$/tin box ~ 3/4lb … it was on ’sale’

aspect: leaf is super-broken …blue!? ..about 3 mm
infused, taste –> tanin 4/6 bitter 4/6 flavor 0.4/6

this is just FILTHY, TRASH!!!!!!!!!!!! keep? i think NO.

$18.99/lb … v. low price

yes i know: not white balanced, blurry.

leaf: broken ~ 1/2 inch length, theres lots of stems.

2.2 tsp + 2 cup water @ 190F ~ 3-4min –> BETTER, flavor ~3.5/7, some toasty-fried oily green. 2/3 as strong as the Oi Ocha .ito en, but its better than my previous infusions.

keep? maybe.

~~~~ previous ~~~~~

brew: ~180F (was 194 into cold ceramic cup, stood 2min) ~4-5min ~1-1.5tsp? … admire the exact expert technique
smell: faint green, … fried? …oily? (^.^)???

taste: had some last nite, was good. today: like the smell indicates: faint green grass with a twist of fried? kinda leaves an oily aftertaste. not bad. seems foody… no taninics no bitterness…

if do a quick infuse you get a greenish liquor, if left for longer color turns orange-ish (dont know if thats from oxidation or what).

infused longer it does gather tanin but still no bitterness…

i wonder how it would be iced… man is so hot these days.

update: 2nd steep: less grass, more like broken green tree twigs (if you have that experience).

update: cold/room temp water –> didnt come out too good… after 20min, color is faint, smell is faint, taste is faint…

YMY tea bags .(box says manufactured in USA…ok ,the little teabags say on them ‘packaged’ in the USA)

~1.5$/box of 16 ‘aluminium’ teabags (it was on ’sale’ at ralphs) (–> ~24$/lb)

in 194F water, ~ 4min,
taste: yup, good, does indeed taste like ‘real’ green tea, although very dilute, but can still perceive some grass taste, some tiny oily flavor. (on one 6min steep of 2bags a fishy flavor came out but the astringent-tannins were more overpowering).

CBW (cold water) ~ 20min, wow we are at the pier! strong fishy smell! wow, did not expect this from a bagged tea. flavor still lacks green.

taste: ok… flavor 4/7, tannin 2/7, bitter 0/7.

final: even tho powerful green flavor is lacking, overall its an ok tea. buy again: YES. (unless fresh looseleaf is available).

~~~ interesting thing was: it was not with the other teas… at Ralph’s… it was in the ‘asian food’ section…?! and there were only 2-3 boxes of green and 2-3 boxes of genmaicha…

description:
“The basic green tea of Japan. There are numerous grades of Sencha and even the mediocre Sencha can be a delight. A delicate tea that is grassy and sweet and a little astringent.“

my pics:

the liquor color is actually green-phosphorescent! bright!

dry leaf has lots of big ass stems = “quality is low”

cold water, 20 min, the green liquor slowly appeared, very nice in color.
taste: grass-like, reminds of wheatgrass shots but those are more like eating raw grass. yes bitterness is low, but after >30 minutes it gets more bitter.

a second infusion in cold water took 45 minutes and just half amount of liquor difused into the water.

do not add sugar! took away the taste!

keep? Yeah i drank it.