Den's Tea

I really love this one. It’s nutty and roasty but there’s an underlying sweetness that mellows out the whole cup. I wanted to warm up after being outside (2*F air temperature) and this was the first thing I reached for. Something about the roastiness warms me right up. Mom also loves this one, so I may have to restock when it’s gone!

I can’t believe I haven’t touched this one yet! Since Den’s food pairing suggestions haven’t steered me wrong yet, I paired this with a fatty lunch (French onion soup!). The dry leaf smells very nutty, much more so than the Bancha Houjicha. The brewed tea smells very similar, and it’s so roasty that it almost reminds me of a campfire.

Surprisingly, the taste is mild and a little sweet. It’s much mellower compared to the other houjicha I tried, and now I’m glad I got this one in a large size. It’s delicious! There’s some roastiness to it, of course, but to me it’s gentler. I still like the Bancha, but I think I’d restock this quicker if I had to choose.

Another sipdown (130). This smells really sweet and buttery, which are the kinds of greens I tend to like. I think I brewed it just a touch too hot, but it doesn’t seem to be hurt at all by that.

This is nice and buttery, but I’m not blown away. I think it’s missing an extra savory-ness or sweetness to really make it great, but this is a decent green. I think this is why I don’t often drink straight greens: a lot of them taste the same to me and they don’t often wow me on their own. Perhaps I’ll like it better in loose form?

hrm. i have way too much of this. sipping away some more of it, just to get my green on for the day. i guess i’m looking at that rating i’ve given it before, and it’s better than that. well, this time it is, but i oversteeped the heck out of it just to see what would happen, and i think i like it a lot better this way. still do not love. sad.

hmmm. for all the Den’s Teas that i loved, i figured this one for a shoe-in. alas, it is not. it does smell wonderful, but it sure brews up weak. i left the second steeping even longer, but still. meh. i mean, i can taste the potential, but it’s incredibly blah. it is early enough afternoon that i may just add another tsp or two and steep again, just to see.

I set Ungoliant free today. Yes, Ungoliant the jumping spider that I found at the beginning of Winter in my bedroom, he had happily lived in a jar being fed various insects that I found. Sadly I run out of bugs and figured, since it was warm, time to let nature be nature and put the spider outside. I miss my little hoppy desk companion. Ben saw how sad I am over my friend going out into the wide world, told me that in the near future he will get me a LARGE desk companion spider. Yes dear tea friends, I will be getting a tarantula, a spider truly worthy of the name Ungoliant.

Organic Sencha Whole Leaf Teabag by Den’s Tea came onto my radar thanks to their extremely awesome Green Tea Sampler for Novices which is not only a great introduction Den’s Tea’s products, but also an introduction to Japanese Green Tea. The aroma of the tea bag is like a little bag of spring time, there are notes of sweet grass (not to be confused with Sweetgrass, the aromatic herb native to North America and North Eurasia) and the tiniest hint of fresh lemon zest. In simplest terms the aroma is deliciously green, the idea of what Sencha is supposed to smell like.

The aroma of the brewed tea bag is quite refreshing, clean and grassy like a spring field. There are mild sweet notes, like cane sugar, with a finish of fresh hay.

The taste is initially sweet with a delightfully grassy greenness. The taste is very fresh and clean, evocative of new growth and springtime. I swear that the half an hour I sat outside soaking up psuedo-spring sunlight has nothing to do with my fixation on this tea evoking spring time so clearly. To me the mark of a really good sencha is how strongly it evokes growing things, and this tea certainly does that. The tea has a slightly citrus aftertaste, like a hint of yuzu zest. As the tea cools it gets sweeter and the mouthfeel goes from being smooth to creamy.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/01/dens-tea-organic-sencha-whole-leaf.html

Cold-brewed some of this up and then couldn’t drink it for three days. That means it’s a little oversteeped but it’s still okay. I prefer it hot—it’s actually grassier this way—but cold it tastes a little more like gummy grape. There’s an extra-sweet aftertaste to this this way and it might be good steeped for less time, but I think I’ll drink the rest hot.

I actually had a craving for this tea, so I figured I’d make myself a cup.

I have no idea why this works. It’s an imitation of the fake grape taste that’s in candy and a lot of cough syrups, but it tastes like it could actually happen in nature. It’s also delicious.

I was expecting a true grape taste from this, but the most bizarre (and to me, hilarious) thing happened when I opened the bag: out poured the smell of grape gummies! The taste is also reminiscent of gummies or fruit snacks, but I don’t hate it. Fake grape flavor is the absolute worst for me, and yet this is kind of delicious. It has a very sweet aftertaste without being artificial, and it’s surprisingly smooth for a fruit tea. I don’t understand this one or my liking of it, but I may just get it again sometime.

Sipdown! (131) This sample was really generous; the website claimed they were all single-serve but there was enough in there for four individual cups (eight if resteeped, wow!). Made the last of it in a pot and split it with mom, who declared herself in love with it. When I use up some things this might be one for the cabinet!

Resteep with the leaves from earlier. Tried it right at boiling since the leaves can handle it. Right now I’m loving that houjicha is possibly the easiest green to deal with. You can’t burn it, oversteep it, or anything else I’m always doing wrong with them (although I am slowly getting better).

This produced a stronger cup. At its strongest it’s medium-bodied and a little nutty, I really like it. I keep upping the rating but I think I’ll have to do so again.

Decided to make this with lunch. My tastes seem to be okay, but I can’t taste much of anything with subtle teas. Unfortunately that means most of my lovely oolongs are out, so instead I think I’ll go with some stronger greens.

This. Smells. So. Good! I can’t believe I never tried roasted teas before this year, because now they’re some of my favorites. I used about a teaspoon and a half for 8 oz. this time, with water just cooled down from boiling. It seems to be a good way to prepare this one. Deliciously roasty, very calming.

Second tea in my sampler. Smells deliciously roasty again, with a very slight sesame smell as I drink it. There’s a strong roasted flavor up front followed by a clear, sweet green taste (which I wasn’t expecting!) that must be the taste of the bancha coming through. With the aftertaste there’s a slight nuttiness that makes for a very pleasant cup. I’d never had, or admittedly even heard of, houjicha before, but I love this!

Briefly visiting home this weekend and I’m ridiculously happy that I have my stovetop kettle for a few days. The electric one in my dorm is pretty good, but I can’t make much of anything that shouldn’t be boiled (at least not without a lot of guesswork). Being home also means access to this tea!

This is perfect for a windy day like today. I seem to like nutty flavors more and more as it gets colder. The green is a lot fresher than I was remembering, and it goes great with all the comfort (i.e. creamy) foods I reach for when I’m cold. I may make myself a cup or two more of this throughout the day, especially since the weather doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon.

Second steep. I’m not exactly following the directions on steeping, here: 6-8 oz. of water, just short of boiling, 2-3 minute steep time. I’m awful at timing steeps, and I’ve said before that my steeping technique is “hey, this looks done.” So far I haven’t had any problems with that, but maybe I should get better at it.

I wondered what the funny green lumps in this were the first time around: they are apparently popped rice! They look like little popcorn kernels, how cute! This is probably a standard thing in genmaichas but this is the first one I’ve tried, so pardon my surprise. :)

This one is really not resteeping like I thought it would. The sachet did, but this isn’t turning the green I’m expecting. Maybe the matcha all escaped into the first cup? It’s lighter this time around and thinner in taste but the roastiness is still there. It’s also sweeter than the first cup, but there’s less matcha visible in the water. Still not a bad cup, but not as full-bodied as the last.

I don’t think I’ve ever made a cup of tea with the intention of getting rid of the last cup’s taste in my mouth before. I figured the sweet green notes and roastiness of this would help cut the bitterness of the last cup, and luckily I had two samples of this to tide me over until my Den’s order comes in.

The smell of this is so pleasant. I really get the comparison to burnt popcorn this time, but I always liked that smell as a kid so it’s comforting now. I also love the color this turns as it brews! Neon acid green. In the loose-leaf version it’s much easier to see the matcha coating everything, and it’s interesting to watch it steep. The last two cups I had were from a sachet. For some reason this strikes me as a “fun” tea(?) Watching it and smelling it cheers me up.

The taste of the loose tea is stronger than in the sachet, possibly because I put it in a huge strainer so it could spread out. The flavor is the same and definitely cuts the breakfast blend taste that was lingering. I think this could easily become a favorite once the full bag reaches me!

Got my beginner’s sample kit today and this was the first thing I went for. It smells amazing in the cup, a little like toasted sesame. I haven’t encountered toasted rice before but it’s a great smell and taste.

Unlike other greens I’ve tried, this isn’t grassy at all. It’s sweet and toasty at the same time. I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m really happy with it. There’s one other genmaicha in the box and I’m excited to try that one! I might turn into a green tea fan yet.

i had this one as a sample, so just one. i took it on a car trip with me recently, inside a thermos filled with hot hot hot water. the thermos (first use) was FANtastic and kept my tea piping hot all day long AND the tea was just a perfectly toasty genmaicha all day long, never oversteeping or getting bitter. just perfection, the combination. so much so that i’m ordering a box of these for future road trips. good times, good times.

Nothing better to end a weekend with….Lego Simpsons and a mug of of my favorite! Ahhhhhhh……