Den's Tea

I’m not gutsy enough to put boiled water over matcha, so that didn’t happen. But I needed a caffeinated pick me up to drag me through the rest of the day, so what than genmaicha with an extra dose of matcha for good measure.

The matcha adds a gentle sweetness that compliments the nutty roastiness of the genmaicha. It’s very slightly brothy, but not quite as much so as I was expecting.

The matcha flavor in this one isn’t as potent as American Tea Room’s Genmaimatcha, which is my typical go-to genmaicha with matcha, but it is a slightly sweeter matcha. At just over half the price though, I might have to swap my go to genmaicha in this direction.

I don’t normally like Earl Grey teas, but when this came as a 25th anniversary gift from Den’s, I gave it a try, and wow am I impressed!

It’s so delicate and it’s fragrance is just unbelievable. It’s like lavender and reminds me of my childhood when I’d had some encounter with lavender farms on a summer outing of some description. Anyway, the bergamot is light but highly enjoyable and the black tea is of such high quality that it makes this tea just wonderful. I like it both on its own or with milk and sugar.

Highly recommend this! If you make an order with Den’s of over $25 this month (which isn’t hard because they have so many great value and yummy teas!) then you get a box of this for free! This isn’t advertising but I just love Den’s so much and I want them to be in business for many years to come.

This just came in the mail today. I got a 2oz (56g) package because Den’s does a wonderful job with their seasonal teas, and I always like to get in early, especially with ones like their Sakura Sencha. They even included a sample of the Yuzu Kukicha and a complementary box of Earl Grey Fair Trade Organic Black Tea, which was a fun surprise as I had some of that in a sampler not too long ago.

Anyway, back to the Yuzu Kukicha. The smell when you open the bag is, in a word, interesting. Definitely a presence of citrus – that unique Japanese citric element that all Japan-enthusiasts come to recognize and love. It’s a beautiful color and the matcha is very pretty inside the bag.

First steep: Lovely color, just a gorgeous lime green. It is certainly a green tea, no mistaking it. The citrus doesn’t taste as strongly as you’d expect from the aroma, but it’s there, and it’s a delicious member of the drink. That being said, as the tea cools, the citrus becomes more noticeable, but the astringency does too, with a hint of fresh bitterness.

Overall, I like this tea. Perhaps not my absolute favorite Kukicha (I personally love their Tencha-Kuki Houjicha) but it’s certainly a wonderful seasonal drink. Den’s, of course, does such an amazing job with all of their teas and products that you end up sticking to the teas you were born with an enjoyment of; which is no insult to any of their teas, but humans are born with certain palates, and Den’s has the best of every tea, so you’ll naturally stick to what you like. But this tea is just wonderful and I recommend it to those who are in their stages of Green Tea Enthusiasm from advanced novices, all the way to fanatics.

Thanks Den! You’ve done it again!

I feel kind of bad saying this but I am disapppointed with this one. I had it several times and I find it bitter even though I followed Den’s teas brewing instructions. The second infusion has a lot of flavour left and more sweetness to it, but still has a bitter aftertaste. Weirdly, I find that this tea isn’t as sweet as I am used to with other senchas. It is one of their most expensive senchas and they say on their website that it’s supposed to have a natural sweetness, but sadly I can’t taste it. I prefer their Sencha Fuka-midori over this.

Sipdown! I actually like this better now than I did the last time I had it. There really is a golden quality to the roastiness. It reminds me a bit of buckwheat. Not buckwheat tea but actual, cooked buckwheat. It’s really quite yum. I’m hoping to restock.

This has a pleasantly roasted, woodsy scent (pine maybe?). The taste is like warm toast on a cold day. Yet it leaves something to be desired. I’m just used to Den’s Tea being more complex. This is rather one-note, though the second steep is better than the first. The roasted flavor remains dominant in the second steep, but there’s also a seaweed note that comes out. This is actually really nice cold – I could see having it as a savory iced tea in the summer. Overall, this tea is tasty enough but nothing special. Another sipdown though!

This tea is simply delicious before bed. Toasty and warming, healthy, soothing due to low caffeine, and wonderfully full bodied and calming.

The tea bag is also a plus, since it delivers an exceptional amount of flavor and is super easy for all tea drinkers, novice or fanatic. Thanks Den’s Tea! Delicious as usual :)

I’m trying this tea now for the first time, and I’m really enjoying a lot about it’s flavor and delicate composition.

There certainly is an aromatic quality, almost like a cedar wood or a pine wood, both in the aroma and the tasting. Perhaps I didn’t leave it to infuse for long enough, but it’s not as strong as I expected, or maybe it’s still too hot to tell. This tea is made from tencha stems, and therefore takes longer to break down fibers, bring out theanines and release catechins. I guess this caused me a little impatience, but none the less, I am really happy with this first tasting.

TWO MINUTES LATER: Once it cools down, the flavors are clear and concise. The honey and smoky qualities are just wonderful, and do come across as said on the package. So nicely balanced and delicious…yum!

I love Den’s Teas so I will keep this in mind as a new favorite certainly. The brew is also pretty to watch – it leaves a nice bamboo, wood tile effect on the surface of the pot and the aromas of the fresh leaves and of the brewing are just divine. It’s a nice contrast to the usual eruption and bloom of tea leaves that one gets used to.

I recommend this tea to those who are looking for something different, something sweet but very nicely balanced. Excellent craftsmanship as always, Den’s Tea!

ありがとうございます!

Today I went to the farmers market. I tried so much fruit. When I got home, I just wanted some straight tea. This one smells really nice. Tastes refreshingly green too. (Just what I wanted at the moment.)

Quick note because I just got home from work after sitting in traffic for 55 minutes, and all I wanna do sink into the couch with my cup of tea. Got this in my $3 green tea “starter kit.” I can’t stand the way it smells… Like toasted seaweed. On its own, the tea is just okay (my opinion), but I’ll happily drink it with honey!

Sipdown (109)! Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever had so many consecutive sipdowns! Though a lot of other people around Steepster probably speed through three sipdowns like it’s no big deal. Anyway, I’m still jetlagged from Europe, so it just makes me feel confused and uncomfortable all day. Even though it’s getting late, I was really craving a Japanese green, and this one happened to be one of the only straight Japanese greens left in my unpacked sample drawer. It is vegetal and thick as it was before, but also a little more savory today. Perhaps it is because I used a little more leaf than usual to finish off the sample. Anyway, I’m sipping on it while reading The Year of the Flood, and all seems pretty good in the world for now. Though I’m not likely to reorder this one anytime soon (spending hiatus), it was very nice while it lasted!

I just read my previous tasting note about this tea, and I think that it really nailed my thoughts today about the thick mouthfeel and sweet, vegetal flavors. So I’ll just say that it’s a really nice tea to warm me up on this surprisingly chilly morning (when will I ever stop being surprised by the weather around these parts?).

It seems that I’ve always had this one while eating food, so I finally had a chance to sip on this and this alone this morning. It has a thicker mouthfeel that I didn’t notice as much before. It still has those nice, sweet, and vegetal flavors. It was also just a little bitter because the leaves are so fine that I had quite a bit of sediment still steeping at the bottom of the cup.

I keep drinking this while eating food because I think the very clean, vegetal taste goes well with Asian foods without adding too much extra flavor that competes with food. Additionally, there’s not bitterness or astringency, so I feel ok about gulping it down.

I had this with a meaty, spicy lunch today, so I will rate later when I can taste the tea fully on its own. Anyway, the dry leaves look kind of like thinly sliced cucumber and some spinach leaves. The taste of the tea is accordingly vegetal with a clean texture. I think it goes well with food because of that clean taste. This was my final new sample from the Den’s Tea sampler. I believe this one was included because it was the tea of the month when I ordered it. I think I prefer this one over the Sencha Fuka-midori but less than the Houjicha Gold. Although it is a little bit of apples and oranges since they’re different types of tea.

Sipdown (97)! This is also a backlog because Steepster was acting up yesterday when I tried to log this. Coincidentally, the trackpad on my mouse is also not functioning and one of my light bulbs just blew out, so all in all not a great day for technology/electricity? This tea was very comforting mostly due to how thick it is. I’m sure I mentioned this in previous tasting notes, but I am a little irritated at how fine the leaves are because the bunch of leaf particles at the bottom of the cup make for a bitter cup toward the bottom. Despite this, I find this tea very comforting and will consider repurchasing in the future when I have a smaller stash.

I recently had an exceptionally terrible genmaicha at a Japanese restaurant. Usually the Japanese places around here have pretty decent genmaicha, but this one was somehow greasy and bitter, yuck. Which brings me around to this delicious sencha. I needed a solid Japanese green to lift my spirits after that experience, and this tea definitely helped me do that. It had that nice thickness with the vegetal and umami flavors. I also got a nice resteep out of the leaves. Though, the second steep was a bit metallic to me, but that may be because of the infuser? Anyway, a solid tea and one I will definitely consider repurchasing in the future when I run out.

I can’t seem to get it right with this one. Last time I oversteeped and this time I don’t think I used enough leaf. I will say that I noticed more sweetness with this cup than last time. Well, here’s to next time.

I was in a hurry this morning not to be late for a presentation, and I goofed. I didn’t fully close the basket infuser in my Aladdin tumbler, so most of the leaves fell to the bottom and have been steeping for a while now. Because it’s my first time with this tea, I will refrain from rating until I can steep it properly.

Anyway, it has a very grassy taste and smell. Not sure how thrilled I am about that, but it is a straight green tea after all. To it’s credit, it’s not very bitter even though the tea leaves have been sitting in that water for a couple hours. Good thing the sample size from Den’s Tea has enough leaves for more than one try!

Today we are experiencing something beautiful, a blend of emerald and jade colored leaves, Karigane (Gyokuro Kukicha). This very pretty tea is made from the stems and stalks of Gyokuro, the famed Jade Dew Japanese Green tea. For those who do not know, Kukicha is usually made from the stalks and stems of Sencha, and Gyokuro is thought of as one of the finest Japanese teas and it is certainly one of the priciest. I have never tried Gyokuro (I do have some on the way from Japan, exciting!) so I was excited to dip my…you know, foot doesn’t really work in this analogy, so tongue into this pool of tea. The aroma of this exceptionally visually pleasing tea is very sweet for a green tea and delightfully vegetal. The vegetal notes are that of artichoke, a touch of chestnut, and a mild underlying hint of kelp. I really love how mild the aroma of this tea is.

Time to officially break in the new pot! The leaves take on a hint of lime that mixes with notes of woodsy and herbaceous. It smells like stems! Picking up the aroma of stems and knowing, I am smelling stems, really put a smile on my face. I also detects notes of the beloved umami, which is exciting. The liquid once the leaves have been removed (or, once I have poured it out of my Kyusu) has a mixture of sweet vegetal and umami. I am not going to lie, the aroma of the infused leaves is making me salivate.

The first thing I notice is umami goodness, I love that aspect of certain green teas, the savory umami taste is delicious and reminds me of eating certain seaweeds. There are also notes of chestnut that give the tea a bit of sweetness. As the tea cools the gentle sweetness becomes significantly sweeter and it masks the umami. The texture becomes almost creamy and it makes my mouth feel alive (juices like wine, I’m on the hunt I’m after you…sorry, 80s moment) I am amazed at how complex the flavor is for a tea that is so pale, more proof that looks can be deceiving when it comes to teas. I certainly cannot wait to try Gyokuro now.

For blog post and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/10/dens-tea-karigane-gyokuro-kukicha-tea.html