Den's Tea

I’m having one of those “dont’ want to get out of bed” mornings, still wearing blankets from the bed. For breakfast I just want tea – and more unusual for me is I’m too lazy to clean my steeper so I went with a bagged tea. This one came from my Den’s Tea sampler.

DRY: yummy bergamontness

TASTE: Mellow, slight creamy mouth feel black tea, not bitter or dry. The bergamont here is light, but shines through as an aftertaste, not rindy or tart. Oddly refreshing and relaxing.

COMMENTS: I love the black tea here – the creamyness is nice with the balance of the bergamont. My favorite bagged Earl Greys have been Tazo’s and Stash’s Double Berg – this one I like more than Tazo. I doubt I’d order more for myself as I’m more of a loose leaf peep, but this is a good bagged earl grey – I might snag a box at Murakai as a gift.

Had this one as a comparison with Butiki’s genmaicha and I think i prefer both her version and the one from verdant much better if i’m going to be drinking this type of tea. There’s nothing wrong with this one exactly, but when doing a direct comparison, this one is inferior to butiki’s.

Another quick cuppa while I go through my cupboard. Again, i’m glad i got the chance to try this one, even if i prefer loose tea to the tea bags. This would be a good back up for work times.

This was tasty! Much prefer loose tea but this was a nice sample to try.

Another from TeaEqualsBliss. I used one healthy scoop. First cup – Lord Almighty, I should have used half the scoop, half the water temp, and half the steep time. This is take your face off Sencha. Wow! Second cup – with just steaming water and a one minute steep. Now this is a good cup of tea. Sweet and green. Grassy but not too grassy. Lingering aftertaste with a bit of bite. I like it a lot. Thanks for sharing.

I’ve had this sample for quite some time now and I feel bad that I’ve waited so long now that I got a good whiff of it. The dry leaf smells very sweet and I used extra leaf because I wasn’t sure I should be using for such a small amount of tea. My ceramic pot is ~5oz. This tea is very sweet and pea-like. It tastes crisp. In the back of the sip there is something deeper and more umami. This is a really great green and is reminding me how much I love Japanese greens.

Who sent this to me!? big thanks to whoever it was! Azzrian? I suspect…
CHAroma?
Anyhow, the tea itself is nice. I think it has a sencha base so made me a tad queasy. Also it is supposed to be iced, but I made it hot and let it cool instead. 2 min infusion, but it should have been 90 seconds because that sachet was bursting by the time I pulled it out!!
Overall it was pleasant but I am not in love. Could go for a second steep but it isn’t calling me.
The peppermint was sweet and a little spicy. Refreshing!

Got this one with Den’s Tea green tea sampler – it’s the first I’ve tried, because I was craving something roasty one morning.

So far it’s given me a really great and tasty five cups’ worth from the sample! With a tiny bit left over for an extra half cup.

This is one that smells a bit sweeter than it tastes. One thing I kept noticing about it is how full-bodied and nearly creamy it is – it’s really satisfying and filling, like a food (I might be associating that with the nutty flavor). I don’t really notice anything green about it, though it does remind me of the toasted rice in genmaicha. The nuttiness hits me most with the aftertaste, which isn’t too strong but lingers for a really good while afterwards.

If you’re a fan of pineapple, this is it. The dried bits are actually papaya but the aroma is perfectly pineapple, and the flavor is subdued and wonderful. Subsequent 2 steeps were only necessary for 30 seconds each.

Got around to one of my Dens samplers. smoky,sweet, a surprisingly light. Like their genmaicha without the grassiness.

I love Genmaicha. Therefore I love this tea. It is the perfect tea this morning to lift me out of morning nausea. ( i find that if i have to get up before I’m ready to be awake I feel sick. ) My insides feel all warm and ‘snuggled’ now.

Looks like I’m one of many who has purchased Den’s Tea very impressive little sampler. For only three dollars it’s an amazing price; it also includes a coupon code for the cost of the sampler for your next order. Pretty sure I’ll be putting it to use.

Anyway onto what’s most important: the tea! Recently I’ve been really into savory, roasted teas and this fits that perfectly. I didn’t get the sweet note at all that a lot of people seem to have at first, but perhaps I wasn’t looking hard enough for it. What I got was a smooth, dark and mellow drink. This was a handsome cup of tea.

However, the second steep, from the very first sip I had I already noticed the slight sweetness. The roasted flavor seemed to mellow down to more of a ‘nuttiness.’ It was very different from my first steep, and that just reminds me of what made me fall in love with tea in the first place. The variations, even from different steeps of the same leaves just seems exciting to me, especially if trying a tea that I’m unfamiliar with.

I’m definitely looking forward to what’s to come next out of my little sampler.

I think I could become very fond of this tea.

When I opened the package there were the familiar bright green twigs of kukicha, along with small yellow-orange flecks of yuzu and green matcha powder coating the inside of the bag (I reminded myself not to inhale too deeply). The yuzu smell is very strong when you smell this!

This brews up into a dark olive green liquid made slightly cloudy from the matcha powder. I haven’t had many yuzu flavored things, so this was fun to taste! There was a bit of kukicha flavor and then pow! tart yuzu, almost like lemon but my taste buds couldn’t quite place it. They went it’s like lemon…but no…maybe more like a mandarin…no…
The yuzu is a bit tart, but nowhere near hibiscus tart, just a pleasant citrus flavor. I think this could be really tasty iced.

I snagged the Den’s Tea Sampler pack – which is a very good deal. 5 tea bags and 3 packs of loose leaf samples for $3, which also came with a coupon for the next order! This is the first tea for me to try out of the sampler.
I was going to order awhile back and forgot. Then I was in a Japanese grocery store and saw Den’s tea on their shelves and realized they are really close to me! So I put an order for the sampler.

DRY: Smells buttery matcha like. Lots of dust in the bottom of the package, which I tossed into my tea.

STEEPED: Cloudy gold green, light smelling.

TASTE: Light, yet full flavored. Bit of a slightly sweet floral note and earth grassy.
Second steep, I followed the online instructions on their site (though, the package came with lots of paperwork I forgot to read) for 15 seconds. The second steep is more grassy and brighter of a taste.

COMMENTS: One of the better bagged green teas I’ve had. Too many taste like paper, but this one is overall nice and clean tasting. I can’t wait to try their other teas!

This is my second? Genmaicha ever, so take that for what it’s worth. :) I think i prefer the one from verdant that i tried but this is still pretty decent. There’s a lot more green earthy taste to this than i expected, though having little experience with this, i wasn’t sure what to expect. At the initial sip it seems almost like it’s going to turn into a chicken soup broth, until more of the liquid lands in my mouth. That’s a little wierd though because it tastes NOTHING like chicken soup. I have a few other’s from Den’s Tea that i need to try out this weekend, but this isn’t a bad little tea.

The best Genmaicha I have ever had. Great flavor.

Like many of the other tasters I received this sample as part of the $3.00 intro to green tea kit. Dry the leaves reminded me of the smell of a non-tea tisane called ersatz http://steepster.com/teas/coffee-trade-company/20563-ersatz-coffee. The smell was rice-ey and hickory-y.

I did not get any grassy notes. It tasted “crispy”. My husband thought it tasted like asian fish sauce, and after he said that I gave it a thoughtful sip and I must agree.

I really tasted the savory, woodsy, rice + grain notes. It felt soft in my mouth. I have not tried any other houijcha but this was an interesting tea that I would love to try again.