Den's Tea

Sipdown, back to 240. This sample is apparently 2 years old, and I overleafed it a bit, so we’ll see how this goes.

Well, sadly, the sakura flavor is pretty much gone. Happily, this is still a pleasant, nutty sencha even in it’s old age. I was considering buying some of the Sakura Sencha this year, but I think I will hold off even though I know I would like to get some just because I would like to see how low my tea stash can go in a year, and there are other things that are higher on my to-purchase list. Next year, if my stash is manageable, I’ll probably spring for some.

I got this in a swap with brandy3392 a while ago and had kind of forgotten about it, but I recently saw a post on the discussions about how awesome and springy this tea was. Today being an unseasonably warm day (and in general it’s been crazy springy here) I dug it up out of my sample drawer and brewed up a cup.

I really don’t like cherry-flavored things, but I requested this sample because all the reviews put an emphasis on how buttery it was and lightly floral, and not really that cherry-ish. I mean, it’s cherry blossom, not cherry fruit. I was still a bit nervous, but the aroma of the steeped tea allayed that fear. It smells oh-so-buttery with that sweet, cookie-ish scent I have come to really love in green teas. There’s perhaps a very light floral in the scent but it does come out in the flavor. Most of the flavor I get is the buttery, very tasty green tea, but there is also a lightly tart fruity floral note in there as well. It’s really not like cherry to me, which is good if you ask me. I would guess this sample is relatively old (at least last season’s blend), so I wouldn’t be surprised if I was missing a few things given that this is a green, but nevertheless it is still delightfull. I may have to get more of this, and try more tea from Den’s!

So I’m looking at my notes from the last time I wrote about this tea. Apparently I wasn’t all that impressed with it. Well, things have changed because now I find it deliciously comforting. It’s toasty grains and somehow savory. It’s like the crunchy browned rice at the bottom of the pot. These days, my family uses rice cookers, so no more crunchy browned rice for me, but man, that stuff was tasty. This tea tastes like that. I’m going to miss this tea. That was the last of my bag. :(

I’m working from home this week (Thanks Sandy!) so I’m able to drink down my tea faster. I’m missing my tea at work though.

Throat feeling crappy. :(

Took the puppies out for a walk. Marveled at the budding greens of spring. Nibbled on a bit of wild garlic growing on my lawn. Came home with pups bounding before me only to notice a package by the door. Holy cow! It’s my Den’s Tea package! That was quick! And I was just getting thirsty.

I can smell the toasty cereal. There’s a hint of rice crackers. The brew is a brown and not beautiful to look at but comforting and familiar.

The taste? Hm… definitely roasty and honey sweet and a little grainy. It reminds me of a darker oolong and medicinal tea. It is also, very warming and soothing. Smoother than other houjichas I’ve had but not necessarily better. Unique and interesting, but not really that delicious. I may need time to adjust to this one. Hmmm…

THis time, I followed directions to used boiling water, but I think I might prefer it at green parameters. I’ll try that next time.

oooh, if you’ve ever wondered whether you should cold brew a gyokuro, I think you should try it. :)

I let this cold brew in the refrigerator overnight and it’s delicious, light and sweet… very vegetal and almost creamy. A success!

Tea of the morning, yum yum yum!

I am still feeling a bit under the weather so perhaps the antioxidants will help.

By the way here is a watercolor painting I did of a birdie and a teapot if anyone would like to see.

http://sanfrantea.teatra.de/2012/08/20/birdie-and-teapot

Tea of the morning time here – see previous notes. I love my Japanese greens!!!

Definitely a nice treat for this morning. I usually just drink gyokuro on the weekends which is a good thing, since it’s kind of costly.

Lovely and sweet, vegetal and seaweedy kind of cup. I got two excellent steeps out of it, which was great. See my previous notes for more info.

I decided to treat myself this morning. It’s been a tough week and why not splurge on some nice gyokuro?

I steeped this with a mesh insert inside a glass – maybe not the most eloquent thing but it did the job. I followed Den’s steeping recommendations and did 150 seconds at 140 F. I got a very sweet, almost glowing green and vegetal cup.The second steep was at 2 minutes at 150 F and I think I liked that one even a little bit better. The only other gyokuro I’ve had was the one from Arbor teas and now I wish I could compare the two side by side.

Anyway this is great if you’re looking for a sencha like product but without the bitterness or astringency that can sometimes go with those. I did like this one a lot and the caffeine buzz is certainly nothing to scoff at! It wasn’t cheap but I will mostly certainly savor and appreciate it.

I think it’s crazy how my tea cravings change from week to week. Sometimes I want something fruity, other times, only dessert-y will do. Sometimes, I want pure and unadorned tea. I want to taste nothing but the leaf. Not too long ago, I would have told you that green oolongs are by far my favorite. These days, I’m having a renewed love affair with Japanese greens.

This particular tea tastes like grass and minerals. It’s full and brothy and also a bit drying, but not astringent. Sweet. The taste reminds me of summer somehow. I think I’ll cold steep the used leaves. Too tired for another cup now. :)

Green tea of the morning here, I actually like this one a lot but seem to be neglecting it for some reason. Today I’m feeling like it’s quite brothy and slightly vegetal, very nice compliment to the bowl of blackberries I’m eating. See previous notes for more info.

Last night I was at meditation and feel quite well balanced and relaxed to start the week off right!

I’ve never had a guricha before so here goes nothing. ooooh. It looks like I ended up liking this a bit more than the other testers. :)

Steeped mine at around 180 F for 90 seconds. I got a nice greenish-yellow cup. The wet leaves are very green and smell so vegetal. I did notice if you steep this for a while it can get kind of pungent so I think shorter steeps of 30 – 60 seconds work well here.

This reminds me of sencha’s grandpa, hee hee. It’s more robust and full, with lots of green spinach-y flavors. I think it’s even a bit buttery, brothy, and thick like drinking green tea soup. This would certainly not appeal to everyone’s palette but to me it seems very nourishing, fortifying.

Overall I’m loving my Den’s tea experience….

I got some of this with my recent order at Den’s and I am not sure what to make of it quite yet. It is an iced beverage and low in caffeine, still I think I am most familiar with roasted barley being in an herbal coffee substitute so it tastes a little odd to have it as a cold drink. I can’t help but think I would just prefer this heated up and with some cream. This is my first mugicha so I don’t really know what I am talking about…. ;-)

Gyokuro Kin, is truly a great gyokuro at a fair price.

Open the bag and you can instantly smell the delicious fresh sweetness this tea gives. The leaves are an even mix of broken and unbroken needles with a rich dark green color.

I brewed this tea following very closely Den’s brewing guide using 160F water and 1 and a half min steep time in a Kyusu.

The resulting brew had a very subtle sweet aroma with a very saturated green color (mostly due to a large amount of particles in the cup). This gyokuro is sweet and full bodied with a slight bitterness that becomes more apparent as your cup cools down. My second cup, this time brewed at 180F, had a much stronger bitter finish but still had the sweetness of the first.

Overall, I like this gyokuro. It has the sweetness that you expect, but with a heavy mouthfeel similar to that of a fukamushi sencha. This combination makes a heartier brew than other gyokuros, perfect to drink with a meal.

I revisited this one today – Months after my first try – I did like this one better. I think I over infused last time…I remember not rating previously for that reason…my human error. I ran out of time today to fully review once again but I hope to soon! It’s a nice flavor orange and sencha that stands up to the test tho! Thumbs up!

Hmm…this tea is a looker that is for sure. It brews up so green! In fact, I think the second steep, the steep that was only 15 seconds, produced a darker color than the first steep of 45 seconds.

I thought I may have used too much leaf because I’m not sure how trustworthy my scale is for low numbers, but given the tasting profile on here I don’t think there’s a problem.

It’s a very savory flavor, not very sweet. I think full best describes its flavor. It’s not bold, just very full of various savory tastes, so to speak.

It’s like the green tea version of toasting spinach and nuts. It’s good but not something I would buy; I much prefer a lot more of a sweet flavor in green teas.

Thanks to whoever recommended this bancha from Den’s tea, I forget who you were… :)

I think they do recommend boiling water for this one, but nevertheless I believe I steeped mine in around 190F for 60-90 seconds. This is very vegetal and marine, I am also picking up a bit on the buttery quality others have mentioned. It’s pretty rich in flavor although more savory, not much on the sweet side. I was worried after reading the description that said it was more astringent than sencha, I am not really picking up on that much in the first steep.

My second steep was around 208 F and here I am picking up more on some astringency so although still delicious, I think I prefer it at the lower temp.

It is raining today in San Francisco and this robust green tea seems very comforting. It’s also nice to have at least one green tea you don’t have to worry about steeping with a thermometer, which will make this a nice one to have in the office.

I’m starting to wonder why I even bother buying flavored green tea because I actually like the taste of green tea and more often than not the flavoring kind of ruins them in my opinion… I think this is a good value especially for the price.

Still working on my limited sample supply – going to run out soon and need to place an almighty order from Den’s. I do love Den’s Tea!
This is my second steep tonight and just as wonderful.

Oh where have you been my love?
Words can not express my devotion to you.
From the first time I saw you – I knew you were something very special.
I want you in my stash … always!

So okay now that I got that out of my system lol ….

The only possible down side was upon brewing it had a strange smell of burning plastic and I actually thought I had done something screwy and burnt up my tea kettle but alas after another moment or two I got the buttered popcorn smell!

This tea is nutty, ever so slightly sweet, complex, buttery, creamy, smooth, and I love it!
Its so earthy yet it gives me that need for a little sweetness as well. Its perfection!
I really do not get the vegetal flavor but thats okay.

This is the second tea of my permanent stash!

I love that I am starting to discover those that are THE teas I cherish!

Thank you to Den’s Teas for this sample – I didn’t even realize I had ordered this sample pack and ordered another last night! My mind IS going going gone! Regardless, I will be ordering a big stash of this as soon as income allows!

And with a 15 to 30 second brew time LOL wow what a quick fix!

Wah, it’s a sipdown. I love this houjicha and it will certainly go on my list of things to repurchase from Den’s when I need some other things. Meanwhile I think I can cope with the bagged houjicha I got in Japantown.

Music of the afternoon: Classical Indian music for Healing and Relaxation. It’s groovy! http://www.amazon.com/Santoor-Solo-In-Rag-Bhairav/dp/B0016UIHLM

This is such a great tea I am having from Den’s after lunch. I love the roasted/sweet flavor of this houjicha. It’s good hot or cold but I was thinking just now it would be fun to try this with some coconut flavor added in. I wonder why more tea companies don’t do flavored houjicha?

If I was stranded on a desert island this would make the top 10 of teas I would want to bring with me. :)

Tea of the afternoon here – it’s been a while since I’ve had this but it’s certainly a great tea! One of my favorites from Den’s. It’s equally delicious hot or cold.

Today’s a good day to make iced tea because it’s nice and sunny here!

I wish I had cold brewed this, so as not to dilute the flavor but it’s still very good when you pour it over ice. mmmm, houjicha! See previous notes for more info.

The weather is cold & foggy today and since I’m still feeling kinda oooky, I decided I really wanted some of this. With the sweet, roasted chestnutty type of flavor, it’s like comfort tea for yours truly. Enjoying this now with a bowl of split pea soup.

See previous notes for more info. :)