Den's Tea

This is one of the teas that I got in the Den’s Tea starters kit thing. I personally thought that it was kind of strange to be giving this away after seeing the price of it normally, but I’m not one to turn away awesome things.

This tea was strange to me. The second infusion was better than the first by at least an order of magnitude. The first infusion had a light flavor with a slight bitter undertone and gave off a unique but relaxing aroma. The second infusion was significantly darker than the first and came out much more bitter.

I am more of a fan of bitter things (just making the switch from coffee to tea) and as such, I have yet to break myself of that desire.

This is a much more fine tea than any sencha you may encounter (although I am lead to understand that such is the case for higher quality teas) , so just keep that in mind.

All in all, i think this tea is solid. Another quality product from Den’s.

I made this tea almost immediately after getting my order in the mail this afternoon.

It is the perfect tea for getting me into homework mode due to its light flavor and smooth drink. The tea leaves themselves do not give off a particular noteworthy smell, but that does not mean in any way that it is not still amazing.

If you are thinking of drinking some tea to set yourself to the “getting things done” mode, then this is the tea for you.

My first try of Kukicha! I got my huge Den’s delivery yesterday and wanted to see what their second best seller was all about. I was amazed at the appearance of the leaf, so many little pieces of stem…looks just like the picture. Hit three teaspons with about 8-10 ounces of 180F water (my Zojirushi has a 175 setting and Den’s calls for 180 normally I just call it even and hit it with 175, but if it is just coming down from its dechlorination boil I can catch it). Smells like a Sencha, but the taste is surprising. Absolutely none of the bitter afterkick you often get with senchas. Nutty (I am guessing from the roasting), vegetable mix, but without the bite you often get with a sencha. Definitely a re-order, in fact I like it better than their best-seller, Fuka-midori, and am sorry I only ordered 2 ounces. Steeped it a second time at boiling like the directions say – this is where I would say the tea has one drawback – it has very little of the original flavor with the second steep. Watery —maybe the twigs are to blame? :)

This tea is just so good! That’s it, I’m buying like a pound of it next time I’m by Den’s, because I already finished off my free sample. Marketing technique = success!

Oh man, I love this tea. Got it as a sample with my last order, but I think I’ll have to buy some more next time I’m near Den’s. The leaves smell something like green beans, especially when they’re wet, and the tea itself tastes of mild vegetables, but bitter and buttery at the same time. I could easily drink this tea every day.

Amazing tea, nothing better than coming back from an annoying class and being able to chill out with a warm cup of Pineapple Sencha.

I love everything about this tea, from the taste to the smell to even how it looks.

You can’t go wrong with this one.

Ok, I just got my 1/4 pound of this from Den’s today. This really is some delicious stuff. One thing that I didn’t have on the small sample packet but is on the 2ounce packets is that it is 2010 Shincha. It brews up fast (30 seconds) taste like buttery beany deliciousness with a hint of sencha flavor in the background. I have to add a whole bunch of new teas to my cupboard, but will do that in the morning. I have to up my rating on this stuff just a touch though because it is so tasty. Good for two steeps too!

Am I the only one who thinks this tastes like melted butter? It is very delicious. Crafty Den’s put it in as a “sample tea of month” with my first order and now they are forcing me to buy a full order because this stuff is the Shi-shi! Has the faint taste of a good sencha, but mellowed down with absolutely no bitterness.

OK, now this (a sencha) I have experience with and I can tell you I have a new favorite Sencha. I don’t have a 180F setting on my Zojirushi and so I had to catch it at 180 as it was cooling off. The resteep will be at 175 too, but Den’s recommends boiled? I have never had Sencha right off the boil and am interested if anyone has tried this and what they think.

Anyways – on to the tea. Much less bitter than any other sencha I have tasted, just a very slight taste of it at the end of your sip to offset the sweet zucchini-like taste. The second steep had all the color and particulate matter of the first but the flavor fell off quite a bit, maybe because I didn’t prepare it like Den’s told me to – off the boil for 15 seconds. Drinkable and still better than any other brand I have had in the past.

My first time trying Genmaicha so I have absolutely nothing to compare it to other than my new friend Houjicha Gold, but they are both very different from any teas I have ever tried before. The dry leaves, matcha, and rice had much less scent than either the Houjicha or regular Sencha. The brew is green of course with a roasted rice sent. Very mild compared to the Houjicha – almost hard to taste, but the roasted cereal mixed with that yummy “umami” especially on the bottom of the cup is worth concentrating on. I feel so guilty for liking these two new teas so much, but these are both getting second order. I am excited to try the Den’s Senchas I ordered too, but first must finish my O-cha organic still left in my cupboard.

I have been drinking this daily and used my “On Your Shopping List” button provided by Steepster to remind me to order more. I wish Den’s would hurry up and send me one of those promised e-mails with a coupon code. I think I’ll have to up my initial grade too…I am becoming hooked on this stuff.

I have been drinking Japanese teas for about 2 years but never tried Houjicha yet, nor ordered from Den’s, but Mary Lou and Robert Heiss new book, “The Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook” had recommended Den’s. Since O-Cha (my former supplier of Japanese tea) was hitting me up with a foreign exchange fee, I decided to order my sencha resupply from them and at $2.00 an ounce, figured this was worth a try since it was one of their best-sellers. I love Den’s packaging of their tea. It comes in resealable bags that give a great airtight seal, which is a huge plus since I am maxed out of Teavana containers.

Anyways, I am very pleased with what is in my cup this morning. The brew is deep bronze and very clear (unlike any other Japanese tea I’ve ever had) and smells delicious! Smells woodsy and toasty and like everything from Japan I smell a slight hint of sea life, but in a very appetizing way (think grilled herring). Tastes almost exactly like it smells and goes great with breakfast. Definitely a repurchase. Funny that this is classified as a green tea – sure tastes different from anything I’ve tried before. I read up on this after trying it…interesting how recent an invention it is (1920s) and amazing how so much of this camellia sinensis plant is tasty (even supposedly last-harvest, “trashy” leaves and stem).

This is a fun tea, and really good iced, too.
I don’t like it as much as the regular houjicha, but it is a nice change. I noticed the dry leaf has a lot more kuki (twigs) in it than regular houjicha.

Sencha in a bag! I got this in the sampler. Wow Den’s Tea! You never fail me! This is very good, especially for a bagged tea! It was bright green in the bag with some powder… Sencha powder? or Matcha? Very earthy and creamy taste. Delicious! If I ever want to buy a bagged green, I’m going to get this one!

Not sure about this one it tastes all over the place but isn’t sure what it should taste like. Hmm..confused tea? I won’t buy this again.

This tea is not for me. Very strong, bitter, and astringent. I brew all of my teas with a water to leaf ratio of about 8 oz/1.5 teaspoons. I can’t imagine brewing this tea with a 3 oz/1teaspoon ratio. It would be incredibly strong.

I disliked this tea so much that I had to mix it 50/50 with Den’s pineapple sencha and I brewed it cold. It tasted excellent when I brewed it this way.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a sampling of this tea. It is one that I’m really excited to try, because I am so fond of both Houjicha and Genmaicha.

This is really good. Definitely different, but different in the best way possible. The roasting of the Bancha as well as the popped rice gives this a really interesting depth of flavor. I like it!

I’m off to write a review for the Tea Review Blog!

I just had a 10g sample of this, but I liked it. It’s hard to put a rating on it though, hard to compare it to others after just one try.

The dry tea aroma was like dried orange peel, and was somewhat bitter. The actual taste though was slightly sweet and a little orange/creamy. The creaminess wasn’t strong, but definitely present. I’d love to try it again, or have it iced.

Den’s Tea Genmaicha was my first foray into Genmaicha (green tea [usually Sencha] blended with roasted/toasted brown rice) and I am absolutely hooked! I even bought another premium tea purveyor’s Genmaicha to compare (my review of this tea will come later).

My followers will know already about my steeping routine; I keep the tea bag in the duration of enjoying my cuppa. I enjoy a strong cuppa.

The aroma is of toast, toasted pine nuts and popcorn and yet, it’s clean and earthy simultaneously.

The taste follows what your nose smells. It is very much the tasting notes of what you smell, toasty, nutty, popcorn, clean and earthy. The earthiness comes from the Sencha even though Sencha is known for it’s brighter, somewhat astringent characteristics; but with this tea, the Sencha gives this blend an earthy under-note rather than it’s prominence.

The aftertaste is of roasty, toastiness with a clean finish.

This tea is very comforting, soothing, warming and refreshing. A delightful tea to cleanse the palate; or to enjoy on a crisp, rainy Autumn day or evening!

I would highly recommend this tea…a must buy!

I prepared this as Den’s Tea’s oh-so-detailed chart instructs: 2g tea, 4oz boiling water, 30/15 second steeps. First impression: reminds me of (roasted) yerba maté or kukicha. It’s a very mild flavor, not at all bitter, but also not very tea-like to my palate. Slightly sweet, but also somewhat… dusty, in flavor? Oddly dry. The second steep is very similar.

This is interesting, but not likely to become a staple of mine any time soon. Maybe it would be a good low-caffeine option if you’re a purist who doesn’t drink flavored teas or tisanes, but I can’t really imagine the mood where I’d pick this over everything else in my cupboard.

One of my favorite things about this tea is how easy it is to brew. As it says on the back of my pouch, it can be “brewed casually”, which means that I don’t have to worry about water temperatures and exact steeping times. That’s nice for the morning, when I’m too groggy to worry about stuff like that.

I have nothing to add to the description of the taste. The other reviews have already covered it well! It’s just delicious.

My fav green tea so far. Does fine for long, boiling steeps (IMO, although I think I may have been born unable to taste bitterness) to create a cup worthy of a cold, early morning.

Very pleasant Houjicha. I wasn’t expecting a tea bag to deliver such an outstanding flavor. This is my first Houjicha but it won’t be my last!