Kettl

This is a great japanese green tea. I found that it reminded me most of a cup of matcha…probably because of the small, fine leaves. Very grassy and flavorful.

It was hard to get over the fishy taste in this tea.

This is the type of green tea I really like. It’s got a great mouthfeel and has a lot of complex flavor packed into each sip. It’s got a corn-like flavor that I associate with lots of quality green teas. A tiny bit of astringincy in this cup, but still very enjoyable. This is a tea of substance. It has a real thickness to it.

Very smooth and accessible Genmaimatcha.

I like that Tea Wing sends its tea in oxygen-free packaging,,this was the freshest Gyokuro I have ever had and am glad I tried this company.

I used my Gyokuro Tokoname serving set for this because you gotta be quick!!! I love the Gyokuro set because you basically pour the water in and in no time, pour into your drinking cup and consume.
The liquor is an amazing spring-green color and the salty broth of it has lots of umami and a buttery note.
This tea is excellent to pair with food because of the savory aspect.

I love Gyokuro and this one was excellent!!!

I could see this as my daily winter tea. Warm, toasty – it’s definitely comfort food for me.

Had this late afternoon on Saturday after a snowy day of shopping. Going to the symphony that night so I wanted a pick me up. Followed the directions to brew and loved the soft creamy green goodness put forth. I made three steeps without a noticeable drop in flavor or aroma. Then it was off to the music of Beethoven with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and pianist Noboyuki Tsujii playing Concerto no. 5. Had a Makers Mark Manhattan with some Mast Bros dark chocolate pre-concert and the tone was set; tea, cocktail, nibbly bit and virtuosity. If you have never heard Mr. Tsujii play, you’re in for a treat. All in all a great day in the big apple. Some extra notes about the Karigane is that I am not that keen on the cloudiness the tea exhibits but I will get over it for the taste, but the tea blew my socks off in the awake category. Didn’t get to sleep till 4 in the morning.

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 samples
Water: 1000ml at 175°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 1 minute 30 seconds
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: fresh, vegetal, sweet, even a hint floral
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, vegetal, hint fresh grass
Flavor: floral, sweet, vegetal
Body: Light
Aftertaste: thick, slightly gritty, mint
Liquor: translucent light yellow green

I like this, it is a very refreshing green

This was from me free Steepster Select box

Resteep:
750ml at 175°F for 2 minutes
very watery, minty, slightly nutty

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2014/01/tea-wing-loose-leaf-green-tea-karigane.html

Yay Steepster select! Was I supposed to drink these in order? This was my first one.

Fantastic colour! A vibrant buzzy green! Very fresh flavor, smooth, creamy, grassy, vegetal, buttercup floral, buttery and a bit of unami nutty. This was the tea I liked the least in the box, but was otherwise a pretty good green.

Full review of the Steepster Select Dec 2013 box on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/steepster-select-january-2014-teas-oolong-owl-tea-review/

This is the other Steepster Select sample I picked up from Jason at the meetup, and I think it might be my first karigane. It’s light and vegetal, with no bitterness whatsoever. I’m getting some grass and some seaweed and a little bit of nuttiness; there’s the tiniest bit of astringency (which is a good thing in my opinion). There’s something very fresh and spring-like about this tea, and I’m liking it quite a bit. This is one I wouldn’t mind having some more of.

The first of my Steepster Select teas! I got these like a month ago but I didn’t have a teapot for the longest time BUT NOW I DO.

First off, I’d like to point out that Steepster Select packages their teas in the cutest way possible and I love it SO much.

I wanted to drink a tea from the package so I just stuck my hand into the bag and decided to drink the first one I touched! So Karigane #22 it is :)

Opening the pack, yep. Smells like seaweed and smells very much like sushi!! Smells like roasted nori which I LOVE so much! But in tea? Huh. Let’s see :)
Brewing… still smells like nori. I kinda want some now. Light green in colour.
Tasting… oh. Tastes just like it smells. Like liquified nori. I actually really like it! But that’s just my love for sushi talking :)

Deliciously addicting green tea that’s sweet and grassy. The taste was vegetal and sweet to the point of being very similar to a matcha. Strong clean flavor.

I was really looking forward by this newest offering from Tea Wing, as I have been consistently blown away by their various Yame sencha. I also heard good things from people who had received samples in the Steepster Select program.

The tea (as usual with Tea Wing) did not arrive with any brewing recommendations, so I first tried my standard sencha technique of 175°F for 1 minute. Quite a lot of astringency and a very hard caffeine edge. Not what I was expecting.

What I discovered later is that a much cooler temperature brings out the best of this tea. The dry leaves have an incredible almost berry-like sweetness and freshness, and that same aroma translates to the cup when this tea is brewed at 160°F.

Once the leaves have opened up with the first steeping, hot water can be used for a second or third infusion. Using 208°F for a quick 10 seconds worked well. This tea has an incredibly long finish; the sweetness lingers in my mouth for several minutes, something I normally associate with good oolong teas.

Recommended!

First: 3g tea, 5oz water @ 160°F, 1 minute 30 seconds
Second: 208°F, 10 seconds
Third: 208°F, 10 seconds

I am another steepster select recipient and was excited to try this tea. I am usually a fan of Japanese greens and I thought this was a particularly nice one. Surprisingly low astringency, it was very flavorful with a mellow, low key sweetness. Nice and grassy without being overwhelming. To me it was well balanced and re-steeped well. I may have to purchase more in the future.

I like green teas with strong, but balanced grassy flavors. This fits the bill. You can also brew this a bit stronger and still avoid bitter flavors.

This is the first one out of Select that I’m not in love with so far. The nori taste is too strong and a bit sour for me. It’s got none of the sweetness of matcha. Maybe it’ll mellow out on a second steep? And the whole chewy thing just isn’t working for me.

Just not my groove. Not horrible, but I wouldn’t buy it.

Tea #3 from my free Steepster Select box!

This is my kinda green! It is like a heartier gyokuro…sweet and intensely GREEN with no bitterness. Very nice. Thanks Steepster!!!

My favorite of the bunch from the 1st Steepster Select offering. As Japanese greens go, this really epitomizes the wonderful vegetal flavors and thick mouthfeel of shade grown teas. Not familiar with a Kabuse tea, front the Tea Wing site, this appears to be a type of less refined Gyokuro (including some stem pieces). I like me some Gyokuro and I like this. As per the directions on the sample, I’d a say a minute and a half is a long first steep for my 5oz Finum. Maybe that’d work with an 8-10oz glass? Sticking with a smaller more traditional glass, one could get away with 30 secs to a min, which is how I brewed it the first time and it was exquisite, later steeps were extended by 30-45 seconds. The next sample pack I followed the directions, and though it was still good, I think it condensed the delicate flavors too much. I’ll be surprised to get a reasonable 3rd steep this time around. The first time I tried it, the leaf yielded 3 solid infusions. The colors is lovely and looks alive, with a clearly green hue. I’d say it’s fairly true to the packages description of Nori and cut grass, though I didn’t get the hazelnut. I picked up on spinach and some edamame. I put off embarking on my second sample, as I so enjoyed the first one. If I didn’t have such a huge backlog of tea, I’d purchase some of this. The price is really reasonable at $22/100g.

The first cup of this is very smooth with a slight grain tang that is really appealing and warm. It’s very springy and lush with a complex liquorish feel. This cup really mellows as it cools.

The second cup was even better. I think the leaves opened up and have had time to expand the palette of this tea. It’s very buttery and nutty with a nice smooth end to each sip. The flavors are very deep and like others have said it does have a “chewy” feel to it. As it cooled this tea became really citrusy.

The flavors that explain tea are nutty, citrusy, spring, and grassy.

Overall this is a wonderful and yummy cup. It’s clean, palatable and very fresh.

This is the first tea I’m trying from my first Steepster Select box. Exciting! I’m not a huge green tea fan, but I was intrigued by the description: “Deep savory notes of nori and cut grass balanced by a hazelnut finish.” And I can definitely taste nori, but I can’t taste the hazelnut finish.

But I like this. It’s more robust than other green teas I’ve had. The flavor is definitely “chewy” as noted in the steepster description. Which is a weird way to describe a tea, but the flavor definitely lingers in my mouth and gives my mouth a full feeling.

I can definitely see this being easily oversteeped. I oversteeped it by about 10 seconds as I was fumbling with the microwave timer, and I’m tasting a little bitterness in the tea. It’s not unpleasant, but it can easily become so.

I dont love it but it was a great new try.