JoonSusanna select Send Message

Bumping this one up because we tried it iced tonight and…WOW.
I managed to make 8 cups of this iced using 4.5 tsp. tea leaves total. I steeped that amount in 500 ml twice (the second steep was for 2 minutes) and added it to another 500 ml of cold water and it was thoroughly chilled three hours later. I am a poor college student, so don’t judge the frugality!
It’s now four hours later and there’s about 2 cups left. So this was a win for both the boyfriend and myself and definitely discovered just in time for a Southeastern US summer! YAY!

Tried this iced and paired with dinner:
I’m working on my iced technique still – I tried using 50% more leaf than usual and following usual steeping parameters. So, I used 6 heaping tsp. leaves (finishing up my sample from Adagio) with 500 ml water in the Breville and then added another 500 ml. cold water in a pitcher. I think probably one more tsp. would have made it a tad stronger, but as is it was definitely not bad.
This was suuuper refreshing since the temperature was still in the mid-80s by the time I got around to cooking dinner. My boyfriend and I chugged the entire 32 oz (unsweetened) during the meal. It was kind of confusing to my tastebuds since I’ve only drank this hot, but man I’m glad I experimented before summer rolled around for real!

Attempt #2:
I am picking up more on the syrup scent in the brewed tea. There is much more of a potent buttery taste, but it is still more towards the end of the sip and it’s still quite hot. Unfortunately as it cools I think I’m losing the flavor a little more. Even when adding sugar, I just get a sweetened black tea. Maybe the black tea is too strong and overpowering the pancakes? I think the next step is to reduce steeping time to 2 minutes and see if that helps.
I can definitely see the potential in the tea, even moreso now with those first sips…I know I will figure this out yet!

Prepared according to website directions: 20 oz. water to 10 grams tea.
Smooth and neon green in color – a yummy toasty rice flavor that went well the fried rice we ate for dinner. The second steep is just as lovely as the first. It’s funny how even though it’s hot outside and I’m drinking this hot, I can still feel refreshed.
This entire set of samples is definitely encouraging my love for Japan. :)

3 level tsp. to 500 ml water. More leaf than I usually do, just because I wanted something STRONG this morning.
As it cools I get a hint of sweet from the vanilla – this threw me because things do not taste sweet unless there is sugar. Ever. Quite smooth and a dark black tea this morning due to the extra leaf. I may keep these parameters around for awhile. :)

Dry leaf smells like pancakes, mostly syrup, but still yummy.
Steeped the smell is mostly tea with a hint of syrup.
And taste…well, I think boiling water was a mistake :(, because I pretty much just got the tea base.
Next time I’ll lower the temperature and that will likely fix things; and I’ll leave this unrated until then.

Steeped according to the parameters on the Den’s tea website.
The aroma of the tea was quite burnt and a little off putting, to be honest. Despite the scent, though, the taste of the tea was quite smooth. The tea itself brewed up a light brownish, which makes sense given the leaves being roasted.
It was a very smooth tea, and it felt a little nutty in flavor as well, though I think that’s from the roasting. I did a second steep (this time following the recommendation and doing 15 seconds) and the tea tastes much the same as the first time, perhaps just a little lighter and less nutty.
This is only my second of the four loose leaf samples, and I think that the sencha just barely edges it out, but I certainly would not refuse a cup of this; if I had enough money (and enough space) I would definitely order some for my stash…

From the sampler Den’s offers to new customers.
This was super yummy. We used the whole thing on 500 ml of water (per package directions – it’s the one thing about a Breville I wish I could change because Japanese teas just aren’t meant to be made all at once at that kind of volume) and got two steeps out of it.
Now, I love green teas. I think they are just amazing, simple teas that pair well with just about any food. This one was no exception- the leaves smelled so vegetal and fresh, and the tea itself was very smooth and…well, green. I honestly could drink this for dinner every night. So, apparently, could my boyfriend, who seriously gushed over the first infusion.
I steeped the second infusion for longer (1:30) than the first one, which went against the parameters (and I just realized that now, so…too late!). This infusion was bitter in a not-so-nice way, but that was my fault and not the fault of the tea. I still liked it very much, despite the human error.
So this one’s definitely on my shopping list. I wonder how the next three samples are going to be in comparison..

Made as an iced latte – my theme of late since I used Frank’s recipe for the concentrate and now have to use it up before it goes bad. Thank goodness the weather is warm enough that cold tea is a good thing. :)
The latte makes the strawberry just about pop in your mouth – which is such a good thing! It makes all the pie parts of the flavor come out more too. I’m going to bump the rating up a few points since it’s so good cold – and since I live in the south I will be appreciating that come summer!

Mmm.. iced chai latte.
I know I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: this is such a nice blend of spices. I am having fun going through my stash of this…