Nio Teas

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drank Matcha Tea Henta by Nio Teas
413 tasting notes

Matcha is a taste that I haven’t yet acquired, but I’m trying again this morning. Thanks to Nio for the free sample. I cold brewed my entire 2 g in about 150 ml of water in a mason jar. I didn’t fill it to the top of the jar as I did last time, so maybe I’ll get some foam.

The dry aroma is nutty and grassy. I did get some foam when I shook the matcha! I taste notes of cream, nuts, grass, snow peas, asparagus, kale, and mild umami, with a creamy consistency and not too much dust. The matcha is sweet and has a grassy, vegetal aftertaste.

I found this tea to be lighter and sweeter than the matcha I tried last winter, although it’s still pretty intense. I think cold brewing also helps dial down the feeling that you’re drinking a spinach salad. .

For an unspecified amount of time, get a free chawan, whisk, and spoon with orders over $129. You can also get up to 69% off matcha. Take an additional 10% off with the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission when you use this code). I’m not sure when any of these sales expire, so check the site to see if they’re still valid.

Flavors: Asparagus, Creamy, Grass, Green, Kale, Nuts, Snow Peas, Sweet, Umami, Vegetal

Preparation
Iced 2 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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drank Matcha Tea Washimine by Nio Teas
693 tasting notes

Another morning with this lovely matcha.

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drank Matcha Tea Washimine by Nio Teas
693 tasting notes

Balanced, neutral. Some green notes, light bitterness balanced by savory notes. Smooth and suspended well.

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86

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86

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86

Wow! Backlog on this one but it was really good.

I’ve brewed a few times. It’s like Matcha’s roasty twin. Really straightforward. Would make a great topper for a matcha latte if you’re into that sort of thing.

If you enjoy hojicha, this is a very grounding and complete experience. I would buy more, especially for the low offer price.

Flavors: Nutty, Roasty, Savory, Wood

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79
drank Chanoka Kukicha by Nio Teas
1233 tasting notes

NIO Advent Calender 2023
Last Tea! Only took me two months. And my husband wonders why I prefer to get small bags. (Unless it’s a staple like Waikato Black). There is 5gs of the in this bag. Holy smokes. Glad I saw that before dumping it into my vessel. I’ve decided to return to the Shiboridashi. We are only using 1g of this. And thus far, I think the less tea the better. Same steeping time (45s) and same water temp 65C. A very nice first steep. Slightly grassy, hay, a bit of sweetness. Soft mouth feel. Second infusion (20s). Probably could use a bit more time. After an added 10 seconds, astringency shows its head but so does a very nice umami tone.

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68
drank Gyokuro Cha Meijin by Nio Teas
1233 tasting notes

NIO Advent Tea
Nice glossy leaves. Deep green. Umami, grassy aroma. Initial aroma of summer florals and a hint of gardenia. Going to do many quick infusions with this one. This is very gentle compared to the previous gyokuro. It says two minutes but I really felt like 1 minute was tops. When steeped longer there is a flavor I just don’t enjoy. Yes, it is also bitter but something about the flavor just puts me off. Second steeping needs very quick steeps. I guess I’m just not impressed with this one.

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84
drank Gyokuro Wakamusha by Nio Teas
1233 tasting notes

NIO Advent Calender 2023
Was supposed to have a class today. Except it wasn’t today… it was yesterday Japan time. I dummy. _ Luckily the lady running it is awesome and recorded it. Using m kyusu for this one. The shiboridashi needs some… excuse me… I need some education. The dry aroma is nice with hints of stone fruit and fresh grass. Glossy dark green leaves, needle-like. It’s 15 F outside. And by f I don’t mean Fahrenheit, I mean, I also do but also otherwise cause I can’t feel my face. Can we all change to Celcius, please? Soft mouth feel. Fresh cut pile of grass clippings. Maybe some corn and spinach. Slight cream. One minute is too long for this one.

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85

NIO Tea advent calendar and a freaking sinus infection.
Had to rest up stairs for a bit. Now that I;ve done that I’m going to punch this thing with some matcha. Some very nice vegetal notes. A bit of green beans, asparagus, and maybe some pepper but also hints of cream and oat milk. I feel like I shouldn’t be tasting as much as I am considering the current state of my sniffer. Speaking of which I’m sure there is a dry aroma but my nose doesn’t really want to comprehend it at the moment. Luckily the taste is quite good.

gmathis

Liquids and rest!

Skysamurai

The rest is def the hardest part ^^;

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NIO Advent 2023
A lovely looking sencha. Dark green with a bit of light green. Pleasant aroma filled with stone fruit, grass notes, and a bit of cream. I still haven’t gotten the hang of this shiboridashi but it’s so beautiful I can’t bear to let it just sit around. My first sip was a bit overboard. I could sense the vegetal, fruity, and grassy notes but the immediacy of the pairing was almost too much. Even my second steep is a bit too astringent on the tongue. Okay… This one just straight-up needs a bigger steeping vessel. Even at five seconds, my mouth is going wthecks… I reduced the amount of leaf now. That was a messy process. The flavor is a bit more palatable now, much grass, so wow.

Edit. I’m not sure if it was bc I drank this on an empty stomach or something else but I felt quite nauseated…

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85

NIO advent tea.
I’ve come down with something. Sniffles and runny nose. I just want to sleep but kids and stuff… So matcha and some prayers are a necessary to get me through the day. The dry aroma is nice. Somewhat chocolaty and a bit sweet. The powder is meh. Which doesn’t bode well for the flavor but now that I am drinking it I’m actually surprised at the depth it has. Some good vegetal notes, great umami, and some marine notes.

gmathis

I was the doc’s third sinus infection this morning. Hope your bug’s half-life is less than half of half of that! :)

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78
drank Matcha Tea Washimine by Nio Teas
1233 tasting notes

NIO Advent 2023
These small packets of matcha always make me a bit pensive. I suppose if I go into it with little expectation then I can only go up from there. The powder is a nice green color. With a decent aroma. My favorite part so far was when whisking. The aroma was lovely. A bit creamy and a bit vegetal. It froths up nicely; even for someone like myself with tolerable whisking skill. The color of the liquor is a very nice green. A slight bit astringent in the mouth but not to the point of being annoying. It’s also smooth and thus far minimal grit. Very green. Slight bitterness and a bit creamy with vegetal notes. A bit of minerality also shows up when it first touches your tongue. I didn’t taste it right away but as it has cooled it showed up ever slow slightly. The powder is also staying nicely suspended!

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72
drank Gyokuro Sasa Hime by Nio Teas
1233 tasting notes

NIO advent 2023. Ah, lovely dry aroma. Sweetgrass. Mixture of wet, just cut grass, and stale summer-dried grass. Glossy, dark jade leaves. Two minutes? Dang. I don’t think I can wait that long. Ooo no. Don’t wait. The sips at 20 seconds are nice. Full of light and swaying grass. I feel like I am eating more of the leaves than drinking them. Highly recommend an infuser for anyone else who is going to consume this tea. The mouthfeel begins silky and switches to a bit of astringency. Ooo whee… I don’t know… two minutes is a bit much for me. maybe 1.5 at tops. The overall flavor is nice. The usual grassiness with vegetal notes of cooked spinach and frozen parmesan.

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73
drank Kamairicha Issin by Nio Teas
1233 tasting notes

Taking a break, for a moment, from the shiboridashi to switch back to the kyusu. This lovely-looking kabusecha needs it. The leaves are a mix of dusty and glossy and mostly curled and tightly twisted. Slightly tropical floral but mostly grassy steeping aroma. All of the leaves open nicely revealing a mix of olive green and basil green tones. A nice vegetal brew with grassy notes and some nutty undertones.

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62
drank Matcha Tea Noike by Nio Teas
1233 tasting notes

NIO Advent 2023
After the last matcha I had from this pack, I am very pensive. Granted that was a different producer. I have an amapan sitting next to me just in case. The dry color is decent. Could be a bit more vibrant. Looks to be a lower grade. Maybe better for a latte. The taste is that of a culinary or slightly premium. A bit vegetal. A bit mineral. Somewhat grassy. Definitely better for latte. Works well with my ampan.

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72
drank Sencha Henta Asanoka by Nio Teas
1233 tasting notes

Nio Advent 2023
A mix of long and short glossy green leaves. A pleasant and clean aroma. One minute seems about right though I always get a bit nervous going for too long with Japanese greens. Vegetal notes of fresh asparagus, cooked spinach, radish? It’s a decent tea. Something to drink while you are eating something but on its own it is a bit lackluster.
Unrelated kind of… When your kids get sick you don’t really sleep. I don’t really sleep because I have an overactive imagination. I’m tired. And the kids …are being kids. Siblings are interesting. I get to do a sit-down talk with my sister tomorrow. Let you know how that goes ^^;

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85

NIO Advent 2023. This one is listed on the package as Chiran Shizuku Sencha. You can definitely tell, upon opening the package, that it has matcha mixed in but the fact that it is not mentioned in the sample title is a tad bit annoying. The dry aroma is nice. A pure green grass with bits of hay and cream. Very nice vegetal notes on this one, bits of fresh grass.

Leafhopper

I noticed this on my package as well. Kind of confusing.

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1

Nio advent 2023.
The aroma coming from the bag is not pleasant. At first, it’s kind of grassy but then it quickly changes to an almost mildew-like. And the color. It’s not the worst I’ve seen, kind of in the middle of the pack. An older avocado green. It also does not whisk well and definitely needs to be served. Oh… #$%^#($%. That’s so bad. Nope. Maybe it would be better in a cookie? I don’t know if I could even stomach this in a latte…No… oh my …. $%^ second sip is curdling in my mouth. Did this sample go bad? Holy balls… This is so bad… so bad…. Nope nope. I’m going to go wash my mouth out with So Delicious eggnog

Marshall Weber

Oh no! A 1 wow. I’m so sorry it was so bad haha. Haven’t heard great things about Nio tbh…

Skysamurai

I’ve had a mix from them but this was by far the worst.

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83
drank Kukicha Osada FF by Nio Teas
1233 tasting notes

NIO advent Tea
If your green tea package has the name Osada on it I can personally vouch for their credibility and amazing tea. You may drink it and not even know you are because many companies, like Nio and Zerama, use them. I discovered them back in 2021 after trying out their Yamabuki Nadeshiko through Zerama. Then I had the great honor of interviewing them both Osada-san and Hiro-san are amazing people. Read my article if you have the time! https://teatiff.com/2022/11/04/osada-tea-japan/
Anyway, onto the tea. A bit more leaf gets through the built-in strainer than expected. But it’s good for you…. meh. Grab a strainer. I don’t mind eating a few leaves but it becomes annoying when it’s multiple pieces. The package calls for 45 seconds and they’re not kidding. The astringent grassiness comes on fast if you aren’t paying attention. The flavor has a bit of a toasty character to it. Bits of grassy notes mixed with some slightly nutty notes. The wet aroma is kind of roasted, kind of dandelion, and kind of grassy. I can’t put my thumb on one. It’s like a calm… tornado.

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78

I’m nearing the end of the Nio samples that aren’t matcha. It’s been an interesting experience trying all these green teas! This sencha sample does include matcha powder and they suggested cold brewing it. I steeped the 5 g sample in 150 ml of room-temperature water for three hours, and then twice more to extract all the flavour.

The dry aroma before steeping is of sweet grass and spinach. The cold steeped tea is quite thick, with notes of spinach, kale, grass, broccoli, umami, and something fruity in the aftertaste. The longer I hold it in the mouth, the more punch it has. I did two additional steeps, which were not as aggressively vegetal. The third, longest steep even had some earth, cream, and melon.

I think cold steeping these senchas is a good idea. I enjoyed this tea, particularly the later steeps, and might have appreciated it even more during last summer’s many heat waves.

Use the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF to get a 10% discount (I get a small commission when you use this code). It stacks with any ongoing sales.

Flavors: Broccoli, Cream, Earth, Grass, Green, Kale, Melon, Spinach, Sweet, Thick, Umami, Vegetal

Preparation
5 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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drank Bancha Masudaen by Nio Teas
413 tasting notes

This bancha is another first for me. I’m still waiting for my scale, so these generously offered pre-packed samples are proving to be very helpful (though to be honest, I wish I had more black teas and oolongs). I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 160F water for 60, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

With its collection of twigs and leaves, this bancha definitely looks like a rustic stem tea. The dry aroma is of grass, honey, butter, and roast. As another reviewer mentioned, this tea tastes a lot like genmaicha, with grass, roasted grains, honey, hay, and seaweed impressions. It reminds me of something served at a sushi restaurant. The next couple steeps have flavours of toasted rice, saline, spinach, and butter, along with grass and gentle roast. The final steeps have notes of earth, metal, popped rice, and grass.

This is a pleasant tea that I probably steeped too many times. I think it would go well with food and am craving sushi now. :)

Use LEAFHOPPER10OFF to get a 10% discount (I get a small commission when you use this code). Their holiday sale is going on for a while, and the code should still be good in 2024.

Flavors: Butter, Earth, Grain, Grass, Hay, Honey, Metallic, Nori, Roasted, Saline, Spinach, Toasted Rice, Vegetal

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 1 min, 0 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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