Kettl

Grass and sweet peas.

Bright, green, vegetal notes with a grassy tone bordering on astringent. My first sip instantly brought me to thoughts of asparagus, artichokes, and Brussels sprouts at family dinners – not bad memories, as I do enjoy my vegetables, but not as my morning drink. An unusual experience that I don’t know if I’m willing to repeat. 5/10, not terrible, just not a flavor profile that I enjoyed.

I was in love from the moment I tore open the package! The aroma was sweet, with scents of green peas and grass clippings. It actually looks like grass clippings, so maybe that part’s just in my head.

Anyhow, I steeped it according to package instructions, and enjoyed the vapors while it steeped. The first sip was a complete surprise, as the sweetness in the nose did not come through on the tongue at all. It was almost salty. It’s just the slightest bit bitter at the end, so on the next steep, I may shorten up the brewing time.

What I love most is how the flavor continues to develop after the sip’s been swallowed. It lingers and morphs in ways I wish my vocabulary was equipped to describe.

From the May 2014 Select box.

Wowie Yummmmmmmmmm!!! When you open the package, this shincha smells like salty chicken soup.
I took the suggested 175F temp down to 170F and I steeped shorter too for about 15 seconds for personal preference. I do not want my green tea burned so I always baby it so much.
This tastes fantastic!!!!!!! Tastes like chicken soup and the cooked leaves are tiny and some do get into your cup but I ate some and they taste like fresh sweet baby spinach in your soup. Absolutely no bitterness, no astringency.
I have some gyokuro from Teawing as well and they have the most excellent Japanese green teas!!!!!!!!
Yummm Yummm,,,I’m glad I have another package of this. I had to rush and meet the post lady yesterday so my Steepster Select box would not cook in the hot desert sun. When it cools off in the desert,,,I will be ordering some of this. I need to drink my gyokuro first anyway ;)
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7/30/14
Having my other packet from the Select club this morning. I usually don’t drink a tea this savory in the morning but I had some water that was going down in temp to use up (I do not waste water here in the desert) so I grabbed this. It is soooooo delicious!!!!! I am almost detecting a note of cream this morning along with the chicken soup flavor. It has a great mouthfeel and flavor. This is an excellent tea to have with savory food that is for sure but I am enjoying it as a breakfast tea this morning. Plus, in Hawaii, they had miso soup, salmon, rice, etc. for breakfast options so I am sure they eat this way in the morning in Japan. It would be a perfect tea to pair with those foods. IT is excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thumbs up!!!!!!!!!!!

From the Steepster Select Box, May 2014

I had this one before heading out today. I should preface this with the fact tha ti’m not overly a fan of straight greens….i’d rather get my veggies by eating them. :) I was also a little skeptical of this one because the package indicates hazelnut notes… i was right. never did find those.. But on the whole, this was a relatively pleasant green tea that i got a few steepings out of. Nice to try….next!!

Pure amazingness! My first koicha, which my mom bought me for my 21st birthday and I so wish I could drink this stuff everyday! But sadly that’s just too much money. If you’re into matcha, then splurge the money on this at least once, you won’t regret it. A really great experience!

Rounding out my first box of steepster select, this tea is incredible. I spend a lot of time drinking and trying various greens, and this one was truly unique for me. It is quite grassy with buttery notes and a smooth, nutty finish. Really good.

It’s a good thing they offered this Dec box for free, because I wouldn’t have signed up otherwise. Now I’m hooked.

Beautiful green tea. Perfectly balanced roasted notes and fresh, green flavors, mild enough to definitely be green but bold enough that I would be comfortable pairing it with a sushi dinner as well as enjoying it on its own. Zero bitterness, just fresh, comfortable flavors. 9/10, would recommend and drink again.

Yame no. 5 is my favorite tea from Tea Wing. It is so incredibly delicious. It is a very hardy, robust, and like the description says “deep and savory”. I could drink this sencha every day for the rest of my life. The dry leaves smell amazing as does the smell it gives off when steeping, which really closely resembles the taste. I will definitely be buying Yame no. 5 for many years to come. The price is very reasonable as well. I can’t recommend this tea enough. Buy it. Oh, and I found 175 degrees to be the ideal temperature.

Great tea. Tastes amazing.

I’ve already reviewed this tea, but I really didn’t give it the review that it deserved. The first few times that I steeped this tea, I was brewing it at 175 F and while still good, I felt like I really just was not getting as much flavor as I wanted. And since this is considered as an alternative to pricier gyokuro (tea wing’s description) thought I would brew it in a similar fashion as I would with gyokuro. I used 2 teaspoons, and started at 145 F (increasing by 10 degrees each steep). Once I did this, all I can say is WOW! The first cup especially, was stunningly good. “Deep and savory” like Tea Wing’s description. Please but this tea, you’ll be glad you did.

I was not one of the people who got this in the steepster select, but as most of the reviews were very good, and knowing that tea wing is pretty amazing I had to try it. It is just as good as advertised and reviewed. Easily one of my favorites!

Probably the best sencha I’ve tasted. Full and complex, it hits all the flavors of a high quality sencha. A really substantial tea that fills the cup well.

Backlog:

The third tea that I tried from the December Steepster Select box. A really nice green. The flavor is evocative of sweet grass and lightly buttered vegetables. It has a strong vegetative taste so if you’re one who tends to shy away from green teas because they don’t like that overly vegetal taste, then this is not the tea for you.

I enjoyed it though. A pleasantly invigorating tea. Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/01/02/karigane-22-tea-wing/