Kettl

This is simply the best gyokuro I’ve ever had. I have only brewed one teaspoon so far, as I just opened it today, but I easily brewed into the 5th steep and the flavor was still incredible. Tea wing’s description of it is perfect. The buttery notes that you get are very interesting. Never had a buttery flavor in tea before and I’ve gotta say I love it! Do yourself a favor and buy this, although it is expensive, it is well worth every penny, at least for a try. You won’t regret it. Tea wing is top level and I really don’t think you will find better tea anywhere in the US

Another one that’s not for me. It’s a pretty green color and brews up nice and refreshing-looking, but the taste is bitter even with careful preparation. There’s some seaweed/vegetable taste to it. The aftertaste is sweet but I really can’t handle bitter flavors! I guess my other packet will be going in the swap pile.

I think I mentioned this in my previous tasting note of this tea, but this is a Japanese green that really hits the sweet spot between vegetal and savory for me. Today it also had a thick mouthfeel that was nice considering it started snowing again (sigh). I did resteep it, but was eating something else with it, so I can’t comment much on flavor retention. Anyway, a good start to the day!

I didn’t realize until yesterday that I still had one tea to try from the Steepster Select December box! A lot of my issues with karigane, kukicha, sencha, etc. is that they are either too grassy or too savory. I think that this tea really hits the right combination of the two that makes it a very comforting tea to me. I will say, though, that I had a lot of sediment in my tea because it was so fine, and it does make for a bitter cup toward the bottom. That’s not too much of a problem for me, though, because I drank it pretty quickly before the bottom could get too bitter.

EDIT: I resteeped and I actually think I may prefer it this way. There is less sediment (I rinsed out the bottom from the first cup), which I forgot to mention before made the texture kind of thick. This cup just tastes a bit cleaner and less bitter to me. Of course, the tradeoff is that the flavor is a bit weaker, but I tend to like my tea on the weaker side anyway, so it’s working out for me!

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.