Yunomi

This tea is a wonderful mixture of green colours and the leaves form thin, smallish pieces that are crisp to the touch. Like little grass shards.

It has a very sweet and grassy scent that is rather mineral and thick. I would say it smells astringent (if that is possible).

water – 80ml
Raw leaves – 5g
Temperature 60°C for first steep and 80°C thereafter
Four steeps – 2 minutes, 30 seconds thereafter

First steep – 2 minutes – 60°C
Cloudy yellow in colour. I exclaimed “Holy Monkey” when I tasted this…it’s bizarre. Sweet and buttery with mineral and astringency but altogether it tastes like some sort of Japanese soup broth but almost luke warm in temperature.

Second steep – 30s – 80°C
Cloudy yellow green now. It still reminds me of a soup broth. Very creamy, buttery, sweet and vegetal but there is something about it….something that makes it taste strange. More like an Oolong than a green I would say, like a milk oolong meets a mineral green tea.

Third steep – 30s – 80°C
This steep is less creamy and buttery but it is still noticeable in the after taste. The sweetness is now not masked as much as the other steeps and it has a slight toastness about it.

Fourth steep – 30s – 80°C
Now it tastes more like your standard green tea. It’s sweet, grassy, mineral, floral and delicious. This steep is more of what I was expecting throughout for this tea, I don’t think I have ever preferred a teas final steep above any other steeps before.

This tea was just way too bizarre for me and I feel it would be unfair to rate it…well I don’t have a clue what to rate it as anyway. It just is not for me, or at least not at this time.

Tea #30 from HHTTB2

Thumbing through the reviews, I was glad to see I wasn’t the only one getting the Sencha flavor still coming through in this cup. It’s definitely a unique experience, as I’m used to that flavor being blitzed away through the roasting and replaced with something wholy different.

In any case, this tastes like heavily roasted veggies with a definite nutty and toasty quality. Vegetal, but warm and savory.

And it made me crave smashed parsnips with rosemary and garlic. Huh.

Good morning all. Just quick notes on this one, I reviewed it before and still love it but it crossed my mind yesterday that I hadn’t tried it iced. So last night I cold steeped some for this morning, green tea is good for concentration (so I read) and I have a driving lesson in two hours so I could do with all the help I can. I’m one of those that doesn’t go over 10 mph for fear of crashing and hurting someone. Plus having it iced is quick and efficient for my morning.

As I pulled the cold steep out this morning it was a cloudy green colour and appears to have cold steeped rather well. I did try yesterday but the water didn’t seem to penetrate the leaves properly, I think to cold steep this Sencha I was supposed to rinse it first. Well that was done yesterday so thankfully this mornings tea looks more productive.

The smell perfect, it has a wonderfully thick sweet grass scent.
In flavour it’s refreshing, sweet, grassy, floral and creamy with a pure umami after taste. The taste lingers on the tongue for a few minutes after each sip and it makes me feel pure and beautiful. Like a flower that’s being spritzed with spring rain.

It’s just as nice iced as it is hot and I will keep that in mind. I always have cold steeps in the fridge but tend to have flavoured teas as it usually gets rid of the sample, but now I feel I overlook unflavoured teas in that way. Iced teas shouldn’t just be a way for me to clear my stash, perhaps as this tea has shown it is also a treat that makes the most out of your tea from time to time.

Duly noted.

6oz Teapot (180ml)
Tea Leaves – 5g
Water Temp – 60˚C and 90˚C
Four Steeps – 45s per steep

The Yunomi club sent me this sample with instructions to taste the first and third steep at 60˚C so I can experience the full (umami) of the tea.

“Umami, or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes (together with sweet, sour, bitter and salty)”.- On Yunomi website.

Getting my umami on sounds like fun so I shall follow said instructions. The leaves are such a beautiful dark green colour and are very reflective and shiny. They look like tiny needles in various lengths. It has a sweet, floral yet toasty scent. I think it may be the sweetest Sencha I have ever sniffed, but it’s just such a beautiful fragrance. This is one of those times I wish smell-o-vision was invented.

First Steep – 45s – 60˚C
Very subtle in flavour (as expected) but what is present is an amazing sweetness that is floral, grassy and yet tastes candied in a perfume sort of way. I know that may not make much sense but I believe this to be no ordinary Sencha. When I say sweet I mean honey sweet. Perhaps this is considered as a rinse? But why waste good tea when you can drink the rinse.

Second Steep – 45s – 90˚C
The increase in water temperature has clouded the water some. Also the raw leaves are stripped of some colour and are now lighter green. Flavour is still very sweet but much thicker than previously and with a little astringency. Floral, mineral, grassy and perfumed.

Third Steep – 45s – 60˚C
Remains cloudy. Increasing in sweetness once again without any astringency or thick mineral tastes. It is a touch dry in the after taste now which is mostly from the perfumed element.

Fourth Steep – 45s – 90˚C
I can taste that the end of this tea is present, it is now the mellowest of all four steeps and only bares a grassy sweetness.

Yunomi has mentioned eating green tea leaves before so I had a go with this tea since it was so very sweet. My first reaction was to expect it to be bitter but I found it no different than eating a piece of fresh spinach leaf. It would be great in a salad, or perhaps served next to some rice and beancurd.

I dare say that this is the best sencha that I have ever tried. It was amazing from start to finish in each aspect (quality, scent, flavour, experience). This has been added to my must buy list from Yunomi. Simply amazing!

I owe all of you an apology, as you noticed I did not blog yesterday, I completely forgot! The whole day I had this nagging ‘I know I am forgetting to do something’ and it wasn’t until I woke up this morning that I realized what it was. Feel free to blame the excessive amounts of Minecraft I have been playing this week. While out walking to the store today I thought to myself, I need to blog about a tea that captures the idea of Winter because it is really cold today.

Kyobancha by Yunomi.us and Obubu Tea Farm captures the idea of Winter in a different way than most teas. From Kyoto (that is where the Kyo part of the name comes from) this Bancha is plucked in March, having spent the entire Winter curing on the bush and then roasted. A rare tea, even hard to find in Japan, I knew I had to try it because the idea of this tea’s Winter journey makes me think that a little bit of the season is captured in the leaf. I am nothing if not whimsical in my way of looking at nature. The aroma is that of old leaves, like it is late Autumn and you are walking through a forest where all the leaves have fallen and there is that distinct aroma of old leaves and crispness. There is a roasted aroma but it is faint compared to other roasted teas and there is also a mild loamy aroma that ties it in with the forest imagery. I really enjoy where the aroma of this tea transports my mind.

Once the leaves are steeped the aroma of loam becomes stronger, as does the roasted aroma. I can also pick up notes of umami as I move the leaves away from my nose. It is savory and rich with also an earthy note and a very delicate hint of smoke. The liquid has a strong roasted aroma, but also notes of buttery sweetness.

Time for tasting! The first thing I notice is the buttery and very smooth mouthfeel, it just slides down my throat and I have be careful to not chug it! The flavor is sweet and rich with notes of earthiness and loam with a hint of wood. It reminds me a bit of brandy but without the alcohol, hard to imagine alcohol without the alcohol, I know. There is of course a roasted taste as well, it is mild, I could see someone who is not a huge fan of roasted teas enjoying this one. The flavors in this tea, while being distinct are also very subtle, it is a soothing tea for when you don’t want to be overwhelmed by flavor and just want to enjoy the delicate. As the tea cools it becomes sweeter and smoother. This tea is wonderful for cold days or right before bed (especially since it has almost no caffeine) and is very soothing to the stomach after a rich meal.

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/11/yunomius-obubu-tea-kyobancha-tea-review.html

Backlog:

I received this tea in one of my Mystery Tea Sampler’s Club envelopes. I love this club … every month I would get an envelope with three tea samples to try, and all the teas that I’ve tried thus far from Yunomi have been wonderful. Unfortunately, my subscription ended, hopefully, I will be able to renew the subscription as a christmas gift that my husband doesn’t know that he’s getting me. :)

A delicious roasty-toasty flavor, although as the name suggests, it’s a bit lighter than in a darker roasted Houjicha. Sweet and mild, with a barely noticeable astringency. A really nice cuppa.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/07/29/yunomi-monthly-mystery-tea-samplers-club-light-roast-houjicha-from-kyoto-obubu-tea-plantation/

Backlog:

A really, really, really good Gyokuro!

A truly extraordinary Gyokuro. If I could only have one tea to drink for the rest of my life and I had to choose a Gyokuro, this would be the one I’d choose. I’ve tasted quite a few Gyokuro teas, and I’ve liked just about every one that I’ve tasted, but this one is the best of the best.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/07/23/yunomi-monthly-mystery-tea-samplers-club-2013-kurihara-heritage-gyokuro-from-the-kurihara-family/

Backlog:

This is one of the very best Genmaicha teas I’ve ever tasted.

It tastes exceptionally fresh and vibrant and sweet. A delightful roasty-toasty-ness to it. And something that’s a little different from other genmaicha – in addition to the Sencha tea and toasted/popped rice, this also has “rice cracker balls” in it, and this … just makes it taste better!

I love this stuff!

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/07/16/yunomi-monthly-mystery-tea-samplers-club-monoucha-genmaicha-from-ishinomaki-miyagi/

Tea #1 from Here’s Hoping Travelling Teabox

I was quite excited to brew up a Houjicha. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a Houjicha tea and I was craving one.

I thought at first that there was something wrong with this tea, like maybe it has been affected by other tea flavors in the box. I detect a strange sort of generic fruitiness in the back ground. Aside from that, it certainly doesn’t taste like the Houjicha teas I’ve had before. I don’t know quite how to describe it, but I don’t like it. Reading the other reviews here, I can see that it should taste unique, but I don’t know how much of what I taste is the tea or how much is tea box ‘pollution.’

Sipdown (108)! Alas, the oddly cool weather has passed and it has returned to sticky humidity again. Though that deters me from hot tea, I do love cold brewing, so I used up my final tablespoon of this one in a cold brew. The flavors did not change much from when I tried this one hot: mostly roasty/smoky flavors, very smooth, and no bitterness. While I am sad to see this one go, I take comfort in my large stock of the dark roast of this houjicha, which I prefer anyway. Plus, it’s one less tea I have to worry about when I inevitably move again in a couple months.

I’m totally taking advantage of the cooler weather to drink up some of my favorite hot teas. Like I probably stated in previous tasting notes, this houjicha is on the heavier/smokier side compared to other houjichas that I’ve had. Now, I usually am not a huge fan of smoky teas, but in this case, it works really well with the roasted flavor that is present in all houjichas. Also, it’s really working today in particular because my new apartment has chlorine-y water, so the strong flavor of the houjicha helps drown that out.

Not sure what I did differently than last time, but this time around, the tea has a smokier taste than I remember. I’m on my third steep and the flavor is still pretty strong (though not as strong as the first cup). Still need to do a side by side with dark roast, though.

Very nice roasted, savory taste from this one. Definitely has a stronger flavor than the light/basic houjichas from Yunomi. I seems similar to the dark roast, but I can’t remember for sure. I would have to do a side by side comparison to really tease out the differences I think. Anyway, I resteeped this throughout the day, but it did start to just taste like flavored water around the 4th/5th steep (wasn’t keeping a strict count really). Anyway, I will try to taste this one close in time to the dark roast to decide which one to reorder. Both are great, but it seems a bit redundant to get both.

Backlog. Yesterday was a series of semi-disasters that physically left me in pain, so of course I had to bust out my go-to comfort tea. I’ve gotten my whole family hooked on this tea in particular, so my stock is dwindling much faster than I am comfortable with. But for now, I’m just going to enjoy it and think about restocking later.

Backlog. After walking around on a chilly night without a warm enough jacket, I decided to steep up a household favorite for my family in the evening. I have to say that all the people I have served this tea to have really enjoyed it. It’s such a nice, roasty, comforting tea, and I love sharing it with other people.

Backlog. I had this tea yesterday because my stomach was feeling a bit queasy and sensitive, so I had to go for my favorite roasty comfort tea. I have to say that it really did help. I even resteeped a couple of times but had to stop myself because it was getting a little late in the evening. My stomach is feeling a bit better today, so perhaps I will venture out to other teas…

Previously, I had only thought to cold brew my fruity teas, but since I have so much of this particular houjicha (and houjichas in general), I figured why not try it as a cold brew? It maintained the same dried anchovy and roasted almost smoky taste as it does when it is hot, yet something about having it as an iced tea made it seem more refreshing. I’m thinking that less smokier houjichas will probably fare better, so I may use up some of my dwindling samples of other houjichas to experiment with cold brewing. Yay, I’m excited! :)

Backlog. After an uncharacteristically unpleasant experience with a sencha earlier in the day, I needed a palate cleanser of sorts. I love this tea with all my heart, so I decided to steep this one after dinner. It also is supposedly lower in caffeine, so I felt okay about drinking it later at night. I’m bumping this tea up to a full 100 since I always seem to reach for it when I need something reliably delicious and roasty.

Today’s biostats lecture was particularly heavy on notation and derivations, so I’m glad that I brought this tea with me to simultaneously calm me down and keep me focused. It’s definitely become one of my go-to teas for comfort, convenience, or anything else. I’m glad that I have so much of it to last me a long while!

After standing in line for hours at the airport and having a flight cancelled on me, I came home exhausted and quite frustrated. I thought I ought to make a cup of tea to calm me down, so I reached for my reliable hojicha. Unfortunately, I only had a little of this left that I brought with me, so it was a bit weak this time around. Now let’s just hope that my rebooked flights aren’t cancelled, too.

Yesterday, I impulse bought a cast iron set of a teapot, two teacups, and a wooden trivet at World Market. I went there to pick up some tea tins, saw this set, fell in love, couldn’t believe the price, and somehow found myself at the cash register buying it, haha. Anyway, I wanted to break it in with a less picky tea, so I went for this hojicha. Delicious as always!

After getting really into Japanese greens, I tasted a bunch of different houjichas and this is one that I decided to reorder. I think I have like 4 oz of this stuff now, so I took this morning as an opportunity to start drinking up! Just enough roasted taste without being overwhelming and resteeps well. I have a feeling it won’t take me too long to go through this batch :)

Ok, so I didn’t exactly do a side by side comparison with the smoky roast because I’ve been swamped, but I will say that based on memory and multiple tastings now of both teas, I think I prefer this one overall. It has just the right amount of roasted intensity and flavor for a more everyday kind of tea. The smoky one was just a tad over the top to be drinking all the time for me. Now that I’m fully obsessed with houjichas, I now need to compare this one to the one I got from Den’s for my final final decision on which one to heavily stock up on. Or maybe I’ll just do both, haha.