Looking for astringent green tea recommendations

Hi all,

I am new here. I just joined today and this is my first post, though I’ve been reading tasting notes and forum threads for a few days. Anyway, I’ve been a tea enthusiast for a number of years now and I am really glad I found this website. My favorite teas are greens, specifically matcha, Genmaicha, and Gyokuro. I love a good matcha, that is my top favorite tea right now! I am currently on Kama Ceremonial Grade Matcha from the Matcha Source and liking it quite a bit.

Anyway, all the teas above are Japanese and definitely on the sweet and (sea) vegetable side of the spectrum of flavors. Definitely not astringent. Most recently I’ve been trying to brew a Japanese Orchid Sencha from The Tea Spot and all my attempts have ended in failure. The overwhelming flavor I am getting is this very unpleasant cloying, almost moldy, or musky sort of a taste that tends to linger in my mouth for 10-15 minutes and is really off putting. I only bought this tea 2 months ago and I’ve been storing it properly so it can’t be spoiled, plus it doesn’t smell spoiled before I brew it. It’s probably happening because I use a microwave (gasp, I know, probably the worst water heating option) to heat my water.

Anyway, what I am craving right now is the opposite of the above, i.e. a green tea that is very astringent, sour, and biting. Even bitter, not because of water that is too hot or steeping time that is too long, but because that is its natural flavor. I welcome any and all recommendations for such green teas.

Thank you!

4 Replies
Shae said

I don’t usually enjoy green teas so I don’t have any recommendations, but welcome to Steepster!

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derk said

As far as types of tea go, I would suggest trying:

Young sheng pu’er (within 0-3 or so years of production). They can be very astringent, biting, bitter and sometimes sour. That rawness can also be rough on some people’s constitutions.

Chinese teas such as “everyday” greens, later season harvests, gunpowder green tend to be robust and not so dainty or delicate.

Vietnamese green teas!

Perhaps explore green teas from across the Indian subcontinent.

Since you like Japanese green teas, you might appreciate Thés du Japon’s website. The proprietor rates the level of astringency in most of his green tea descriptions.

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Thank you both! Derk, those are some great recommendations. I have to say, I tried a Vietnamese green tea once and it was not to my liking, but it’s possible it wasn’t a good quality tea.

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52Teas said

They’re not as easy to find as a Chinese or Japanese green, but try an Assam green tea. You might find it more to your liking. A little more bold, a little more astringent.

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