Yame Shincha #3

This tea is from an old Steepster tea box that I’m just getting to since I have 175 degree water and not enough for a pot so I just made this since it’s single serving.

It smells really really green, like really great green tea! Grassy and beany and a little bit of asparagus which I don’t like so much because I actually hate asparagus. There’s a bitter aftertaste that I wasn’t expecting since the smell is so sweet.

Drank it a little cooler than I expected since I remembered after making it that I can’t drink green (or oolong) tea on an empty stomach without getting nauseous and headachey so I quick found some leftover tofu soup in the work fridge that I left on Friday and ate a bunch of tofu cubes. Not my preferred food for 9am but it works.

Anyway, this is a nice green tea but not really to my taste from the asparagus-ness.

I think I am drinking asparagus. And I think I like it.

Backlog:

A very soothing and brothy tea. It smells more vegetal to me than tastes. It doesn’t have a heavy grassy note to it. Instead, I’d compare it to steamed veggies.

A delicious green. Very invigorating. A good balance between sweet, salty and savory.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/05/20/yame-shincha-3-green-tea-from-tea-wing/

I am on the fence with this tea. Very grassy tasting and better when steeped longer. Must use a fine mesh filter or you have a big mess in your cup!

Second and last packet from an old Steepster monthly box. /mourn

This is really good – I made the first cup as per the packet – 6 oz @ 45 second steep, and it was good. I steeped the leaves again for much longer and it never really got oversteeped, so that’s quite nice.

In which I imitate theteafairy and take pics of my tea and teaware:
http://instagram.com/p/xm5ANpFIQ8/

(1st steep: 45 sec) There is a nearly overwhelming amount of grass and vegetable aroma coming from this tea. I had a feeling it would strong from the green of the tea leaves. The first flavor you get is cut grass with a slight corn flavor underneath. The grass lingers for quite a while after the tea has been swallowed. Given the strength in aroma and flavor of this tea, I wonder if a second steeping will tone it down a little.
(2nd steep: 1 min) The aroma is toned down quite a bit in the second steeping, but is still much the same as the first cup. The flavor has not been toned down much. However, the corn undertone is not present in this steeping. It has been replaced with a more vegetable flavor. I am having trouble picking out what green vegetable, but if I had to guess I would say broccoli. Despite these subtle changes the tea still has the long finish present in the first steeping.

Bright green, looks like grass clippings. Tastes very fresh, brings to mind spring.

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.