Spring Cherry Green Tea

My can of Republic of Tea Spring Cherry Tea is of unknown age and provenance, so I’m not going to attach a number but only report here that sencha does get old and turn brown eventually. The brew was potable but it reminded me of middling grocery store green.

I might try this again in the summer iced. It was just okay hot, but the liquor is brown and the dried leaves are brownish, too, so I do believe that it is past its prime!

I approached this tea with the usual amount of cynicism I reserve for this company. I have a love/hate relationship with Republic of Tea. This smelled really good, though, in the bag AND in the hot water. It had a lovely sweet cherry scent. When I took the tea bag out after a three minute steep it smelled really good—like cherries and tea. Impressed, I immediately set up a second tea bag in a quart jar as a cold brew for iced tea.

I like it hot. It’s a mild, pleasant green tea with a nice sweet cherry scent. Not at all koolaid-ish, it actually reminds me of dried cherries and it isn’t one of those tart fruit flavors that leaves me craving sweeteners either. It’s more of a scent than a flavor but it’s a pleasant one that mingles well with the tea. It is actually rather elegant for a snowy winter day and I kind of wish I had it in a fancier tea cup. Ah well, it is still lovely. Thanks to my big sis who sent it to me. Too bad it’s only a sample but I should be able to find more locally. I’ll probably pick some up this time next year—It seems really appropriate for February.

Postscript: Cold brewed the flavor was good at first but seemed a bit harsh soon afterwards and bothered my tummy. I like it better hot. Your mileage may vary.

Ugh, this one actually went in the trash after several attempts to brew it with various techniques, none of them resulting in a cuppa I could finish, let alone take more than 3 sips of. Tasted of chemical cherries and bitter green tea that’s been put in a pot of water and boiled for 30-45 minutes. At first I tried my usual 175F/1min/2tsp-cup “let’s meet” brew and got an industrial-chemical-bitter liquor that looked like green tea. OK, maybe its a bit delicate so change to fresh leaves, bring the water down to 160, a quick rinse to recover the leaves and then a 30-sec infusion. Now I had watery/diluted industrial-chemical-bitter liquor that almost looked like green tea. Definitely not a gyokuro so no need to try 120F@10sec, so I switched gears and followed the recommended steeping instructions on the label — 200 F for 3-5 mins??! Ummmmmm OK, what have I got to lose.. I hit the “200” button on the kettle and stop myself from reflexively reaching for a tin of black tea, say a little prayer to the tea gods they don’t strike me with lighting for this blasphemy, and prepare to soak this sencha for 3 minutes. Now I had concentrate of industrial-chemical-bitter liquor that looked like massively over-brewed green tea, the bitter receptors on my tongue cried out in horror as a sip washed over them. I knew it was coming but no amount of preparation could have steeled my taste buds for that sludge.

I hate wasting tea, but what I threw in the trash wasn’t tea so no sweat.

eh… I’d drink it again

Just finished my last one of these a few weeks ago. Definitely a great light tea. The cherry is not a “candied” cherry. Very nice!

Very light with just the right amount of sweetness, I wish I had this tea in my pantry more often! A very pleasing brew to have when the weather is fair and you feel like sitting outside.

This is one of the most lovely teas to drink in the morning. It’s so light.