Monday, February 18, 2008

Teabag - Sencha

Tea: Sencha
Vendor: Den's Tea
Price: $6.00 / 16 teabags
Vendor Description: Den's Tea best selling tea bag. This is the same great quality sencha that we offer loose, with the added convenience of a tea bag. Each tea bag is individually wrapped in a foil pouch to insure freshness.

This is a teabag from Den's Tea. The packaging for this teabag is individually wrapped mylar, in a manner similar to Lupicia. When I opened this teabag though I was a bit surprised to see the string and tag both stained light green. There was apparently a fair amount of fine dust with the sencha in the teabag that got onto the string and tag during transit. One thing that I did find a bit odd was the tag on the end of the teabag is in a horseshoe shape. I'm not quite sure what the particular reasoning is for this, but I'm guessing it's there for attaching to the lip of cup or something of that like.

When I brewed this teabag it was a bit surprising that the teabag was quite full once the sencha inside absorbed the water. It expanded more than any of the previous teabags i was reviewing had. So far of the teabags that I have reviewed though, this one had the smallest particles, most deserving of the title of being dust in the teabag.

The tea itself was rather interesting though, I have not had much experience with Den's Tea yet, and this sencha was very smooth. It was very sweet and smooth, which are both characteristics of a gyokuro, but it still tasted like a sencha. There was no sense of astringency afterwards, and little to no bitterness. It was light and refreshing to the taste.

Rating: 5/10

Conclusion: While this is a decent quality teabag, the tea left me longing for a stronger more full bodied sencha. The tea inside the bag was primarily dust and stems, which compared to the other teabags I have been reviewing was sub par for the course. I was generally unimpressed, but at the same time not disappointed.

1 comment:

annelies said...

Hi Eric,

We just received some beautiful Japanese teas from a tea sourcing trip that I think you would enjoy. Since I can't find your email address, can you please email me if you would like to receive samples? Thanks!

Cheers,
Annelies Z.

indieaz@yahoo.com