Ureshino Tamaryokucha

Tea: Ureshino Tamaryokucha 7405
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $8.00 / 50g
Location: Saga, Japan
Vendor Description: Ureshino in Saga Dt., long a producer of roasted Kamairicha, nowadays steam-processes Tamaryokucha, its mainstream tea. This tea has beautiful thinly curled leaves and a deep dark green water color.


This was actually the same tea I reviewed earlier in teabag form. I didn't realize at the time that they were the same tea, and so I had taken notes accordingly. After realizing that the two teas were the same I wondered if I would come to a different conclusion based upon the loose vs. the teabag.

My initial impression of this tea was that the infusion was pale green with a slight cloudiness to it. It had a very normal and mundale aroma to it, although there was a slight grassiness to it.

The taste of the tea was lightly grassy, with a small tang to it on the back end. I noticed hints of a vegetal aftertaste. I tried a second infusion fearing that this was just a weak infustion to begin with. The second infusion was actually quite different. It was very full bodied with a higher sense of astringency and it retained a small bitter tang at the end.

Rating: 4/10

Conclusion: While this was very similar to the teabag form of the same tea, it reaffirmed that there was nothing spectacular about this tea. There are better teas out there and I was relatively unimpressed.