Sencha

Tea: Sencha
Vendor: Dragonwater Tea
Price: $8.50 / 4 oz.
Source: Japan
Vendor Description: Sencha Tea. Fine grade Japanese green tea yielding a smooth, aromatic cup.

I felt obligated to try out this tea from Dragonwater having tried the Sencha Extra Fine. I wasn't exactly expecting much from this tea using price as a general guideline. At less than half of the price of the Sencha Extra Fine it seemed like this wouldn't be that spectacular of a tea.

The tea leaves had a disappointing yellowish hue to them. The color of the leaves made the tea look old and not that appealing. Having been trying a lot of more vibrant greens and bolder colors, to switch to something looking like this for a sencha was a bit disappointing.

The first infusion had an unappealing openness to the flavor. If I had to put the flavor into a word it would be empty. While the tea had the normal sencha flavor, it lacked body and a voice. It was almost like the sencha flavor was there for the sake of being there, not for the sake of a delicious cup of tea. There was no bitterness associated with it, but where normally a sencha would have a bitterness there was nothing. The flavor was light and smooth, like a Chinese green would be, but without the strength and nuance. There was a very light sense of astringency paired with this, but nothing that you would really notice.

I tried a second infusion and this was a bit stranger. The tea liquor had become golden yellow in color, with no hint of being green. The flavor was stronger, but this time it felt more of just being bitter. The sencha flavor was weaker, and replaced with more bitterness.

Rating: 1/10

Conclusion: This is a case where I believe very much that you should not try to save money on buying lower end tea. This is more appropriate of a name being flavored water instead of tea. The flavor was lacking and disappointing. The appearance was plain. This tea could barely hold it's first infusion, let alone produce a decent second.