Shimizu

Tea: Shimizu
Vendor: Far Leaves
Price: $14.50 / 2.25 oz.
Vendor Description: japanese green tea; "spring water" infusions present a fresh clear cup with a crisp grassy finish

Leaf: This leaf was very unusual for a sencha. The leaf was more a mixture of flat leaves and curled leaves, not the normal needle like appearance of a sencha.

1st Infusion: This tea has a rather yellow colored infusion. The picture actually makes it appear greener than it really is. There was a roasted notion to the aroma. The flavor is medium bodied with a medium sense of bitterness and a light sense of astringency. The tea has a very crisp feeling to it. Aside from that it feels very generic.

2nd Infusion: This infusion was much darker yellow in color, it is murkier than the first infusion and has a much stronger bitterness and a stronger sense of astringency. It was strong enough to the point where it made this tea very difficult to drink.

Rating: 2/10

Conclusion: I didn't enjoy this tea very much. In general I'm not a big fan of highly astringent, highly bitter teas. I didn't think that this tea tied very well at all to it's description. Especially considering it's price, there are quite a few other teas that I would rather drink. I still don't know what to think about the size and shape of the leaf as well, it seemed very unnatural for a sencha.