Kyobancha

Tea: Kyobancha - 7433
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $6.50 / 100g
Source: Kyoto, Japan
Vendor Description: Typical Bancha tea in Kyoto. The tea leaves are sun-dried and look almost like dead leaves, but their uneven roasting process makes the tea's flavor richly alluring.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea reminds me of the fallen leaves in a forest. It's a mix of leaves, large twigs, and lots of large full leaf. The leaves aren't rolled, folded, compressed, or otherwise manipulated like most teas are. The leaves are all dark brown / black in color. There are a few greener leaves in the mix.

1st Infusion Parameters: 15g, 2L, 3 min, Rolling Boil

Infusion Instructions: The infusion for this tea is very different than most teas. The water used was boiling, but the brewing instructions were to boil it rather than infuse with boiling water. And 15g of leaf are used to make 2 Liters of tea. Quite a lot of tea for that amount of leaf.

1st Infusion: The infusion has a light aroma and a rich brown color. The tea has a light roasted flavor, but aside from that there is not much behind it. There is a little bit of flavor in the middle. There is not much of an early flavor and no aftertaste. There is no astringency or bitterness

Rating: 2/10

Conclusion: This tea has very unusual infusion instructions. It takes longer to infuse and takes more care to setup than most teas, at least with my regular setup. The cup of tea it produces has a very weak flavor. There are not many downsides to this tea, but there aren't that many upsides as well. A regular hojicha is preferrable in taste. This tea may be better iced.