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.

Precious Dew Pearl

Tea: Precious Dew Pearl
Vendor: Tao of Tea
Price: $4.25 / oz
Source: Japan
Vendor Description: Gyokuro, also known as "Precious Dew Pearl", is a highly famous tea from Japan. It requires more skill and careful selection of leaves than other green teas. At the end of the growing season the tea plants are covered by tarps and bamboo mats for three weeks before plucking. This shade grown process enhances the deep green color, flavor and anti-oxidant properties of the tea. After the leaves are plucked, they are steamed, giving a very sweet, creamy, oceanic taste.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is a very dark matte green color. It has a very grassy aroma which is very characteristic for a gyokuro and the leaf size is surprisingly uniform.

1st Infusion: As expected there was a very sweet gyokuro aroma, but mixed in felt like there were hints of a sencha flavor. The tea is very smooth, but only medium bodied. It has the ideal gyokuro flavor, but it is not very prominent, and it almost feels like this is a blend between a sencha and a gyokuro where the flavors are being shared between one another. The flavor is thick, but not as thick as other gyokuros. The infusion is surprisingly yellow in color, which for gyokuro is fairly rare. There is no bitterness and no astringency as expected.

2nd Infusion: The second infusion had a murkier color, this one with a yellow-brown hue to it. There was a slight sense of bitterness to it, but the flavor was more prominent. There was a hint of a light asparagus flavor, and a light sense of astringency to finish it off.

Rating: 5/10

Conclusion: While this isn't a spectacular gyokuro, for it's price it performs well. It is quite apparent that this isn't a top rate gyokuro, but is one of the cheaper gyokuros that I have tried. The flavors of solid gyokuros are present, but they are hidden or shared with other flavors. If you are looking for a gyokuro to drink on a regular basis then this may be good for you. If you're looking for something special, look elsewhere. This tea really felt like it barely held up for two infusions where a more solid gyokuro should hold up for 5 or more.

Genmaicha (Organic)

Tea: Genmaicha (Organic)
Vendor: Lamyx
Price: $8.95 / 3oz
Vendor Description:

Toasted rice kernels are blended with tea leaves to produce a sweet, nutty brew.

Leaf: The leaf for this genmaicha looked a bit drier than most genmaichas I have been drinking recently. There is a lighter color to the rice, and a light floral aroma to the leaf. The leaf itself though has a very light color to it.

1st Infusion: The tea had a very light and clear yellow-green color to it. The toasted rice had a very light aroma, and at the same time there was a very sweet aroma to this tea. The flavor matched the aroma as well, being light and sweet. The flavor of the rice was definitely noticeable as a distinctive flavor to it. There was a medium sense of astringency and the tea finished with a bit of a starchy aftertaste.

2nd Infusion: The flavor was still very light, and had a medium sense of astringency. The tea did finish with a very clean feeling, but there was not much flavor due to the rice in this infusion. It feels as though most of the flavor was used up in the first infusion.

Rating: 4/10

Conclusion: This genmaicha was not particularly interesting. I'm curious how much the organic nature of this played into the less than stellar performance of this tea. At it's price though, it's not a particularly expensive genmaicha, but most genmaicha is not particularly expensive. I guess if you are looking for an organic genmaicha this could be a suitable choice. Personally I would look elsewhere.

Brown Rice Tea with Matcha

Tea: Brown Rice Tea with Matcha (genmaicha w/ matcha)
Vendor: Maeda-en

About this tea: This is another tea that I picked up during shincha season, but don't have much information about now. It is essentially a genmaicha extra green from Maeda-en, 2008 shincha crop.

Leaf: The leaf for this had a lot of small pieces to it. There was a very surprising amount of rice in this tea, normally a genmaicha has a fraction of the rice that this one does. The leaf was all rather uniformly small in size, it is fairly uniformly sized and there is a hefty coating of matcha over the whole thing.

1st Infusion: The first infusion had a very murky green color to it, very much expected for a matcha coated tea though. It was surprisingly dark though for a genmaicha. The tea had an almost dusty aroma to it with a light toasted rice aroma. The flavor was very smooth and sweet. The rice was very prominent, almost a bit too prominent. The sweetness from the tea and the matcha had a medium bodied effect and left with a light sense of astringency.

2nd Infusion: Surprisingly this infusion was still a murky green color. The tea took on a bit more of a brown-green color. The flavor of the tea itself was quite light and had a light bite to it. The astringency had increased in this infusion.

Rating: 6/10

Conclusion: The first infusion of this tea was quite good. It was a bit strong on the rice though, the rice:tea ratio was a bit on the high side. The second infusion was a bit more of a lackluster showing. The flavor was enjoyable though, but not spectacular.

Shincha

Tea: Shincha
Vendor: Maeda-en

About this tea: I picked this tea up at a Nijiya grocery store back in May. I unfortunately don't know much about the tea, aside from that it is a 2008 shincha crop from Maeda-en. Information regarding this particular sencha has since been removed from their website due to the seasonality of shincha.

Leaf: The leaf had a very enjoyable sweet aroma to the leaf. The tea had a lot of smaller pieces to it, and a very noticeable blend of colors. There were a significant amount of light green bits and pieces in the mix and a lot of very dark colored pieces.

1st Infusion: The tea had a very bright green color and was moderately cloudy. The flavor was very sweet and thick. Even though the flavor was quite light. It has a light sense of astringency.

2nd Infusion: This was a darker and murkier infusion. There was a light sweet aroma to it with a hint of a roasted aroma to it. The flavor was very light and up front, but there was not much flavor on the back end. This infusion also had a moderate sense of astringency.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: This tea was rather surprising for a maeda-en tea. All of my previous tries of this brand had been somewhat lackluster and mediocre. This tea turned out to be quite good, although not exceptional. This is a very solid and good shincha. I unfortunately don't have the price of the tea on hand anymore so I don't know how much of a value it was, but the flavor is enjoyable. I will have to give the Maeda-en brand another try.

Mikawaya Hatsuzumi Shincha

Tea: Mikawaya Hatsuzumi Shincha
Vendor: Mitsuwa
Price: $8.39 / 6oz.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea was a very uneven shape. It was not particularly even or uniform. Much of the leaf looked pressed like a Long Jing. There was a wide variety of sizes from very small leaves to rather large leaves. As a whole the tea had a very matte color to it.

1st Infusion: The tea was quite murky for a first infusion. It gave off an almost woody aroma. The flavor reminded me of a bancha with a slight sweet kick at the end. It finished with a light sense of astringency. The flavor was very light bodied and had a bitterness that was unlike normal sencha.

2nd Infusion: The color was still murky, but this time it had a more yellow-brown color to it. The flavor was bitter and flat.

Rating: 1/10

Conclusion: I picked up this tea mostly out of curiosity. Most shincha that I picked up was exclusive and very high quality. This tea went to show me what the other end of the spectrum could be like. Just because something is a shincha does not mean that it is going to be a good tea.

Sugiomoto USA

Vendor: Sugimoto USA

The first that I heard about this company was when they announced the results of the tastings for the World Tea Expo this year. Sugimoto USA (SA) won the first place for their genmaicha in the flavored/blended category for loose tea. I looked them up shortly afterwards and found that they have a very small selection and was intrigued. They only have 3 main products, a sencha, genmaicha and hojicha. These are available in an assortment of forms, both loose and teabag, in varying quantities. They do nicely have sample packs available as well, something that I wish more stores would offer. I tried all three of their current offerings and they were all exceptional teas. I was even honored to try out temomicha due to their kindness, and hope to experience it again if they are able to offer it next year. While their selection is very limited, it doesn't need to be expansive when your product is top notch. I highly suggest anyone who enjoys a good Japanese tea to give Sugimoto USA a try.

Hojicha

Tea: Hojicha
Vendor: Sugimoto USA
Price: $8.55 / 80g
Source: Shizuoka, Japan
Vendor Description:Hoji cha "Experience" consists of roasted young tea leaves and bud stems reaped in spring. During winter, tea plants absorb abundant nutrition from rich mountain soil, so spring shoots have deep body and flavor. Roated stems bring rich sweetness and nice aroma in a cup. Experience the difference.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea was a varied mix of objects. It was a bit more varied than most hojichas that I have seen. There were small balls of leaf, small pieces of leaf, and stems. The color of the leaf varied from a green-brown color to a dark roasted brown.

1st Infusion: The tea was a rich brown hojicha. It possessed a sharp roasted flavor to it. There was no astringency to it, and it had a very smooth aftertaste. The flavor was very characteristic of a hojicha. Characteristic to the point of being representative of the flavor.

2nd Infusion: This infusion had the same smooth roasted flavor.

Rating: 9/10

Conclusion: I always find it difficult to compare hojicha. The flavor does not vary in the same way that sencha does. With a hojicha it tends to be more a question of how refined the flavor is. When you taste this tea however you get the feeling that this is what a hojicha is supposed to be. Others that I have tried alluded to the flavor, but this defines it. It would be the tea to point to if someone was wondering what hojicha tastes like.

Island Breeze

Tea: Island Breeze
Vendor: Mighty Leaf
Price: $12.95/ 10 bags (w/o tin)
Vendor Description: Island Breeze produces a refreshing cup full of lush berry, tropical fruit and hibiscus notes. Mighty Leaf's take on the classic herb and fruited summer iced tea.

1st Infusion: This tea had a very rosy color. The flavor was very odd, it wasn't quite a tea like I was initially expecting. The flavor was medium bodied, and the flavor was not something very easily distinguished. There was no astringency and no bitterness. The flavor was very mellow and general.

Rating: 4/10

Conclusion: I didn't really know what to make of this tea. The flavor was very general and hard to place. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. It felt very average and undistinguished. Looking more into this tea pointed out that this wasn't truly a tea, but consists of assorted tisanes. Personally I would stick to one of the other two iced teas of the three I tried. Aside from being made from tea, their flavor was more focused and pure.

Ginger Peach

Tea: Ginger Peach
Vendor: Mighty Leaf
Price: $12.95 / 10 bags (w/o tin)
Vendor Description: Ginger Peach combines the best of spicy and sweet. Smooth black tea yields a full flavored iced tea with hints of ginger, spice and peaches.

About this tea: The Ginger Peach Iced tea is a 2007 World Tea Expo Award Winner. This tea also produces a full gallon per teabag.

1st Infusion: This tea has a veyr murky brown color as well. It is very murky and cloudy. It has an aroma similar to fresh peach fuzz. The flavor of the tea is very light, short lived, and crisp. The initial portion of the flavor is very much like that of a classic black tea flavor, but the back half is rich with peach flavor. This is different than the peach flavor you think of when enjoying some canned peaches, it is more akin to sinking your teeth into a fresh peach. It is very lightly astringent with a very cool feeling. This tea is definitely very refreshing. It has a lingering feeling on the tongue and spreads out over your mouth and lingers. There really isn't much of a flavor of ginger in it though, I couldn't seem to find where the flavor lay in the tea. As an iced tea this is a very cool and refreshing tea.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: Normally I consider a flavored version of a tea to be a step down from the traditional orthodox version, but in this tea it is not the case. The flavoring is light, but noticeable. It is flavorful, but not overly flavored. Like the classic black, this iced tea is a very nice and refreshing tea and a very good bargain. My only complaint about this tea is the lack of a ginger flavor even though it is noted in the name.