Silver Needle

Tea: Silver Neeldle
Vendor: Jing Tea
Price: £6.90/50g
Source: Fujian, China
Vendor Description: Picked at the end of March this year, long, soft and downy, Silver Needle comprises the first spring buds of the Da-Bai tea plant. It comes from Fuding, a serene region with icy waterfalls and crystal clear lakes. The peaceful setting is reflected in the flavour - soft and mellow,with the freshness of honeydew melon and the soothing sweetness of a ripe cantaloupe. It’s an easy-drinking tea that's ideal for drinking on long and lingering afternoons, or well into the night.

Leaf: The leaf for this Silver Needle is a very vibrant green and white mix of hues. More so than most SN the color is really standing out with this tea. It has the distinctive fluffiness of a SN in a quite exemplary form. The bottom end of the buds have small amounts of blackening which I have seen on a few other SN teas before. The aroma is very vibrant and creamy. It has an almost peachish aroma to it.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 50z, 185F, 1:20

1st Infusion: This infusion has a golden yellow hue to it, and the aroma is thick and sweet. It is bold and in charge, and is a perfect example of the creamy aroma of a SN. The flavor is fresh and crisp, not something seen in many SN, but it is still a light hearted tea. The flavor overall is quite well rounded with a slight conservative emptiness to it.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 2:00, 185F

2nd Infusion: This infusion has the same golden color, and the aroma is even more enthusiastic. Everything about this tea simply says vibrance. The flavor is creamy yet light, thick, but not overly so.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This is one of the best SNs that I've tried to date. It is slightly different than some others in that the key to this tea is the vibrance and the freshness of the SN. A few others focus more on the subtle flavor and the creaminess. These aspects are present in this tea, but take second seat to the vibrant fresh flavors.

Snowy Leaves

Tea: Snowy Leaves
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $7.00 / 50g
Source: Guandong, China
Vendor Description: Oolong tea which is commonly used in Guangdong Province. The very large tea leaves picked from ladders from self-standing single tea trees characterize this tea. Rich and mellow aroma and solid taste.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea consists of large dark black leaves. There are small hues of brown and grey on the leaves, nothing out of the ordinary for a Phoenix oolong. The leaves are a moderately large size for their type, not overly large or small.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5oz, 208F, 45s, 5s rinse

1st Infusion: This tea has an amazing aroma to it. It is floral, yet sweet and malty at the same time. It is very distinctively a phoenix oolong aroma, but it is not terribly refined or clear. Instead it is a broad encompassing, yet pleasant aroma. The tea itself is a beautiful brown hue. It has a sharp flavor, yet has a very smooth body to it. There is a long aftertaste and a mouth watering and warming feeling accompanying it.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 45s, 208F

2nd Infusion: This infusion has a lighter aroma, but still the same inviting floral feel to it. The flavor for this infusion is richer and bolder. It has a golden brown hue with hints of red. Again the flavor has an interesting mouth watering feel ot it. Overall it has a very bodied flavor.
3rd Infusion Parameters: 1:30, 208F

3rd Infusion: This time around the hue turned to a more golden color. The aroma has died down a bit, it is not as heavy anymore, but the floral characteristic is still readily found and it is more noticeable. The tea itself has a full body with a lighter flavor to it. The core of the flavor feels a bit empty though. It finishes nicely with a nice light sense of astringency.

4th Infusion Parameters: 2:15, 208F

4th Infusion: This infusion was lighter, but still had a rich color to it. The aroma was just noticeable at this point, with traces of the floral characteristic shining through. The flavor was richer than the 3rd infusion, with a generally intensified feel to it. This infusion felt smooth and welcoming, and left with a light sense of astringency again.

5th Infusion Parameters: 3:00, 208F

5th Infusion: This infusion had a light background aroma, nowhere near as prominent as the first few infusions. The flavor mirrored the waning aroma, in that it was much lighter and nowhere near it's previous bretheren. There was no astringency, but even in it's weakness this tea felt calming.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: I have been searching for different Phoenix Oolongs for a while, trying to find one more apt for daily drinking than some of the higher end ones. This seems to fit the bill quite nicely. It has a very solid and lasting flavor, with no major downsides. It is not overly cheap, nor overly expensive. It fits the bill quite nicely for a nice Phoenix oolong. This is one of my preferred Phoenix oolongs now.

Kaboku

Tea: Kaboku
Vendor: Ippodo
Price: 1,250 Yen/ 50g
Source: Japan
Vendor Description: A harmonious blend of sweetness, bitterness, richness, astringency and fragrance this is sencha. It's easy to understand why sencha is such a favorite beverage in Japan, not only for those seeking to quench a thirst, but also for those wanting to sip on something extra special.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea consists of some dark green needles. They are very uniform in color and a dark green hue. It has a fresh crisp aroma. The size of the needles suggest this is an asamushi.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5oz, 185F, 45s

1st Infusion: This infusion has a clear yellow green hue to it. The aroma is light and crisp. The flavor pairs well with the aroma, feeling crisp and light. It is a very clear flavor with no bitterness or astringency. It is simple and refined.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 15s, 185F

2nd Infusion: This infusion was a brighter clear yellow green hue. The flavor was richer and stronger than the first infusion, but it is sharp and clear. There is a little bit of bitterness as well as a light marine flavor.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 45s, 185F

3rd Infusion: This was a richer, more brilliant yellow hue. The flavor was a little bit lighter, it felt light and clear with a strong feeling of snappiness. It finishes with a light sense of astringency.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This sencha was quite outstanding. It was a light flavor that was clear and well defined. Even though the flavor was on the lighter side, it still was quite well defined and gentle. This is a fantastic asamushi sencha and while a bit on the pricier side, is still reasonably priced for the grade of the tea.

Pre Rain Organic Dragon Well Supreme Green Tea Long Jing

Tea: Pre Rain Organic Dragon Well Supreme Green Tea
Source: Jing Tea
Price: ₤ 12.75 / 50g
Source: Zhejiang, China
Vendor Description: Our highest grade Dragon Well green tea. Picked on 1st April 2009 from Dragon's Staff garden. The first of the year, before the Qing Ming festival.
Small and tender bud and leaf sets masterfully hand-fired fired to give the classic Dragon Well flavour.
Certified organic by the UK Soil Association. Fair Trade certified by IMO Switzerland.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is rather uniform in size, each of the leaves being about 1.5cm long. They are characteristically flattened, as is normal for a Long Jing. They have a light and sweet aroma, it has a certain creaminess which is similar to that found in a Silver Needle. The leaves are almost all young leaves, just slightly larger than Silver Needle buds.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5oz, 185F, 45s

1st Infusion: There is a light murkiness to this tea, as is somewhat typical of some young teas. The color is a radiant green blended with a pale yellow hue. It has a rich and creamy aroma. The flavor is rich and creamy. It is vibrant and refreshing. There is almost a shincha grassy flavor to it. In many ways this tea feels like a blending of a Silver Needle, traditional Long Jing, and a Japanese Shincha.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 45s, 185F

2nd Infusion: This infusion had a light green hue to it. Once again there was a light haziness to the tea, which is somewhat rare to see this nature of haziness on a second infusion. The flavor is much sharper this time around. It lacks the general creaminess of the first infusion. The flavor is very rich, rich to the point of having a bit of an edge from the strength to it. It finishes with a tinge of astringency.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This was quite easily the best Long Jing that I have tried. It's flavor touches some of the best aspects from other teas; creaminess of a Silver Needle and fresh grassiness of sencha. The leaves have a very pleasant look to them and a very uniform appearance. The only downside to this tea is the rather steep price, but seeing as how I have yet to see anything on par with this tea in terms of flavor I don't see any issue here.

Mt. Ali Taiwan Oolong - 6290

Tea: Mt. Ali Taiwan Oolong -6290
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $26.50 / 50g
Source: Jiayi, Taiwan
Vendor Description: A flowery flavor diffuses throughout your mouth the moment you taste this winter-picked Taiwanese alpine tea.

About This Tea: This is one of the winter harvest oolongs that was sampled at the Lupicia Tasting event.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea comes in the form of large rather uniformly sized balls. They have a clean and clear, yet strong aroma. The aroma exudes a sense of green freshness and floral notes. The balls have a light glossiness to their green hues.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5 oz, 208F, 45s

1st Infusion: This tea has a brilliant floral aroma to it. It is very clear and singly refined. The tea itself is clear with an almost radiant light green color to it. The flavor matches the aroma with a sense of freshness and alight clean flavor. Tucked in the folds of the crispness of this tea there are light floral notes.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 208F, 1:30

2nd Infusion: The aroma of this tea intensified with this infusion. The hue shifted a bit toward the yellow side of things. The flavor matched the intensification of the aroma and showed itself as a rich, clear and singular flavor. The aroma feels very well tied to the flavor, both feel crisp and clear.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 2:15, 208F

3rd Infusion: This infusion has an even deeper green hue. It has the same rich and intense taste to it, there is a little bit of an astringency on the back end of this infusion though.

4th Infusion Parameters: 3:00, 208F

4th Infusion: The aroma in this infusion is starting to lighten up. The hue is a lighter clear green color. The flavor is still very singular and refined. The astringency is built up a bit more to a medium astringnecy.

5th Infusion Parameters: 4:00, 208F

5th Infusion: This infusion has a noticeably yellower colro to it. The aroma is a bit hard to detect at this point. The flavor feels a bit on the light side, and it's not as deep of a flavor as it was before.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This tea is quite a fantastic Taiwanese oolong. The flavor is clear and refined, it held up without significant change for 5 solid infusions. It is rather pricey though at around 50c/g. All in all quite a remarkable tea.

Temomi Shincha 2009

Tea: Temomi Shincha 2009
Vendor: Sugimoto USA (SA)
Price: $15.00 / 10g
Vendor Description: Temomi Shincha is a very special tea for very special occasions. It is made only by hands starting from picking fresh leaves in the tea field to kenading the leaves for the final process. Whole procedure takes approximately 8 hours. On April 19th 2009, 1.8kg (4lb.) of Temomi Shincha was made by 8 Temomi artisans in Shizuoka Japan. By following the enclosed instructions you can experience the same taste and flavor which the ancients enjoyed several hundred years ago. Just like espresso, it is to enjoy a shot of intense and rich green tea.

About This Tea: This tea is a very special offering. It's the first time that this tea is available to the US. It is quite impressively hand crafted in very exclusive small batches. This item was available for preorder only. It is a unique experince in the world of tea and is something that I think any true lover of green tea should enjoy.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea has nothing but beautufl long and graceful needles to it. They are all whole leaves, around an inch in length or so. There is a light marine aroma to it and the leaves are lightly shiny.

1st Infusion Parameters: 10g, 100F, 2.5oz, 2 min

1st Infusion: This tea produces a clear yellow hue. There is a rich thick aroma to it, and it packs a flavor to match. The flavor is bold and rich, with a crisp sharpness from the intensity. It has a very strong power to it and a long lasting aftertaste. The power is almost overwhelming yet not offputing like any other leaf would be.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 130F, 1 min, 2.5 oz

2nd Infusion: This time around it was slightly greener in hue, but the tea was crystal clear. The flavor was crisper. It seems to center around the core of the intense snap of the flavor. The aroma is fresh, light and calming. The flavor is light up front to start, but it escalates into an intense central flavor. The center is intense, but not as much as the first infusion. The edges of the flavor have lightened up a bit.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 130F, 1 min

3rd Infusion: This time the flavor was brighter yellow than before. It has some of the radiance of a shincha, but not quite as much as some of the more traditional senchas. The flavor is exhibiting the same light frontal flavor, and then jumps right back into that strong center again. It feels much cleaner and sharper this time around. There is a tiny bit of bitterness to heighten the sharpness of the flavor and a tinge of astringency on the back end. Still this tea is pushing the thoughts of richness and intensity to me.

4th Infusion Parameters: 160F, 1 min

4th Infusion: This time the flavor was more up front. The initial flavor is very crisp, it reminds me of an asamushi sencha like the Hosen from Ippodo. The color is becoming more and more radiant. The flavor is still very intense, but it is almost like a whole different tea this time around. This infusion surpasses regular sencha first and second infusions still. There is a light and clean well defined central flavor here.

5th Infusion Parameters: 160F, 1:30

5th Infusion: The color is slightly lighter at this point. The flavor is lightening up to match. It is still very crisp and well focused, and it interestingly is exhibiting a more bodied feel to it. It finishes with a light sense of astringency.

6th Infusion Parameters: 185F, 2:00

6th Infusion: At this point the tea has a light yellow hue. The flavor feels to have fully shifted to the front now. There is a little bit of biterness that is not from the intensity, it is a delicate yet bolder flavor that finishes with a light sense of astringency.

Used Leaf: Even the used leaf for this tea is gorgeous. The instructions suggest enjoying them as a salad. What I opted to do was after the 6th infusion I added them to some cold water for a 1L cold water infusion. Even after 6 infusions it provided a very unique iced tea. It had a light yet refreshing flavor that was almost reminiscent of a Long Jing in flavor.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: As with the last time I tried Temomi from Sugimoto, it was amazing. It has no real comparison within the regular offerings of any other vendor. The parallel to espresso with this tea works on many levels. It shares the same intensity. Neither are something you should drink in great quantities. It's something to be savored and enjoyed. The thought that this is a special occasion tea cannot be truer, it should be something to hearld the beginning of spring and kept in the moment. Unfortunately if you missed the boat on this one, you missed out. Until next year I guess.

Da Wu Ye - Big Dark Leaf 2008

Tea: Da Wu Ye - Big Dark Leaf 2008
Vendor: Tea Habitat
Price: $30.00 / oz
Source: Guangdong, China
Vendor Description: Da Wu Ye in literal translation is Big Dark Leaf, one of the 2 main varietals of Phoenix Oolong Tea. This particular varietal is suitable for making Jiang Hua Xiang-Ginger Flower Fragrance Dan Cong tea. Ginger Flower Fragrance Dan Cong is one of the most difficult teas to produce and the most sought after. All Ginger Flower Fragrance Dan Congs are made of Big Dark Leaf varietal, not all Big Dark Leaf varietals can be made into Ginger Flower Fragrance Dan Congs.

Aroma of this tea is magnificent, distinctively pure, subtly rich, shyly beautiful. Flavor is honey water in a desert, nourishment that eases away tension. Texture is rich and buttery. A tea you want to drink if you like to lay on a chaise and day dream.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea had absolutely no dust to it, the leaves were all very large long thin black leaves. All beautifully formed with just a light sweet aroma to them.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5 oz, 208F, 5s rinse, 45s

1st Infusion: This tea has an absolutely astounding aroma. It is floral with a certain thickness to it. Even within the floral aroma is a calming sweetness. The tea itself is an amber yellow-brown hue. The flavor is very rich and up front. It starts out strong and then tapers to a nice aftertaste. The aroma is bolder than that of any other Dan Cong that I have tried. The taste is floral and pleasant pairing well with the aroma.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 1:15, 208F

2nd Infusion: This time the tea was more of a chestnut brown hue. The aroma is richer and stronger, and a bit less floral. Instead of a floral loftiness it has a more savory thick feel to it, yet despite the thickness it feels clear and clean. The flavor is smooth and pleasant with a light bitterness and finishes with just a hint of astringency. The flavor is quite intense and tapers down into a lingering aftertaste paired with a clean feeling.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 1:45, 208F

3rd Infusion: This infusion was smooth with a little less assertive of a flavor. The core of the flavor is still quite strong, but the sides of the flavor were a little less intense with this infusion. There was not quite as much aroma to this tea this time, which was a bit saddening. The tea felt very graceful with this infusion though.

4th Infusion Parameters: 2:30, 208F

4th Infusion: This infusion had a lighter straw yellow color. The aroma was not very prominent, but it felt very thick and heavy. The flavor was light, and not terribly flavorful, but the tea had a very strong thickness. The underlying flavor was still there, but the forward portion of the flavor wasn't as prominent. There was a medium sense of astringency on the backend.

5th Infusion Parameters: 3:30, 208F

5th Infusion: This infusion had the same straw yellow color to it. The aroma felt the same as it was with the 4th infusion. It was lighter, and a little bit less flavorful this time around. The flavor is thinning out at this point, but it is still light and smooth. It has a long taper to an aftertaste.

6th Infusion Parameters: 6:00, 208F

6th Infusion: The tea was quite honey colored with a light and sweet aroma. The flavor was a bit watery, it showed that there was not much left to this tea. It still has a tastiness to it though which was quite enjoyable.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This tea was absolutely phenomenal. The flavor was strong and intense on the front end and held out for a surprisingly long time. The aroma was in a word; sublime. After doing this review I actually brewed it a few different ways, and the most surprising of which was a 6 oz infusion I made using only 3 leaves. Despite only three leaves being used it had an absolutely sublime aroma again and went for 3 infusions.

Silver Needle

Tea: Silver Needle
Vendor: Canton Tea Co.
Price: £8.99 / 40g (~$13.21 USD)
Souce: Fuding County, Fujian Province, China
Harvest: Spring 2008
Vendor Description: This rare and delicious Silver Needle white tea is entirely hand-made from Fuding Da Bai Hao tips and is simply picked at dawn and scattered in the sun to dry. It is a very high quality Yin Zhen showing a dense covering of the characteristic white hairs on a healthy, plump, pale green leaf. The liquor is very pale and bright - the colour of champagne and it has a sweet nutty aroma. It tastes soft, creamy and mellow with a long and pleasant aftertaste.

Leaf: The leaf is very nicely shaped for a SN. The leaf is very light and fluffy with a barely noticeable amount of chips and dust. The needles are well cared for and the underlying leaf has a nice green hue to it.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5oz, 185F, 1 min

1st Infusion: This tea has a bold and sweet aroma to it. The tea itself is a pale yellow hue. The taste is fresh and light. There is a tiny amount of sediment on the bottom of the cup. The flavor is very good for a SN, both sweet and bold matching the aroma. The flavor is smooth and long lasting with a very enjoyable lingering aftertaste.

2nd Infusion: This infusion is murker with a yellow hue. The aroma is absolutely sublime. The flavor is bolder yet still stubtle. It has strength, but is not overpowering. It is light to medium bodied and finishes with a light sense of astringency. The flavor in this infusion is also very good and strong without inducing any negative traits.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This SN is absolutely fabulous. It could very well be the best SN that I have had to date, but without a direct comparison to Seven Cups it would be hard to tell. The flavor is bold, sweet, and delicate. Everything I look for in a wonderful SN. The price is on par with Seven Cups so there is not too much difference there. If you're looking for an absolutely top notch SN, this is a good choice.

Wakamatsu No Mukashi

Tea: Wakamatsu no Mukashi
Vendor: Ippodo
Price: 1500 Yen / 20 g
Vendor Description: For the matcha connoisseur with a discerning taste, Wakamatsu-no-mukashi is an excellent choice. Rich in umami, it has a distinct fragrance and aftertaste that linger pleasantly in the throat. Wakamatsu-no-mukashi is also an excellent choice as a koicha.

Powder: The matcha powder has a nice light green color to it. It is a very bright color with a rich and sweet aroma.

Infused: The foam took on a brilliant green hue. The flavor is rich an bold. As I was drinking this matcha it had a very calming effect on me. The flavor was smooth with nothing unpleasant about the experience at all.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: Quite easily this is the best matcha I have had to date. Unfortunately I have not had that much experience with matcha still. Given the plethora of different grades and suppliers my repertroire of matcha experience is still developing. That said though the flavor of this match was superb, it was rich and thick with no bitterness or astringency. The color was radiant and beautiful and the experience overall was just very pleasant. Also the price of this matcha is very reasonable (although as with all Ippodo tea the shipping is brutal).

Kuradashi Sencha

Tea: Kuradashi Sencha
Vendor: Hibiki-An
Source: Uji, Japan

About this tea: This tea was a limited time offering from Hibiki-an. Kuradashi Sencha is an intentionally aged sencha. Normally the aged tea is a gyokuro producing a Kuradashi Gyokuro. Instead with this tea it was an aged sencha. The sencha was aged for 18 months in a storehouse.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea had a rich uniform dark green color to it. Most of the leaves were good sized leaves and there was almost now powder to it. This suggests that this is probably a chumushi style sencha. There was an interesting woody light aroma to this tea leaf.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5 oz, 170F, 1 min

1st Infusion: The tea has a light green hue with a hint of yellow to it. The aroma feels smooth and balanced. The flavor is exactly matching the aroma, smooth and balanced. It is mild with no bitterness or astringency. It is slightly sweet, but the main aspect that comes to mind when tasting is how smooth of a sencha this feels.

2nd Infusion Parametsrs: 170F, 1 min

2nd Infusion: This is a darker and murkier yellow hue this time. The leaves have expanded nice and fully. The aroma is very sweet and mellow. There is a hint of woodiness similar to a kukicha, but more refined and mellow. There is a light bitterness paired with a rich sencha flavor. It provides a very smooth flavor again that is well balanced with the bitterness. There is a heavy flavor in the mid-end portion of the flavor.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: When the kuradashi sencha first was released on their website I was dubious as to if this was something that created an interesting product or if it was just a ploy to sell more tea. It turns out this is quite the interesting product indeed. The aging process seems to produce a very mellow flavor out of the tea, and this causes the tea to be very smooth and mellow. I very much enjoyed this tea and look forward to it again next year.

Kuradashi Gyokuro Super Premium

Tea: Kuradashi Gyokuro Super Premium
Vendor: Hibiki-an
Price: $24.00/ 40g
Source: Uji, Japan

About This Tea: This tea is a Kuradashi tea. Kuradashi teas are teas that have been stored for a period of time to intentionally age the tea. This was stored for 18 months before packaging.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea has a lightly grassy aroma. The leaf is dark in color. The shape is very similar to the o-cha Yame Gyokuro.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 140F, 5oz, 60s

1st Infusion: The first infusion had a pale green color to it. It was quite transparent with just a hint of color. The tea has a very unusual aroma, it's an almost woody aroma to it. There is a rich umami flavor to this infusion and it is much less grassy than most gyokuro. The flavor was lighter than many gyokuro, but it was still very full bodied. The flavor was predominantly a marine/seaweed flavor, which followed through from beginning to end.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 145F, 15s

2nd Infusion: This infusion had a much brighter color to it. There was a light amount of murkiness to it, and a radiant green color which reminded me a bit of shincha. The tea has a light dry aroma to it. The marine/seaweed flavor was dominant in this infusion as well. The tea is very smooth and enjoyable. There is no bitterness and no astringency to it. The flavor in this infusion was very consistent from beginning to end.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 150F, 45s

3rd Infusion: This infusion had a dusty aroma to it. The marine/seaweed flavor was also dominant in this infusion. There was still a good amount of umami flavor in it, but I noticed the empty wamer water flavor showing through.

4th Infusion Parameters: 160F, 90s

4th Infusion: This infusion had a clearer color to it. There was a much lighter flavor, but it felt a bit hollow. The thickness found in the earlier infusions and richness of umami flavor was lightening up and the flavor felt a bit hollow. There were still hints of the marine/seaweed flavor though.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This is a very unusual gyokruo. The flavor was the most consistent throughout the infusions as I have ever seen. Even with the increasing temperature it was smooth with no sense of bitterness or astringency, a characteristic that tends to show up during later infusions. It felt very pure and clean throughout the whole time.

Shizu no Kaoru

Tea: Shizu no Kaoru Shincha
Vendor: Zencha
Source: Japan

Leaf: The leaf consists of very small pieces, much like a fukamushi. It has a light sweet aroma. Some of the tea consists of very thin needles, although they are not necessarily the straightest of pieces.

1st Infusion: This tea has the characteristic shincha bright luminescent green color to it. The tea is murky, which is not surprising considering the appearance of the leaf. It has a light and sweet aroma, but the aroma hints at something else which I cannot really place. The flavor is very light and clear. It is light bodied and has no astringency. It feels smooth as it glides across the tongue and has a very clean feeling in the mouth. There are slight hints of grassiness to the flavor.

2nd Infusion: This infusion was a darker green and very murky. The aroma was much more traditional sencha. The flavor is very light and open feeling with a very light body to it. There is a light bitterness and a light astringency.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This tea is very light and delicate. It is well balanced with a light sense of bitterness and astringency. It is a very good example of a very good shincha. I can't wait to see if the batch from next year is going to be as good as this one.

Temomi-cha

Tea: Temomi-cha
Vendor: Sugimoto USA (Hopefully)
Source: Japan

About this tea: Kyohei Sugimoto from Sugimoto USA was kind enough to send me a sample of this very special tea. Temomi cha is hand kneaded tea. From the needles to the used leaf, it is incredibly apparent the amount of effort and care that is put into this tea. When sencha was originally created this is the technique that was originally used. Before the conveyor belts for steaming and all that jazz. This temomi-cha was actually made by hand, by Kyohei's mother, Kazue Sugimoto. Since 1995 she has studied about the Temomi technique and strives to preserve the technique for future generations. She has even presented her Temomi cha to the Japanese Imperial Palace in 1997 and won 3rd place in a national Temomi contest in 2006. Now she is a licensed instructor teaching future generations about this technique.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is gorgeous. Each leaf is rolled into a thin long narrow needle. There are no broken leaves, no dust, just long graceful needles. The leaf has an amazing aroma. The leaves have a deep sense of a sweet aroma. It reminds me almost of a sweet seaweed covered senbei that I used to eat as a child. The aroma on this leaf alone is enough to make this a memorable experience.

Brewing: The instructions provided with this tea were very different than any other tea that I have experienced. 10g of leaf are used per session. The first session is steeped for 2-3 minutes using only 2 ounces of water at 100F. Successive infusions are done for 1 minute at 130F.

1st Infusion: The tea had a very cool and relaxing aroma to it. The flavor was thick and rich like a gyokuro, but with a sharp tang of bitterness. The bitterness was no shallow and stinging like an oversteeped sencha, but rather a strength to a complex flavor. The tea was very full bodied and had a medium sense of astringency. With every sip came a different flavor, a different view on a different aspect of the profile. Every sip was rich and creamy almost. From the second the tea touched my tongue I knew this was unlike anything else. There was a sense of astringency, but it was paired with the thickness of flavor that almost covered the astringency.

2nd Infusion: This infusion had a radiant yellow color to it. The flavor was thinner and crisper than the first. In a word it would be described as bright and vibrant. The flavor was still deep and complex, but the flavor was more concentrated into a sharp richness. There was a noticeable tongue drying level of astringency, but it seemed to be only my tongue that would feel dry. Normally something that could make my tongue feel that way would cause my whole mouth to feel dry. In this case it was just my tongue. Unlike a gyokuro there were not strong feelings of grassiness to this tea. It was a completely different rich set of flavors.

3rd Infusion: This infusion had a much lighter flavor to it. The taste was very crisp and light. At the same time though there was still that thick aftertaste to it and the aftertaste was still thick.

Used Leaf: It was suggested that after the first few infusions that the leaves could even be eaten with a bit of soy sauce on them or salad dressing. I tried this, and the leaves reminded me of a spinach in flavor, just slightly chewier than boiled spinach. It was a very interesting flavor. And also after I had enjoyed the tea, I saw how well handled the leaves were. Having been harvested, processed, traveled around the world, steeped, and then viewed, they seem still a vibrant color of green, and very much intact with the edging of the leaf clearly the same as the day it was picked.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This was a tea experience unlike any that I have tried before. When I first tried gyokuro the proper way I thought that it had just opened my eyes to something unimaginable. The same could be said for a delicious bowl of matcha. This takes the cake above both of those. The depth and complexity of the flavor is amazing. Unfortunately though Kyohei is unable to offer this amazing tea for sale yet, but they are planning to start offering it in 2009. I know that I for one am waiting for the day that this tea is available for sale. This is in no way though a tea that you would enjoy on a regular basis, it is definitely a very special occasion tea that is intended to be savored and enjoyed. Drinking this tea is very much akin to enjoying a rich and strong flavored espresso. This really is like drinking tea history. You will probably notice that I gave this tea a rating of 10+ / 10. Since it wouldn't really be fair to say anything above 10/10 to the rating scale, I came up with a 10+. This is beyond anything else that I have ranked as a 10.

Genmaicha

Tea: Genmai cha
Vendor: Sugimoto USA
Price: $12.50 / 80g.
Source: Shizuoka, Japan
Vendor Description: Genmai cha radiates inviting taste perfection that delights and warms your senses. Developed about 70 years ago, Genmai cha is quite famous for its unique roasted flavor. Its distinctive smooth and mild flavor come from a harmonious blend of young tea leaves, roasted brown rice, and powdered tea leaves called Matcha.

Enjoy this gourmet green tea with a balanced flavor of green tea leaves and brown rice. Our Genmai cha flavor is never dominated by the roasted rice. The subtle touch of Matcha (the ground tea leaves traditionally used for formal tea ceremonies)bestows a natural sweetness, as well as a satisfying sheer green color to your brewed tea. We use only the finest Matcha grown by an artisanal tea company with a 70-year history.

About this tea: Hearing about this tea was the what caused me to first take a look at Sa for teas. This particular tea won 1st place at the world tea expo for the best blended/flavored green tea.

Leaf: This tea had a higher non-leaf:leaf ratio than many genmaicha teas that I have had in the past. There was quite a bit of rice, and the leaf had a coating of matcha mixed in with it. At first glance the tea did not seem like it would be anything particularly different from any other genmaicha teas.

1st Infusion: The tea had a very murky green color, primarily due to the matcha component. The shade of green was a very vibrant and brilliant color, not dark and murky like some matcha coated teas are. The flavor was very fresh and crisp. The rice popped into mind with a sweet flavor like senbei (Japanese rice crackers). There was a light sense of astringency, to tail off on the mild and smooth flavor of this tea.

2nd Infusion: Having washed off the majority of the matcha powder, the tea took on a lighter and clearer color. It was still mostly green in color. The infusion did not taste quite as sweet and flavorful as the first infusion, the matcha component having been removed in the first infusion. There was a light bitterness to the flavor to leave it acting more like a sencha.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: So far this has been the best genmaicha that I have had to date. The flavor was very well defined and really brought out the sweetness of the toasted rice. It did not simply show that facet of the flavor, but still balanced with the flavor of the tea and the richness of the matcha. I can see why this tea won first place at the world tea expo for it's category.

Sencha

Tea: Sencha
Vendor: Sugimoto USA
Price: $16.00 / 80 g.
Source: Shizuoka, Japan
Vendor Description: Sen cha "Experience" mainly consists of young baby leaves reaped in spring. During winter,tea plants absorb abundant nutrition from rich mountain soil, so spring shoots have deep body and flavor in a cup. Experience the strong sweetness and rich flavor.

Leaf: The leaf has a very matte color to it, and consists of primarily small pieces. I found this rather surprising considering most teas I find that I enjoy have larger pieces and a shinier glossy appearance to it. The leaf consists of a very apparently blend of different shades of green though. It was apparent that lots of work and effort had gone into making this blend.

1st Infusion: The first infusion had a slightly murky color to a yellow green color to it. The flavor was amazingly strong and sweet. It was like a very impressive yutaka midori. There was a very light bitterness to the flavor which was a nice counterpoint to the sweetness, but not overpowering. Similarly there was a very light astringency to the tea as well, a nice counterpoint to the sweetness as well. This tea has a very good clean feeling to it.

2nd Infusion: This infusion had an even darker color to it, it as almost a murky dark brown-green color. This time it had a medium sense of bitterness, but yet retained the strong sweetness of the first infusion.

Rating: 10/10

Conslusion: I was rather curious about the teas from Sugimoto after I had heard that their genmaicha had won the best flavored/blended tea category at the World Tea Expo this year. I had never heard of them previously and so I looked them up. Much to my surprise they have an offering of only 3 teas. This Sencha was the first that I tried, and it is absolutely superb. I have also tried this tea as a cold brewed iced tea, and the sweetness was amazing in that as well. I really enjoyed this one.

Sayama Yabukita

Tea: Sayama Yabukita - 7470
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $7.00 / 50g
Source: Saitama, Japan
Vendor Description: Sayama tea processed slowly at a low temperature, which produces pungent aroma. Rich expansive sweetness combining fresh astringency is pleasantly natural.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea was well polished and shiny. The leaf was in very small pieces though, so small that the leaf almost moved in a fluid motion.

1st Infusion: The tea had a very light yet murky green color. The color of the liquid was a radiant bright green. The tea had a very light and sweet flavor. It reminded me a lot of the Yutaka Saemidori. The tea was medium bodied with a bold aroma for a sencha. The aroma was very sweet smelling and very enjoyable. There was a light clean sense of bitterness to it. Also in the tea were hints of taste that reminded me of gyokuro. There were also small hints of a seaweed flavor at the very front end of the flavor.

2nd Infusion: This infusion was much darker and murkier in color than the first infusion. This one was full bodied and had a very bold flavor. It had a medium sense of astringency and a strong flavor.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This tea showed aspects of a number of different teas. There was a hint of gyokuro, a light sweetness, and then a strong rich boldness. I have a feeling that a lot of the versatility for this tea comes from very delicate brewing parameters. I see myself spending a lot of time experimenting with this tea in the future.

Yame Gyokuro Vil. Hoshino Shincha 2007

Tea: Yame Gyokuro Vil. Hoshino Shincha - 6510
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $ 28.00 / 50g
Source: Fukuoka, Japan
Vendor Description: A top grade first-picked Gyoukro tea from Yame, Fukuoka with a robust flavor and deep sweetness.

About this tea: While I was arranging my teas getting ready for the shincha flush which I am eagerly awaiting, I ran across this tea. I had picked it up earlier in the year, but had forgotten that I had picked it up. Once I found it I knew that I had to open it up and try it for two reasons. The first being that the Yame Gyokuro Vil. Hoshino was a very delicious gyokuro and this one should only be better. The other being that it is a gyokuro shincha, which on the surface seems like there would be nothing odd about that statement. The more I talked to people about this though, it makes people wonder if that is really a misnomer or not. Shincha directly translates into "new tea", but typically is used to refer to the very special portion of the first pick for a sencha. Another point of question is that gyokuro is sometimes aged, sometimes it is not. If it were aged is it still a shincha when it is pulled out of storage? The tea is made from the first picking still, but it is not available until well after the sencha shincha comes around. There are differences in the processing of a shincha though that a regular tea does not undergo, the sorting is not as precise and it is not stored.

Leaf: With that said the leaf for this tea was a bit unusual. The gyokuro needles were not as uniform and long as I had seen with the non-shincha Yame Gyokuro Vil. Hoshino. There were also smaller lighter green tipped pieces, which turned out to be stems. The amount of stems in this tea were more than I am used to seeing in a gyokuro. Most gyokuro that I see is all uniform in color and has the stems removed. There are varieties of gyokuro which have stems intentionally mixed in, but I did not think this was one of them. The stems in this are probably a difference in the processing for a shincha.

1st Infusion: This tea had a beautiful light green hue to it. It was very clear and had an almost neon luminescence to it. Even the first sip fills the mouth with an abundance of rich gyokuro flavor. It is smooth and sweet, with no sense of astringency or bitterness. The flavor rapidly reaches a plateau where it holds for a moment and then tapers off leaving you with a distinctly gyokuro aftertaste. It is quite stunningly good, even if it was almost a year old from harvest.

2nd Infusion: The second infusion lacked the same clear color of the 1st infusion, this one was a bit cloudier. The flavor was stronger than the first, but not as sweet. The strong rich green gyokuro flavor was very full bodied and rich, and more flavorful.

3rd Infusion: This was a lighter flavored infusion, but it was still rich in flavor. There was still no bitterness or astringency.

4th Infusion: This was just as flavorful and delicious as the previous infusions, but it was apparent that the tea was starting to taper off.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: Regardless of the age of this gyokuro and it's dubious nature as being a shincha, or if a shincha could exist for a gyokuro, it was all around delicious. I definitely enjoyed this tea and am awaiting to see what the 2008 version holds.

Imperial Silver Needles

Tea: Imperial Silver Needles
Vendor: Imperial Tea Court
Price: $11.00 / oz
Source: Fujian, China
Vendor Description: To meet "Imperial" standards, our Yinzhen ("silver needle") White Tea is harvested from the Da Yeh ("big leaf") tea cultivar grown in the Fu-An area of Fujian province. This varietal grows unusually large leaf buds covered with white down. The leaves must be harvested in early spring and carefully sun-dried for several days before being given a sort of brief roasting over hardwood charcoal in order to remove residual moisture and, in effect, seal in the flavor. White tea has been found to be unusually high in anti-oxidants. Imperial Silver Needles White Tea is mild, soothing, and delicious.

Leaf: The leaf had a very nice appearance to it, the needles were very even and uniform. They had a very even coating of hairs and they were almost all nicely intact buds.

1st Infusion: The liquor was very light in color, although it was slightly murky due to the small "hairs" from the needle floating around. The tea has a very rich aroma, and although it is strong it was still a light aroma. The flavor was light yet very robust. The flavor is very strong and powerful, but the strong flavor was quite light, just like the aroma.

2nd Infusion: The leaves were very evenly expanding and showed that almost all of the needles were quite even. There were very few broken pieces, and the small pieces that were broken were all small bits, no half broken needles. The flavor in this infusion was actually much sweeter and had a light delicate feeling to it. It had a very clean feeling and a very clean white flavor.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This was a very nice silver needle. The taste was light and clean, and yet strong. The leaf had a very nice appearance.

Yunnan Gold

Tea: Yunnan Gold
Vendor: Teance
Price: $15.50/ 2 oz.
Source: Yunan, China
Vendor Description: Fermented golden tea buds harvested from ancient trees grown in Yunnan, China, create this unique and highly prized tea. Picked by local indigenous peoples where tea first originated thousands of years ago, Yunnan tea processing was considered a protected State secret until the 20th century. This tea stimulates the palate with its peppery, brisk, and full bodied taste.

When I first picked this up I did not have much of a notion of what Yunan Gold was. I had heard quite a few people though talk about how much they enjoyed this tea though so I figured it was worth a try.

The dry leaves for yunan gold are very different than most of the other teas that I have tried recently, they are very full leaves which have been twisted into an assortment of twists and turns. Because of this it is a low density tea, like a bai mu dan. The edges of the leaves are a golden color like the name suggests, but the rest of the leaf is a darker black color giving this tea a very interesting appearance. The contrast of the gold and black in twisted shapes makes this a very visually appealing tea.

This tea is very bold and full bodied, it has a definite strength to it. When you first taste it you notice the strength of the black tea along with the smoothness of a black tea. The taste fills out your mouth when you take your first sip and gives you a strong long lasting flavor. There is a light astringency and no bitterness to it, although that is somewhat expected of a black tea.

The second infusion of this tea posessed the same strong dark color and power of the first infusion. The taste did not even waver one bit. And at this point the leaves had barely even begun to unravel. I made successive infusions for a third, fourth and fifth infusion and there was no sign of the flavor letting up. Each cup posessed the same strength and boldness. This tea can go for quite a while and continue to perform amazingly.

I also tried this as an iced tea, and it had a very refreshing sweetness to it and I can see myself making quite a few pitchers of it as the weather starts to warm up.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This tea is very solid and bold and produces cup after cup with no sign of letting up easily. This makes this tea a very good value for the price. The rumors I had heard about this being an excellent tea proved to be true and it produces a great value as well.

Daily Sencha

Tea: Shizuoka Green Tea Daily Sencha
Vendor: O-cha
Price: $ 10.95 / 100g
Source: Shizuoka, Japan
Vendor Description:Daily Sencha - This 2007 second harvest green tea is an above average quality sencha, far and away better than what you will find in your local grocery or health food store. If you are new to green tea, this would be a good starter tea. Fresh from Japan.
Additional Vendor Information:

Shipping Weight	110.00 grams
Growing Region	> 50% Shizuoka
Grown Under	Full Sun
Color	Yellow-Green
Aroma	Mild
Taste	Medium
Astringency	Medium
Consistency	Clear
Grams per Pkg	100
# of first infusions per Pkg	22
Organic	No

This was another o-cha tea that I got to try thanks to Chip over at Teachat. After having tried the Yutaka Midori, I wasn't expecting too much from this particular tea. The dry leaf was a bit less impressive, considering the presence of more particles in the tea, although that's not surprising or unexpected. There was a bit more variation in the tea leaf size varying from the dust to a few long leaves. Again, this was not unusual or unexpected.

The liquor had a very unusual color to it, it was murky with a high opacity although the color was a very light shade of green. Normally when I had seen this level of opacity the liquor itself was a very dark green color. But to see a light green such as this with this opacity was surprising.

The first infusion was rather surprising, the initial taste had a very sweet start. The first sip reminded me of the latter half of the taste of the Lupicia Ariake Yutakamidori. It was a sweetness that wasn't a sugary sweetness, nor the gyokuro sweetness, this was very much like the yutakamidori in that it reminded me of sweet potato. Behind this sweetness there was a trademark sencha bitterness tailing into the equally trademarked astringency. Both the bitterness and astringency were a roughly medium level.

The second infusion bestowed a deeper green color to the tea, with the same opacity as before. Interestingly this was less astringent than the first infusion, although the tea in general felt a bit weaker. If I had more of this tea I would have liked to play around with brewing variables more as I have a feeling that there is much to be unlocked with this tea.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This is a very good tea. At the price it is an even better tea, it is right around what I would consider a good price for a daily tea, and it has no true faults to it. I enjoy the sweetness in the first part of the flavor profile, and find it even better when it is not replacing the bitterness or the astringency. It retains its fresh flavor and balances it all well.