Premium Secha

Tea: Premium Sencha
Vendor: Aiya America

Leaf: This appears to be a chumushi type sencha, something of a rarity it seems nowdays. There is a moderate amount of polishing on the leaves, quite average overall though. The tea has plenty of nice long thin needles. There is a bit of a marine aroma to the leaf, but not too much.

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

1st Infusion: There is a clear light green hue to this tea, well in line with it being a chumushi sencha. There is also very little sediment and a sweet sencha aroma. It is a light and refreshing aroma that I don't run across very often. The flavor is light, but there are notes of marine in it. The rest of the flavor wraps around the marine notes in a light softness. The aftertaste is smooth and light.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 185F, 15s

2nd Infusion: This infusion has a deeper yellow green hue to it. It is murkier than the first infusion, but not so much as say a fukamushi. The aroma is bolder with a much sharper presence. There are still strong marine flavors to the tea, but the tea feels overall stronger. It reminds me somewhat of a gyokuro and makes me wonder if this tea is a kabusecha. There is a light aftertaste to this bold flavor.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: I very much enjoyed this tea. The first infusion was delicate and pleasant, and the second showed more strength and reminded me of a kabusecha or a gyokuro almost. One thing I wish for with this tea is direct ordering / pricing. The tea itself was a growing rarity in this world of fukamushi.

Hojicha

Tea: Hojicha
Vendor: Aiya America

About This Tea: Aiya America is the American branch of Aiya Co. in Japan. They offer a selection of teas in the normal leaf spectrum as well as a variety of grades of matcha for private label. They deal in bulk wholesale transactions, so little is known about their pricing.

Leaf: The leaf for their hojicha seems like a very lightly roasted leaf. It still has shades of green on parts of the leaf and the leaves are all very large. There is quite a bit of rolling with these leaves, not just flattening like is seen with some hojicha. The aroma is light to match the light color.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5oz, 208F, 1 min

1st Infusion: This tea produces a nice caramel brown hue. There is a light amount of sediment to this tea, but for the most part it is a clear brew. The aroma is thick and musky. The thickness of thea aroma masks the characteristic roasted aroma of a hojicha. The flavor is very light and early, it has a thin consistency to it. The roasting is noticeable on the backend of the falvor. This tea has a very mouth watering feeling to it. There is no bitterness or astringency to this tea and it rolls quite easily down the tongue.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 208F, 2min

2nd Infusion: This infusion had a reddish - brown hue to it, it's almost autumnal. The aroma is very light and clear this time, very roasted. The flavor is much more bodied, but not terribly intense. It is still a front loaded flavor with most of the flavor very early on. There is a light sense of astringency on the backend, but overall this is a very smooth hojicha.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: This is an overall very nice lightly roasted hojicha. Unfortunately because Aiya is primarily a wholesale company, it's hard to say anything about the value / cost of this tea. It has a very solid feeling to it though.