Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chado Tea House
Tea Description:
Premium Guricha-‘Kama-Tenka’. The given name of Tenka in Japanese refers ‘the best’ in English. In general, Guricha stays in casual side, does not show luxury feeling like Gyokuro,or Sencha. This premium Gyokuro ‘Kama-Tenka’ proves Guricha is another sophisticated tea. Sweetness as expected and the richness remain in your mouth.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I first opened this pouch, I was surprised with just how fresh it smelled. The aroma reminded me of the smell of freshly cut grass … or … imagine mowing the lawn one early spring afternoon, and then that night, it rains. The next morning, the rain has cleared, and the sun is shining brightly. That fresh, spring morning smell with the fragrance of rain and grass still lingering in the air. That’s the smell. It’s vibrantly “green” smelling. Very fresh and exhilarating.
After it’s been brewed, the aroma softens somewhat, but it still smells amazingly fresh and sweet and grassy. One would expect the flavor to be just as grassy as the scent, but it’s not. Sure, I taste a vegetative note here, but it isn’t an overpoweringly bitter grassy taste. This is a lightly grassy, very sweet taste in a delicate broth.
It reminds me a bit of a very high quality Japanese Sencha … just a bit. It has a vaguely similar flavor, but I find this to be somewhat lighter. Not quite as aggressive. Not that I find Sencha to be aggressive, but this one is more nuanced. It is less broth-y, not quite as thick in consistency as a Sencha, but the broth-y quality is still there. It’s just a little lighter and cleaner on the palate.
I love the sweetness to this, it’s very pleasant and it doesn’t overwhelm the palate. It’s really quite refreshing. It’s one of those quiet teas that you can enjoy while reading a good book or enjoying conversation with friends. It doesn’t require much of you except a thirst and this will quench it with lovely flavor.
Another excellent tea from Chado Tea House! They have really impressed me with their selection of Japanese teas!
We were just discussing guricha, or its other name, tamaryokucha, on Sagaci-tea’s post Yuzu Dream (Mellow Monk).