Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: BigTeaHouse
Tea Description:
A traditional loose leaf green tea with a hint of sweetness and a medium astringency. Bancha is known for its earthy tones and scents.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is the second tea from my “Around the Clock” Steepster Select box, and it is one with which I was pleasantly surprised. I would not have thought of including a Bancha in this box, but, when I really think about it, it makes perfect sense, since Bancha is considered an “every day” type of tea in Japan.
However, if I were to make a list of Japanese green teas with which I’m familiar, Bancha would not be at the top of the list. I’d immediately list Sencha, of course, and Matcha, followed by Genmaicha and Gyokuro. Then I’d probably add Houjicha and Kukicha to the list. At that point, somewhere down toward the bottom of the list, I might add “Bancha.” I just haven’t tried all that many Bancha teas, so I’m just not all that familiar with them.
But, I am really glad that I’m getting to know this Garden Bancha from BigTeaHouse. It’s really quite lovely. It starts out very mild. Almost too mild. It took a few sips for me to really get much out of the cup, but, once the flavor started to build upon my palate, I found this to be a very enjoyable cup of tea.
The tea is quite vegetal, as you might imagine. I’d call this an “earthy vegetative” taste, it doesn’t taste real grassy, nor does it taste strongly of vegetables, but, it has more of what I’d think of as a forest-y vegetative taste, a taste that I might get from the air while hiking in the woods here in the Pacific Northwest, where it is thick and green and wet. From that note you should draw upon the word “air” because even though it does have a strong herbaceous note, it has an airy quality to it too, giving it a fresh character… like a breath of fresh air!
It has a sweetness to it, but I don’t find it to be incredibly sweet or buttery the way I’d usually classify a Sencha. It is more mellow and relaxed, with a gentle sweetness and a pleasant savoriness. A bit brothy … soup-like! Yes, that is what this reminds me of, a delicious cup of soup! Very comforting and soothing.
Very nice, indeed!
Tokyo from Harney & Sons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Tea Description:
Japan’s capital is the inspiration of this tea. Green Bancha is blended with toasted sesame seeds and caramel flavors. The delightful flavor is reminiscent of some of Tokyo’s best desserts.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The description of this tea sounded just unusual enough to make me want to try it … sesame seeds and caramel? Hmm… I’m intrigued!
The fragrance of the dry leaf has a caramel overtone, with a toasted, nutty scent in the background, as well as a hint of grassy notes. The brewed tea has a stronger caramel-y scent, together with a strong vegetal note (it almost smells like celery… you know that aroma that fills the kitchen when you saute celery to soften it? Yeah, that’s what it smells like to me… slightly browned butter and celery!)
This is quite tasty! The Bancha offers a slight vegetal flavor that develops as I continue to sip. It doesn’t really taste grassy, but more like steamed spinach: mild and savory. There is a buttery tone to the cup as well, although not quite as buttery as you might taste from a Sencha.
The caramel offers a pleasing sweetness that melds nicely with the natural sweetness of the green tea, while the toasted sesame seeds give a toasty nut flavor that marries well with the natural nutty flavors of the tea. The overall cup is very harmonious and deliciously sweet and creamy, with just enough savory tones to keep it interesting. There is a mellow astringency that is neither too dry nor too tangy, but it does manage to cleanse the palate to ready it for another sip.
This is the kind of tea that keeps me sipping … and I like that!
Pineapple Bamboo Green Tea from Praise Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Praise Tea
Product Description:
Our Pineapple Bamboo Green Tea is an exotically fruity, pineapple and mango infused green tea. A smooth and juicy blend that provides a way to escape in your day. Delectable both hot and cold. Try some with white crystal sugar. Indulge your taste buds.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a really good! I often approach tropical teas with a somewhat pallid attitude. Don’t get me wrong, I really like tropical flavored teas; but sometimes it seems like every tea company out there has a tropical tea, and they all end up tasting pretty much the same. So, I like it when I find one that is different from the rest. And this one definitely qualifies as DIFFERENT!
The pineapple flavor is prominent, but I don’t find it to be an overwhelming taste. I think that is due to the fact that this tea really does have a lot going on. There’s pineapple, mango, papaya, bamboo, cardamom, ginger, coconut, raspberry and rose in this, not to mention three different kinds of green tea: Chinese Sencha, Bancha and Genmaicha.
For me, what really makes this tea extra special is the touch of Genmaicha. It isn’t an overwhelmingly strong note – the Genmaicha – but it adds that little something to this. The sweet flavor of the roasted rice accents the flavor of the cardamom and ginger so well, giving this a warm, exotic kind of feel without it coming off as too hot or spicy. And if you’re one who does not care for spicy teas, you can rest assured that this is NOT a spicy tea, instead, I’d describe it as a very mild spice that serves as an accent rather than the main focus of the tea.
The coconut is a gentle flavor, adding just a hint of creaminess to the cup, while the mango and papaya add a nice sweetness to the background. The bamboo is also a gentle flavor, there is just enough there to make the taste buds sit up and say “hey, what was that?” Just enough to add some interest to the flavor without it becoming all about the bamboo.
In fact, that would probably be the theme for every ingredient of this tea. There is just enough of each ingredient to add an interesting note to the cup without it overpowering it or throwing off the balance of flavors.
I really like this offering from Praise Tea!
Bancha Suruga from Den’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Den’s Tea
Product Description:
Bancha is produced from a bottom part of tea leaves that are big and thick. Compared to Sencha, Bancha is somewhat more astringent. Nevertheless, it is appreciated in Japan for its robust flavor. Den’s Bancha Suruga is an upgraded variation, using fresh green leaves picked right after the first flush tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When it comes to Japanese green teas, I can think of no tea company that offers better than Den’s Tea. The tea is always fresh and of the highest quality.
This Bancha Suruga is no exception. It tastes so delightfully fresh and has a crispness to it that evokes thoughts of early springtime, when everything in nature is starting out clean and new.
I’m no expert on Japanese culture, but, from what I’ve learned, Bancha is a common tea that is considered a daily tea. Bancha looks quite a bit like Sencha. However, they do not taste alike. There are some similarities, of course, because they’re from the same leaf, but, just as the description above suggests, Bancha tends to be a bit more astringent than Sencha. The flavor is a bit stronger as well.
That said, this particular Bancha (versus the few others that I’ve tried) seems to be a little less astringent that I expected it to be. It is still very flavorful though, with a nice, broth-y kind of taste that reminds me just a little bit of miso broth with a little bit of seaweed. (But I like this WAY better than I like seaweed!) It has that same savory kind of quality to it. It is quite vegetative with hints of salty brine. These savory tones that I pick up on are slight, but they add a nice dimension to the cup.
On Steepster, some of the tasters of this tea have mentioned a buttery note to this, and while I do taste just a hint of butter right at the start, I find that the astringency seems to clean away that taste to make way for a sweet grass aftertaste.
It is a complex and contemplative cup, and it’s incredibly satisfying! This is one that all green tea enthusiasts should have in their cupboard.