Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tea Description:
Sweet, thick and full-bodied. A grassy and vegetal green tea with refreshing astringency and light cream aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Chiran Sencha from O5 Tea is the second tea from my January Tea Tasting Box from Amoda Tea. I won’t be reviewing the third tea from this box, because I’ve already reviewed it here. However, I certainly didn’t mind receiving more of that tea in this month’s box, because it is a tea that totally rocks my socks!
And … this Chiran Sencha is rockin’ my socks too! It has a surprisingly thick, full body for a Sencha, which are usually a little lighter than this. This has a very smooth, rich mouthfeel, and a lovely grassy note that tastes very refreshing. It isn’t a bitter grassy note, instead, it is pleasantly sweet. The thick mouthfeel adds a sense of creaminess to the cup without tasting “buttery.” And while I do like those buttery notes … sometimes, it’s nice to have something that is different!
And this is a different Sencha than what I usually drink. And I am really enjoying it. My first cup, I brewed at 160°F for just 1 minute, and I’m getting so much flavor! With the second infusion, I added 15 seconds to the brew time, and find that no flavor has been lost, in fact, I think the second cup was my favorite. It was a little lighter, but still very smooth and lightly vegetative. It had a very refreshing and invigorating quality to it. It seemed to renew me from the inside out.
A very lovely Sencha, I am happy this was in my Tasting Box this month. (And … a note to Amoda, I love that all three selections were TEAS this month. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the tisanes, but when two out of the three selections are tisanes, it’s a little disappointing. No disappointment this month, though!)
Chiran Sencha (White Label) – Kagoshima from Chado Tea House
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chado Tea House
Product Description:
NEW Product! Chiran is located in Kagoshima pref. in Kyushu island. Chiran area is the biggest Japanese tea producing center of Kagoshima pref. Very Clean aroma and mouth feel. Deep steamed Sencha so rich but bitter less mild mouth feel and clean after taste. This tea can be changed by choosing different setting of temperature and the amount of leaves use.
This is one of our supplier’s signature products so nicely packaged Sencha tea. Recommend for gift item.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Very nice!
When I first opened this pouch of tea and took a whiff of it, my first reaction was “wow! Now THAT’S vegetative!” Yes, it has a very strong, grassy/vegetative fragrance. It reminds me a bit of how my kitchen smells when I’ve steamed broccoli for dinner. It is a very strong, yet deliciously savory kind of aroma.
The leaves look very much the way I’d expect them to, thin – almost slivers! – leaves that are a deep, bright green color. It is a very vivid, beautiful color. The liquor produced is almost what I’d call Chartreuse, with equal amounts of yellow and green, creating a pale, beautiful golden green-ish hue.
And it tastes really wonderful. Yes, that strong vegetative smell does translate into the flavor, but it is certainly not off-putting to me. However, if one is sensitive to that bold, grassy flavor you might want to go a little lighter on the leaves when measuring out this tea to brew.
Along with the vegetative flavor comes a light “brothy” kind of texture, giving this tea a very savory and satisfying quality. Even with the stronger vegetative taste to this tea, I am finding that the sweetness to this tea evens out the flavor, giving it a nice balance for the palate to enjoy, and making the tea neither too savory nor too sweet, instead … I’d say this is just right.
A wonderful Sencha – this would make a fantastic addition to any tea lover’s cupboard.