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Another go to Sencha for me. The leaves are just a bit larger due to the cultivar, and it’s lovely. At 167f for 2 minutes on the first infusion, the lime green liquor gives me a unique floral and fruity array, together with a meadow grassiness. This is a very unique and lovable characteristic of sencha for me.

Second infusion, I bump it up to 185f and brew it for 3 minutes to get more caffeine out of it. It doesn’t disappoint, as a lot of it’s brighter notes covers up the bitter nature of caffeine.

The Koshun Cultivar in general is lovely in comparison to Yabukita. They both have their ups, and in the case of Koshun, it’s a bit more forgiving with brewing, and not as finicky. An indulgent introduction to someone who may be new to Japanese Tea!

Having had 2022 and 2023s batch, I have to say this is one of my favorite Sencha’s. I brew it western style, and usually start around 167f. (If I want to draw it out, i’ll start at 155f for that Theanine hit). The liquor is a deep, glowing yellow and has an immaculate steamed brocolli/spinach aromatics. These same aromatics turn up in the taste

I keep my steepings short and use about 200ml and 4 to 5g of leaf when brewing. I usually start at about a minute or two. Sencha’s require you to get to know them to really enjoy their best attributes, and that is especially true with this tea. You want to avoid over brewing it.

I’ll easily get 3 to 5 infusions out of this with the brewing parameters I use, and I up the temperature a bit each time after the second infusion. The first infusions have a Thick Texture of a soup broth with intensely satisfying vegetable notes. A tiny bit of grassyness, but just the right amount.

As is habit with me, I will end the sencha with an optional infusion at 195f for 4 minutes to extract all of the caffeine. Even then, the tasting notes still linger.

The Body sensation is a calming, and yet lively and alert. I recommend this highly, so long as you don’t overbrew.

This tea really gave me an appreciation for larger leaf White Tea. While the tasting notes aren’t as punchy, they have a persistence that goes on. Notes of oxidized Banana (for baking), Apple Peel, and a rustic vegetal quality.

I mainly brew this western style at around 204 to 210F for 3 to 5 minutes, as the larger leaves need to be pushed a bit. The body sensation was a lovely calm, warm feeling.

I will note for the record that it gave me an odd itchy feeling in my throat, but it didn’t detract from the experience much.

It’s not the best White Tea I’ve ever had, but it’s certainly not the worst. It wasn’t really made to be a top shelf White Tea to begin with, as that’s reserved for their Jade Star series. A great Tea to wind down with in the evening.

I bought a cake of this on a holiday sale, and don’t regret it. It has a few undesirable features, such as the odd little bit of fungus growing here and there, and plump tea seeds taking up some of the weight. It was priced appropriately considering these factors, however.

I’ve had this Gong Fu and Western style, and I enjoy it both ways. It’s unlike any other ripe I’ve had, in that it’s not a black murky tea. It’s lighter in color, but not in texture or taste. Tasting notes of Almond with a bit of Nutella. A rather uncomplicated Shou that didn’t have be best starter material, but for the unique tasting notes alone, I have to give this one an 8/10.

This tea is very giving. I got 3 infusions from throwing it in my tea basket and steeping it at 203 for 5 to 7 minutes at a time. I got some Meadow notes contrasted by a sugar cube, baked goods sweetness, with a rustic quality. The liquor comes out a bit on the brown side, and that makes sense. This tea approaches Moonlight White territory, which deepens its nuance.

It is a very versatile White Tea, and evolves with each infusion. Even when I boiled it out for the last infusion for 7 minutes, it was lovely. It also had that medicinal quality I look for in white teas, as I find them very good for the gums personally.

The Body Sensation is all in itself unique, as I get the calming quality, but a little boost of clear headed energy.

I recommend it highly! This is my first taste of Vietnam, and I am glad to say that I was not disappointed.

A Beautiful Green Tea! Vegetal notes intermingled with roasted nuts, it’s wonderful. I get two good steepings out of it western style, and use 2 to 3 grams of leaf per 350 to 400 ml water. There is nothing else like a good Lu-an Gua Pian. Beautiful Mouth texture, and 2023’s crop knocked it out of the park!

I usually do this one western style, as Gong Fu will yeild a weak tea. The first infusion will be 3 minutes, giving me a lovely lime green liquor. I’ll usually do the second steeping at 5 minutes to finish it off. It’s quite a forgiving green tea for heavy handed brewing, but I would stick within the 185F to 187F mark with this tea to get the absolute best out of it!

An economically price Gyokuro that has honestly replaced a lot of my Sencha’s. Beautiful green color in the cup when brewed around 158F, with a vegetable soup, brothy, Umami mouth feel. You won’t get as many steepings out of it as the higher tier Gyokuro available, but for the price, it is very lovely. The L-Theanine hit is immaculate.

The way I steep it is to start around 155 to 158f, depending on how broken up the leaf is. about 2 to 4 gram per 200ml water, with the first steeping being 1 minute and 30 seconds. The Second steeping is around a minute, as the leaves have begun to open up. The third will be a bit longer, and i might bump the temperature up in to the low 160s F, and I may go up to 2 minutes. To finish it off, If I want to get the caffeine, I will bump it up to 195f and leave it for 3 minutes. Even that final infusion retains a bit of a vegetal character amongst the catchicen soup.

If you want to have a nice Gyokuro and not break the bank, this is it! It’s lovely to have in between more expensive Gyokuro, to help make the really good stuff last a little longer in your pantry.

One of my favorite Silver Needle White Tea! I brew it western style, because it provides at least 3 heavy duty infusions. The first steeping is rather floral at 195F for 5 minutes, with some fruity interplay and some vegetal notes. Delicious. Subsequent infusions are much the same with a nuttiness taking the forefront with a fruitiness. I aged mine out for a year, and it aged quite gracefully.

The body sensation is wonderful. Extremely relaxing, and though talking about health benefits is a faux pas, it relieves my inflammation to an extent.

Brewed usually at boiling, 400ml water, for 3 minutes at a time in my steeper basket. I’d Gong Fu’d it in my Gaiwain, however I feel like it really shines with heavy handed brewing. The first infusion is Milky and Woody undergrowth, the second infusion is Milky sweetness with Wet wood, and the third is basically a ligther milkyness with wet wood.

Absolutely no bitterness, and quite economically priced. How can I say no?

This Tea REALLY opened my eyes as to the potential of Oolongs. I didn’t know how to eyeball the weight, so I simply put the entire sample pack of about 10 to 13 grams in my 350ml Kyusu, with about 200ml of water. I opted for non linear brewing times, starting with a 25s first steep, and dropping down to 10 to 15 seconds on the second, adding more time as needed.

Each infusion is very consistent, and the notes you get from it are very dependant on Temperature. As you get closer to the 205F mark, All of the lovely milky notes come through, together with a vegetable, almost Umami undertone. The Milky taste and silky smooth mouth feel really pleasantly surprised me, as it was the first time I’d gotten that note from a tea. Quenching and Mouth Watering.

I added time to what ended up being 2 hours worth of infusions on each steeping, and the leaves just kept giving and giving. The tasting notes transformed a bit throughout. It started Milky, vegetal, with a hint of a fruit I couldn’t identify, and held those notes while the floral and fruity nature expanded in later infusions. Absolutely mouth watering. The liquor was a luminescent, glowing green. After 2 hours of about 1.7 liters worth of infusions, I’d decided to give it a 2 minute steeping at 210F. That last steeping held up, leaning heavily into the vegetal and floral, while keeping those Milky and Umami notes.

When it was all said and done, those tiny pellets expanded into small to medium sized leaves that completely STUFFED my Gaiwan when they expanded. While the amount of leaf was indulgently large, I didn’t regret it for a second. I was left with a calm, warming, lucid body sensation, and a milky sweet aftertaste.

This was an excellent baptism into Oolong. I’d ordered several others, which I cannot wait to try! I want to take a moment to recognize this Vendor, as well. With hundreds of teas to choose from at any given time at good prices, I regard them as the Top vendor in all of North America, let alone Canada. They are true tea experts that know what those of a discerning taste want in their cup.

I very highly recommend this Oolong if the tasting notes are in your lane. It is very consistent in its milky/vegetal notes, with pleasant floral/fruity nuances that pop up through many, many infusions. Now that I’ve totaled the sample pack, I am going to order a big haul!