I haven’t had too many green teas, and this is my first Sencha tea. I really like both cardamom and peach, and so was looking forward to trying this sample. (Thanks to Starfevre.) The smell of the dry leaves in the package is divine.
The steeped tea is really nice — I can pick up mainly peach (a really good, sweet-tart-fruit taste), against a background of wonderfully complex… again, words fail me. I don’t know what Sencha alone tastes like, so maybe it’s mainly that — green and herby and a slight whiff of cardamom. I think I get the cardamom mainly in the aftertaste — something mildly aromatic — along with the aftertaste of peach. Yumm!
I first tasted it with added sugar. There’s a bit of astringency which I didn’t like and I tried to quell it with some warm skim milk, but I’m not sure that was a good idea. Maybe next time I’ll try steeping at 170, and add sugar but no milk. Although as I’m reaching the bottom of the big 16oz mug, and as it cools a bit, I like it better and better. Yum!
Used 2-1/4 tsp for 16oz mug. Steeped at 177F for 2 min 15 sec. Added sugar and skim milk.
