135 Tasting Notes

70

It’s low in caffeine, but not VERY low! Don’t drink it at night. If brewed well, it’s pleasant, sweetish with a roasted taste, and very drinkable. If steeped for too long or at too high a temperature, it becomes very bitter.

Flavors: Grass, Seaweed, Sweet

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 1 min, 0 sec 6 g 7 OZ / 210 ML

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65

The dry leaves smell markedly of butternut squash. This is an interesting tea! Wet leaves are even more squashy, with notes of pumpkin and yam… The taste is similar to the smell, while the aftertaste has a slight astringency and some minerality reminiscent of Wuyi oolong. It’s relatively affordable for a tea grown in the USA, and comes in a ‘loose puck’ form which I haven’t seen elsewhere.

Flavors: Astringent, Butternut Squash, Mineral, Pumpkin, Sweet Potatoes, Yams

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 3 g 2 OZ / 65 ML

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90

It’s smoky, but less like an actual campfire and more like an Islay scotch. The first few steeps are almost overwhelmingly bitter and smell of hay. On the third steep it becomes delicious, with a lingering smoky aftertaste.

Flavors: Bitter, Hay, Peat, Scotch, Smoke

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 3 g 2 OZ / 65 ML

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60

My default no-effort decaf bag tea. It’s not fantastic, but it’s not bad either – especially for a tea that’s both decaf and in a bag – and is available almost everywhere near where I live.

Flavors: Malt

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 2 g 13 OZ / 384 ML

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85
drank Asahina Gyokuro by Hojo Tea
135 tasting notes

Well, this is an intense tea! By far the strongest green tea I’ve had. It’s thick, vegetal, slightly bitter, and just very… strong. I like it, but would never have it before bed. Of the two hot brewing methods detailed for it on the product page on HT, I definitely prefer the ‘traditional method.’

Flavors: Astringent, Broth, Thick, Vegetal

Preparation
145 °F / 62 °C 1 min, 30 sec 3 g 2 OZ / 65 ML
Cameron B.

Gyokuro can certainly knock you on your butt! A very intense tea. :P

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Profile

Bio

I like trying unique teas, especially those from areas of the world not known for tea production. It’s always something of a gamble and can lead to all kinds of surprises.

While I’m usually not into flavoured or scented teas, there are definitely exceptions. Hei cha which is not pu-erh tends to be my favourite category of tea, but I like some teas of all types. Smoky, creamy, and honey-like tastes generally appeal to me the most.

Top five teas I’ve had thus far (in no particular order):

Mekong Breakfast from Rakkasan Tea Company

2015 Gao Jia Shan “Cha Duo Tang” Wild Harvested Hunan Fu Brick Tea, from Yunnan Sourcing

Asahina Gyokuro “Hon Gyokuro” from Hojo Tea

Any good Lapsang Souchong

2018 Cha Yu Lin “Liu Bu Xi Village” Tian Jian Basket Tea from Yunnan Sourcing

Location

Rural New England

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