Čajový Dom

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Recent Tasting Notes

85

This sencha is very aromatic and savoury, which makes it a profile that really appeals to me.

Dry leaves smell of pine and fruits, and then a bit like a vegetable broth in a preheated teapot. From the wet leaves, I get more of a meat broth scent, as well as notes of ash and honey.

The taste is strong and mineral with floral, nutty and leathery flavours. It is a little bitter, and shows also strong umami without much sweetness that often comes with it. The aftertaste is also strong and bring more bitter honey tones again.

Flavors: Ash, Bitter, Broth, Floral, Fruity, Honey, Leather, Mineral, Nutty, Pine, Umami, Vegetable Broth

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 0 min, 30 sec 6 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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93

[Spring 2023 harvest]

A superb green tea all around. Its energy brings me very much to the present, the liquor has a good astringency and depth, and the aftertaste is particularly intense.

The aroma is quite pleasant, fruity and grass-like, with notes of fern and green peas. The flavour is more vegetal, floral and nutty with a spicy finish at first. Later infusions get pretty sweet and also a bit sour. The mouthfeel is milky and coating.

Flavors: Astringent, Floral, Forest Floor, Fruity, Grass, Milky, Nutty, Peas, Sour, Sweet, Vegetal

Preparation
0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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80

[Spring 2023 harvest]

This tea is good, but not close to the best Kabusecha I’ve had. Its taste and body is a bit lighter than I would prefer. It does, however, have a very nice long aftertaste that is nutty and mineral. The aroma is of grass (compost), matcha, and baked apples. Taste is sweet and floral, while the mouthfeel is oily and smooth.

Flavors: Candied Apple, Compost, Floral, Grass, Mineral, Nutty, Sweet

Preparation
140 °F / 60 °C 0 min, 30 sec 7 g 6 OZ / 180 ML

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70
drank Nepal Ilam Green Tea by Čajový Dom
943 tasting notes

A very nice Himalayan green tea for the price. It is smooth and spicy, with a floral and cooling aftertaste.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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90

[Spring 2023 harvest]

Dry leaf aroma is crisp and reminds me of apple leafs and custard. During the session, the smell is very pleasant, full bodied, and it has a sort of tropical character. For instance, there are hints of vanilla and longan fruit.

The mouthfeel of the liquor is milky and smooth, but not too thick. Taste is grassy and very floral, with a sweet and nutty finish. It does get a little bitter too, which is very nice. Flavours include lemon balm, almond skin, as well as many other plants. The aftertaste is crisp and numbing, and brings notes of broccoli stalk and orchid.

All in all, a lovely FF experience.

Flavors: Almond, Apple Skins, Bitter, Broccoli, Custard, Floral, Grass, Herbs, Nutty, Orchid, Sweat, Tropical Fruit, Vanilla

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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91
drank Huang Shan Yun Wu by Čajový Dom
943 tasting notes

[Spring 2021 harvest]

Despite being 1 year old, this tea offers more or less everthing I want from a green tea! It tastes fresh, juicy, vegetal, has a nice bitter & sour bite and a sweet and spicy finish. Its aroma reminds me thistles, pine nuts and baklava before the session. On the other hand, during the session, the smell is full and vegetal with a hint of citrus fruits. Additionally, the tea induces a warmth felt from within.

Truly a spectacular tea given the price it usually sells for.

Flavors: Bitter, Citrus, Juicy, Nuts, Pastries, Pleasantly Sour, Spicy, Sweet, Thistle, Vegetal

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 0 min, 30 sec 3 g 3 OZ / 80 ML

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86

This is quite a warming kabusecha with a very silky mouthfeel and medium body. The taste has a good balance and yet strong umami. Additionally it tastes sweet, floral with a cooling finish and a fresh, grassy aftertaste. There are flavours of bread, truffle, courgette, moss and cucumbers.

Flavors: Bread, Cucumber, Floral, Grass, Moss, Sweet, Umami, Zucchini

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66
drank Wu Yi Shan Qi Lan by Čajový Dom
943 tasting notes

I tend to like Qi Lan rock oolongs. While the profile is to my liking here too, the tea is somewhat basic overall. The aromas are really good, but the rest of the experience is lacking. That is certainly not surprising given its price though.

From the dry leaves, I get perfumy and floral notes of orchid, cherry wood, chocolate, as well as decaying wood interestingly. During the session, aromas of fireplace, forest, wetlands, cherry blossom, and candle emerge.

The taste is woody with a decent bitterness like that of walnut shells. The liquor is certainly on the thin side here and the minerality is also not too pronounced.

Flavors: Bitter, Cherry Blossom, Cherry Wood, Chocolate, Decayed Wood, Fireplace, Floral, Forest Floor, Orchid, Walnut, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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90
drank Meng Ding Mao Feng by Čajový Dom
943 tasting notes

[Spring 2021 harvest]

I really like this green tea. It is a bit like some of the Laoshan ones, but it also has its own character. It has a very thick texture for a green tea, an oily and silky mouthfeel and an energizing yet pleasant qi. In terms of these attribute, one could liken it to a good sencha, but here we have more sweetness, less umami and the liquor is super clear.

Initially, I can smell cut grass, hay, and kale, which are complemented by seaweed in the warmed up pot. Wet leaves then have a floral, grassy and marine aroma with hints of strawberry leaves and mushrooms.

The taste is sour, floral, and grassy with a mineral finish. It is a very fresh tasting tea that is at once both warming and cooling. There are flavours of sugarcane, spinach, pear, carambola and others.

I would also point out that it has a very good longevity for a green tea (upwards of 250 ml/g).

Flavors: Cut Grass, Floral, Fruity, Grass, Hay, Kale, Marine, Mineral, Mushrooms, Pear, Seaweed, Sour, Spinach, Strawberry, Sugarcane, Sweet, Thick

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 0 min, 45 sec 5 g 150 OZ / 4436 ML

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86
drank Sencha Asamiya by Čajový Dom
943 tasting notes

[Spring 2021 harvest]

This sencha is noteworthy for its almost full leaves and virtually no dust. Dry leaves have a sweet smell of cookies, steamed greens, and thistles. Wet leaf aroma reminds me of butter, spring onion, sourdough bread on the other hand.

They produce a liquor with an extremely bright, almost fluorescent, green-yellow colour and oily texture. Its taste is peppery with a very nice bitter grassiness combined with tartness. Notes of green pepper, barley, bay leaf, brussels sprouts dominate the experience. The aftertaste is sweet, tart and floral with hints of grass and warming spices. It is long and reminds me of jade oolongs.

Flavors: Bread, Butter, Cookie, Floral, Grain, Grass, Green Bell Peppers, Kale, Pepper, Spices, Sweet, Tart, Vegetables

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 6 g 7 OZ / 200 ML

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79

[2021 harvest]

A very pleasant, uncomplicated, and medium-bodied oolong here. It is highly oxidized and smells a bit like some Taiwanese black teas – sweet, flowery and nutty. There are only few woody or forest-like notes though, they come throughout the session.

The taste, on the other hand, is quite woody and bittersweet. The pear flavour that is characteristic of similar GABA teas is here as well, but in moderation. Late steeps veer into more vegetal and herbaceous territory that’s a little bit like a that of some Dong Ding oolongs. In the aftertaste, I get a nice molasses sweetness that accompanies mild fruity sourness.

Flavors: Dark Bittersweet, Floral, Flowers, Fruity, Herbaceous, Molasses, Pear, Sweet, Vegetal, Walnut, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec 7 g 5 OZ / 160 ML

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86

[Spring 2021 harvest]

These are some of the most beautiful leaves you can find – fluffy, shiny, and colourful. In contrast to many Darjeelings, here you have full unbroken ones with lots of buds, so that the tea is really suitable for gong fu brewing.

What I like about this one is the balance it strikes between fruity, floral and grassy flavours. Additionally, the silky mouthfeel, long-lasting sweet and fragrant aftertaste and energizing qi complete the very pleasant experience.

More specifically, dry leaves smell of wooden cabinet with nettle and hay within. Then, in the gaiwan we get more of grassy and citrusy aromas coupled with hints of beeswax and grapevine, while in the empty cup I can smell mostly aromatic wood.

The tea takes its time to get going. First infusion is somewhat mild and smooth, but more on the floral (fresh hay) side of things. It is mineral, juicy, thirst-quenching and a little sour. Second one is more savoury and has more depth to it.

Third steep is tart and has notes of green beans and apples on top of more standard Darjeeling FF and Bai Mu Dan flavours. Later, some bitterness appears too and the aftertaste gets a bit malty.

Flavors: Bitter, Citrusy, Floral, Fruity, Grass, Green Apple, Green Beans, Hay, Malt, Mineral, Smooth, Tart, Vineyards, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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86
drank Ling Shan Cha by Čajový Dom
943 tasting notes

[Spring 2021 harvest]

This is a beautiful green tea. It has a sweet and complex bouquet initially, including aromas of mint, dry grass, dandelion, lime leaves, and courgette. While steeping, the latter expands to a full blown courgette smell including its leaves and flowers. Additionally, scents of eucalyptus and thistles are among the ones I have noticed.

The taste is crisp and biting, while the aftertaste is sweet and cooling. There are notes of dry grass, green beans, and edamame.

Flavors: Biting, Dandelion, Dry Grass, Eucalyptus, Green Beans, Lime, Mint, Sweet, Zucchini

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 4 g 5 OZ / 140 ML

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68

[Spring 2021 harvest]

This is quite a cooling tea, as is often the case with FF Darjeelings. Dry leaf aroma has a strong presence of grass flowers and nuts. Throughout the session, it becomes quite mineral with notes of lemon, osmanthus, and grass.

The taste is bitter and floral at first, while later infusions are more woody, akin to tree bark. There is a mineral finish and a peppery, citrusy aftertaste.

Flavors: Bark, Bitter, Citrus, Floral, Flowers, Grass, Lemon, Mineral, Nutty, Osmanthus, Pepper

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 30 sec 6 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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94
drank Mei Ren Lu by Čajový Dom
943 tasting notes

[Spring 2023 harvest]

The tea is even more mineral nutty than last year I would say, but I like it just as much.

Flavors: Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Grass, Mineral, Nutty, Sweet

Marshall Weber

Would love to try a tea with brussels sprouts notes! Sounds tasty

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94
drank Mei Ren Lu by Čajový Dom
943 tasting notes

This is one of the best green teas I’ve had in a while. It smells a bit like a Mengding Gan Lu, albeit more nutty. The taste, on the other hand, is reminiscent of other Laoshan greens. It is a comlex tea with crisp freshness and a long-lasting sweet aftertaste. It is composed of large and dark green leaves which produce a beautiful light green liquor.

Dry leaves smell of hazelnuts, milk, thistles and toasted rice. In a preheated pot, the aroma is marine-like and I can detect some edamame. Scents of spring onion, milk, broccoli then emerge from the wet leaves.

First infusion is mineral and medium to full bodied. It is sweet, cooling and very smooth with notes of fresh nettle and asparagus. Second steep has more umami and bitterness, while the third is very fragrant and grassy. There are additional flavours of chestnuts and fern to be noted.

Flavors: Asparagus, Bitter, Broccoli, Chestnut, Grass, Green Beans, Hazelnut, Marine, Mineral, Nutty, Sweet, Toasted Rice, Vegetal

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 4 OZ / 130 ML

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69
drank Huang Shan Mao Feng by Čajový Dom
943 tasting notes

I found this tea to be fairly unremarkable. The dry leaf aroma reminds me of a muted anji bai cha, while wet leaves smell of grapevine leaves, sunflower oil, and apricot flowers.

The tea is smooth and cooling like a morning dew in brightly sunlit, grassy meadow. It has a light body and floral character. Among the specific flavours I would highlight stonefruits, black pepper, nuts and vegetal umami notes.

Flavors: Apricot, Black Pepper, Floral, Freshly Cut Grass, Fruit Tree Flowers, Grass, Nutty, Plants, Stonefruit, Umami

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 5 g 6 OZ / 180 ML
tanluwils

That sounds quite pleasant for ‘unremarkable’

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84

This was a free sample I got with my recent purchase. It’s a punchy tea with a creamy mouthfeel and a room-filling aroma.

Dry leaves smell buttery and vegetal, later on moss, custard, and spinach aromas emerge too. First infusion has a pretty strong umami for a tamaryokucha. It is nutty and peppery with a sweet finish and a cacti flavour. Second one is more grassy and astringent with a citric acid note to it. Some bitterness appears later too, creating a pretty pungent brew overall. The aftertaste is yeasty, cooling and mineral.

Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Butter, Cactus Flowers, Citrusy, Creamy, Custard, Grass, Mineral, Moss, Nutty, Pepper, Sour, Spinach, Sweet, Umami, Vegetal, Yeasty

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML
Michelle

“Room-filling aroma” I can almost smell it from here :)

Martin Bednář

Nice free sample!

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90

[Spring 2021 harvest]

I haven’t had such a good sencha in a while. This one is thick, smooth and with lots of breadth. There is next to no astringency and the cha qi is somewhere between energizing and calming.

The dry leaf aroma is strong and includes notes of green peas and sunflowers. Later, scents of beef jerky, juniper tree and cedar emerge.

First steep is super smooth and has a very strong umami. There are flavours of sunflower oil, walnuts and yeast. As it cools down, I notice the tea getting more tangy with a mildly acerb finish. Later, it becomes more tart and marine like with flavours such as lime and seaweed.

Unfortunately, the aftertaste is not particularly exciting. Nevertheless, the rest of the experience makes up for it.

Flavors: Cedar, Flowers, Lime, Marine, Meat, Peas, Seaweed, Tangy, Tart, Umami, Walnut

Preparation
155 °F / 68 °C 1 min, 0 sec 7 g 7 OZ / 200 ML

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71

[Spring 2021 harvest]

Parameters: 5g / 200ml / 76°C – 92°C
Steep times: 1min / 1min / 2min / 4min

I recently went to restock some tea from our local tea shops in Bratislava. Čajový Dom is one of the best ones, they always have a large selection of quality Darjeelings and Japanese teas, as well as many others. Their prices are really good too, although you may not find the absolute top shelf teas here most of the time.

This one is really unusual – a Darjeeling green tea from the Yabukita cultivar is a first for me. The tea is not as aromatic as I hoped it would. It also lacks some pungency I’d say. However, it provides a very elegant experience with is medium to light body and smooth, silky and buttery mouthfeel. The aftertaste is also somewhat long lasting and pungent relatively speaking, even though it doesn’t evolve all that much.

Dry leaf aroma is mostly herbaceous and floral, a combination that permeates the start of the session throughout. In the wet leaves, I can also smell a strong nettle note.

First steep is subtle and vegetal with a mildly peppery aftertaste. Second one brings notes of kale and honey, while later I can taste cabbage too. The last two infusions remind me of some yellow teas from Meng Ding I’ve had. Aftertaste is generally also vegetal with hints of sweet peas and sandy soil. There is a slightly numbing sensation in the mouth while drinking and subsequently too.

Flavors: Floral, Herbaceous, Honey, Kale, Peas, Pepper, Smooth, Vegetables, Vegetal

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 0 sec 5 g 7 OZ / 200 ML
derk

It has now hit me that you’re no longer in Canada. Looking forward to reviews of teas from Slovakian shops. Hope you’re doing well!

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80

Very well balanced and pungent Darjeeling. It has medium to light body and its mouthfeel is coating and oily. Dry leaves have a milky, nutty aroma with notes of mulberry and lily flowers. The later persists later on too, complemented by an apple-like scent.

The tea has a grape skin bitterness mixed with tree sap sweetness. It is floral and woody with hints of tree bark, stonefruits (peach), fern/fiddleheads, nutmeg, and autumn leaf pile. The aftertaste is long-lasting with notes of fresh walnuts and custard.

Flavors: Apple, Autumn Leaf Pile, Bark, Berry, Custard, Floral, Flowers, Grape Skin, Milk, Peach, Plants, Sap, Stonefruit, Walnut, Wood

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 g 7 OZ / 200 ML

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71

I imagine this could have been a really nice Darjeeling once young, it has a pungent aroma that is sweet and spicy. However, as I bought it 3 years old already (for 30% of the original price though), it has lost some of its complexity. Nevertheless, it is still a pleasant drink with hints of cherries, apricots and spices (nutmeg in particular) and some umami as well. The astringency is very mild, in fact the tea is fairly mouth-watering and with a cooling aftertaste. Given the price I got it for, I would buy it again, although I can’t comment on the price/quality ratio of the fresh product to be honest.

Flavors: Alcohol, Apricot, Cherry, Fruit Tree Flowers, Nutmeg, Spices, Sweet, Umami

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 0 sec 5 g 6 OZ / 180 ML

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78

A very good Darjeeling for reasonable price, even 1 year after harvest it’s still got a complex aroma. There is a lot of sweet floral notes, reminiscent of honey, dried dates and apricots, but at the same time some heavier whisky and lighter grass ones. The taste is less spectacular, but definitely enjoyable. It is slighly sweet and spicy with vegetal notes too. The astringency is not too strong and the mouthfefel is somewhat bubbly. The colour, as is often the case with FF Darjeeling, is a beautiful golden orange.

The steeping times I did were: 5s wash, 20s, 40s, 60s, 100s. It became a little flat and on the bitter side in the last one, but still retaining its character to a large degree.

Flavors: Apricot, Astringent, Dates, Dry Grass, Honey, Spicy, Whiskey

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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79

High quality sencha with a strong smell of freshly cut grass and somewhat bready taste.

Flavors: Astringent, Bread, Freshly Cut Grass, Umami

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 1 min, 0 sec 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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