Nio Teas

This bancha is another first for me. I’m still waiting for my scale, so these generously offered pre-packed samples are proving to be very helpful (though to be honest, I wish I had more black teas and oolongs). I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 160F water for 60, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

With its collection of twigs and leaves, this bancha definitely looks like a rustic stem tea. The dry aroma is of grass, honey, butter, and roast. As another reviewer mentioned, this tea tastes a lot like genmaicha, with grass, roasted grains, honey, hay, and seaweed impressions. It reminds me of something served at a sushi restaurant. The next couple steeps have flavours of toasted rice, saline, spinach, and butter, along with grass and gentle roast. The final steeps have notes of earth, metal, popped rice, and grass.

This is a pleasant tea that I probably steeped too many times. I think it would go well with food and am craving sushi now. :)

Use LEAFHOPPER10OFF to get a 10% discount (I get a small commission when you use this code). Their holiday sale is going on for a while, and the code should still be good in 2024.

Whhhhaaat?! This is a sencha? Look at those dark glossy leaves! Seriously? The aroma is nil though. I can’t smell what should be, what I assume should be something good. The infusing tea smells of asparagus an cooked spinach. Actually mainly just spinach. Hmm… the flavor is not gyokuro. Tastes more like a sencha. Slightly grassy and a bit vegetal.

It’s great that Nio included a shincha in my bunch of samples! I assume this is from the 2022 harvest, though it doesn’t say so on the package. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 140F water for 45, 20, 20, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is promising, with notes of stonefruit, florals, spinach, cream, and grass. The first steep is quite vegetal, with notes of squash, spinach, kale, grass, umami, and nectarine, particularly in the aroma and aftertaste. Steep two has even more veggies and a thicker body, with squash, asparagus, kale, spinach, cream, and that lovely nectarine. Subsequent steeps have more umami and less cruciferous punch, and I get apple, grass, nectarine, and spinach. The fruit is better integrated into the grassier, softer later steeps, although the tea is a bit drying in the mouth.

The apple and nectarine make this a fun shincha, particularly in the later steeps. I’m less enthused about the veggies. I think lower temperatures definitely help to tame them.

Nio Teas is having a holiday sale with up to 64% off. Get an additional 10% off with the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission when you use this code).

Nio Advent 2023
I’m cold. I just can’t warm up. This is to remind me when it is stupid hot this summer and I want it to be cold again that there is no winning. The coloring on this one is decent. Vibrant but could be a tinge deeper in green. The dry aroma was kind of meh but then again with packaging like this one should not expect much. Water brewed to 40F. Sieved and whisked. Surprisingly I made a good froth. Hmm… Well… The first sip was a little bitter. So I’m adding more water. The grassiness is not dissipating. May work better as a matcha latte or in culinary recipes but on its own this one lacks character. Unless punch in your mouth is a good character of matcha but.. not for me.

Nio advent 2023. Hopefully, this is the right one. It smells divine. I love the roasty toasty notes you get in a hojicha. As the tea steeps it smell burnt. Lots of burning. Burning green pepper…. I hate green peppers… Ah, but the liquor smells lovely. Definitely a darker hojicha roast. The charcoal notes are quite a bit higher than the toasty notes. An interesting sweet note with the first sip after it’s cooled a bit. I don’t think this would make as quite a good latte as the lesser roasted versions.

Advent Tea 2023
A beautiful tea in appearance. Some say that the Chinese value the look more than the Japanese do but I highly appreciate the vibrant greens. This one, for example, with the contrast of light and dark greens is quite a joy to behold. The aroma is unsettling. I can’t say I like it. The same went for the flavor at first but it changed. The creamy mouth feel is quite nice. Very vegetal in flavor. Fresh-cut grass and corn husks. Like with other Japanese greens, I find I am enjoying this one more as the water cools down. There is a sweet grass note that comes out that I am finding quite enjoyable.

As much I love jumping around and trying new teas, I’ve gained a higher appreciation for those who stick to one terroir or country. When your palate sticks with one long enough you can spot the subtle differences from year to year.

NIO Advent Tea 2023 #5?
Dry Leaf: Glossy vibrant greens. Needle-like. Broken but still beautiful. Grassy and slight stone fruit in aroma.
Flavor: Very vegetal. Bits of cream. Grassy towards the finish.
Wet leaf aroma: If mushy had a smell… Maybe it reminds me of the spinach. And cooked spinach is always mushy.

I still don’t have a working scale, so these pre-measured Nio samples are the perfect solution. This is my first hojicha, and unless the name has changed, it’s a different one from what other reviewers received. There’s a lot of tea in this pouch, and I hope they didn’t actually give me 10 g instead of 5. I steeped the contents in 150 ml of 175F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of caramel, autumn leaves, roast, and cacao. The first steep is full of cozy roast and caramel, with notes of barley, minerals, and charcoal. I understand why people compare hojicha to coffee. It looks like this is a 5 g sample after all, as it doesn’t destroy my tongue with bitterness; the larger leaves must have made me think there was more. The next couple steeps have notes of roasted grain, caramel, coffee, autumn leaves, minerals, wood, faint grass, and charcoal. The final steeps are weaker, but similar in terms of flavour, emphasizing the roast and minerality. The tea never gets excessively bitter or grassy.

This is a perfect winter tea, though one I’d need to be in the mood for. I’m enjoying these “nontraditional” Japanese green teas quite a bit!

Get a 10% discount with the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission when you use this code).

NIO Advent Tea #3 A matcha was just the thing I needed this morning. It’s kinda gloomy out there and I’m tired. The dry powder smells deeply of dark chocolate The coloring is nice. As the water is poured and the matcha is whisked, the aroma changes to vegetal and grassy notes. I suck at making foam. Despite that, the foam that I did manage to create lasts quite a long time. The flavor is a bit nutty with grassy overtones. And some bitter root veggies.

Nio Advent Calender 2023. #2
I saw a few names that were similar but not quite the same as this so I figured I would give it its own thing.
Ah, the aroma is lovely. Slightly grassy. Bits of hay. Sweet grass. A bit of stone fruit. The leaf is thin and needle like. Mainly dark green with bits of lighter greens. Lots of freshly but grass with the first sip. As with most Japanese greens, this one is like a two-year-old and shouldn’t be left alone. The astringency, if you do, will punch you in the face. The grassy notes dominate with each steep though I do also get some vegetal notes.

Advent Tea #1
Long needle-like appearance with jade coloring. The aroma is divine. Sweet grass and stone fruit. The flavor has heavy notes of asparagus, corn, maybe leaning more towards freshly picked corn with the husk still on. A very vegetal forward green. Does not require much steep time. In fact, I suggest you do not walk away from this session. The soft mouth feel can be easily overtaken with bitterness and you’ll be left with unnecessary astringency if you treat this like any other tea. Though generally this should be said for any Japanese green. The grassiness comes out more in the subsequent infusions.

Thanks to Nio for this sample! The website says it features citrus and minerality, which sounds promising. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 140F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry leaf aroma is of citrus, spinach, and sweet grass. The first steep has punchy notes of spinach, cucumber, and grass, followed by orange, apricot, and butter. It’s kind of drying in the mouth. The next steep gives me bok choy and minerals, with a sweet, lingering peachy/apricot aftertaste. The stonefruit persists through the next few steeps, and the spinach also seems to get less aggressive. The tea ends with sweet grass, minerals, lettuce, and faint stonefruit.

This sencha is another winner for me. There’s some of that vegetal kick, but the stonefruit and citrus are lovely. I imagine this would be nice cold brewed.

Use LEAFHOPPER10OFF for a 10% discount (I get a small commission when you use this code). Their Black Friday sale ends in a few hours, though the code will continue to work indefinitely.

I’ll give you guys a break from all the Nio posts after this, though I have about a dozen more samples to try. I’m thinking of devoting either December or January to sipdowns, as I have miscellaneous bits of tea from swaps to enjoy as well.

This sencha is from the yabukita cultivar, which is supposed to be quite vegetal and fruity. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 140F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of apple, squash, spinach, cream, and grass. The first steep has notes of apple, squash, mango, spinach, kale, and grass. The next steep initially tastes like lettuce and bitter grass clippings, but the cooked apple, mango, and tropical fruit (passionfruit?) bloom in the aftertaste and the bottom of the cup. That fruitiness persists through the next few steeps, sometimes overtaking the grassiness and sometimes not. The final few steeps are vaguely fruity and less aggressively vegetal, with a sweet, grassy flavour.

I would have liked this tea more if it hadn’t been so vegetal. As it is, the tropical fruit was fun and the last few steeps had a nice balance. Those with a higher tolerance for cruciferous veggies might really enjoy this sencha. Based on the few teas I’ve tried, I like the saemidori cultivar more than the yabukita.

Get a 10% discount with the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission when you use this code).

This kamairicha is another first for me! I have a bit of experience with Chinese green teas, so it will be interesting to see how pan frying affects Japanese greens. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 160F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of toasted rice, roasted nuts, and grass. Oof! The spinach and squash in the first steep are a surprise! I also get butter, asparagus, toasted rice, nuts, roast, and minerals. The next steep has a thicker body and is a bit drying, with more pronounced hazelnuts and butter and lots of veggies. Subsequent steeps have notes of asparagus, spinach, grass, roast, nuts, minerals, butter, and earth.

My nose expected a very different tea than my taste buds received. I enjoyed seeing how pan frying creates those buttery, nutty aromas, but it seems to be much better integrated into Chinese greens than Japanese ones, at least based on this small sample. I have to say I liked yesterday’s kukicha much better.

Get a 10% discount with the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission when you use this code). Their Black Friday sale is massive and ends tomorrow.

Another stem tea and my first kukicha! I steeped this tea in 150 ml of 160F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of roasted nuts, grass, and spinach. I’m surprised the first steep isn’t darker given the leaf appearance and roasty smell. I get notes of cream, roasted nuts, walnut skins, minerals, umami, and spinach. The next couple steeps have a lovely candied chestnut aroma, which appears less distinctly in the taste. By steep five, the tea has more spinach, grass, and minerals, though the roast is still there. The final steeps emphasize a heavier roast, nuts, grass, spinach, minerals, and umami.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this kukicha. I’ve been scarfing the last of my Dong Ding, so I guess the beginning of winter has made me want these types of nutty, cozy teas. I wish there was more of that candied chestnut and less of the grass, but overall, this is a nice, comforting, uncomplicated tea to enjoy on a fall afternoon.

Use LEAFHOPPER10OFF for a 10% discount (I get a commission when you use this code). Their Black Friday sale is going on until the end of the month.

Thanks to Nio Tea for providing this sample, which is my first stem tea. I’ve been curious whether using stems affects the taste or longevity of a tea, and now I can find out! I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 140F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of squash, spinach, grass, and florals. The first steep has soft notes of squash, spinach, grass, hay, butter, and umami, with a thick body and grassy aftertaste. I get kale, squash, spinach, butter, umami, minerals, and some floral hints (narcissus?) in the next couple steeps. Subsequent steeps are sweeter, more earthy, and less green, with that thick body and some dryness.

This tea is kind of similar to the Gyokuro Cha Meijin that I had a few days ago. They share the squash, thick body, and floral hints, though this tea is softer and less intense. It lasted for fewer steeps and was a bit more grassy, which is possibly due to the stems.

If you possibly still need more tea after this weekend, Nio’s Black Friday sale is going on till November 30. You can get up to 69% off and an additional 10% discount with the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission).

Also, I probably should have asked this earlier, but is it okay to post these discounts on Steepster? The samples were given to me for free, but I do get a commission if people use the code. I want to be as transparent as possible.

What luck! After my recent positive experience with this cultivar, I found another Saemidori tea in my pile of Nio samples, this time a gyokuro. I steeped 5 g of leaf in a 150 ml pot using 140F water for 120, 20, 20, 30, 40, 60, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of apples, squash, sunflower seeds, florals, and grass. The first steep has notes of starchy butternut squash, apples, slight florality, sunflower seeds, grass, and spinach. The tea is quite thick and has no astringency. The next steep brings more creamy squash and red apple, with a bit more greenness. Steeps three to five introduce asparagus, more spinach and grass, and some earthiness. I accidentally left the tea too long and got apple again, along with mild veggies, umami, and sweetness. The tea really never gets bitter and fades gently into sweet veggies and grass.

As Cameron pointed out, this is a very soft gyokuro that’s sweeter and less green/astringent than most Japanese green teas I’ve tried. The squash is a little weird, but it was more unexpected than anything else. Saemidori is turning out to be a winner for me!

Take an extra 10% off during their Black Friday sale with the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission when you use this code).

I’ve been neglecting these samples from Nio, but decided to pull them out again while they’re still good. (I have some time, as the best before date is December 2024.) I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 160F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40,60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of red apple, spinach, and grass. The first steep has notes of red apple, apple skin, asparagus, kale, cream, spinach, and grass. The body is nice and thick and there’s some balancing sweetness. The next steep also has a distinctly apple flavour, though with a stronger chlorophyll punch provided by the spinach, kale, asparagus, and grass. The apple persists through the next few steeps, and I also get hints of florality along with the greenness. The final couple steeps are completely green, though that’s my fault for wringing every last drop of flavour from this poor sencha.

I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to how green these Japanese green teas are, but I found the apple very prominent and pleasant. If fruitiness is typical of this cultivar, I’ll look for more Saemidori teas in the future. I’d say this is one of my favourite senchas from Nio so far.

Just a reminder that Nio’s Black Friday sale is going on, and when I last looked at their website, this tea was more than half off. Take an additional 10% off with LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission for sales through this coupon).