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I’m learning the Korean greens are different again from the Chinese and Japanese greens, in another distinctive way. This will take some experimentation to brew right, but so far it responds to brewing cooler and weaker than I’d do a Chinese green.

Good but not a rush to get again. Lovely sample to get though. I can only describe it as a green somewhere between Chinese corn/grass/hay and Japanese broth/vegetal/soupy.

Edit the second: Just having this with some sweets (coconut ice, which for non-UK folx is basically tablet with shredded coconut; for non-Scots tablet is condensed milk and sugar boiled solid) and it works really well. Moved the score from 65 to 69
Edit: Revisiting I’m getting definite sweet chestnut from this today. It’s still not really my thing, but it’s my brew for the day.

Quaffable enough. I don’t get much taste on the front at all, but going down pleasantly like nettles (if you’ve had nettle soup – like brighter spinach). I think it’ll take a while. I often need others here to taste a tea first because then their descriptions help me home in on the flavours to be alert for.

I finally cracked how to brew Sencha right, so I thought it was time to try Gyokuro. I like it, but it’s as different from Chinese greens as you can get. Good though, really good.

The last time I tried a Sencha it was nasty, but seeing other love them I decided it was my brewing. This time I looked up some YT vids on brewing. The secret for me was low and slow. Cool water probably around 70c and a first steep of more than a minute, all with minimal fussing the leaves.

I was rewarded with the delicious brothiness everyone talks about. Fantastic. Not quite one I’d seek out again, but it has made me look anew at Japanese green.

Inoffensive, quaffable black tea. Not much of any taste, but far from bland. I won’t get it again because it hints at tastes I get more of in other black teas. But it’s still really drinkable.

The vegetal taste I get is peas. Sweet, then peas. Sweet peas, if you like. It’s definitely peas you pick from your parents’ garden off a trellis and eat fresh and bursting right there, but… A lot is going to depend if you like those vegetal notes in tea. It turns out I don’t much.

I now know I love corn and grass notes in green tea, not all vegetal notes. I wouldn’t have known that before this, because none of the greens I’ve tried before were so purely green-veg. It’s not a do again for me, but it’s very different from some other Chinese greens and should be tried.

Brew it cool! It was definitely better well below 80, even. The 70 on the packet is about right.

Gosh, this is bland! First steeping has maybe the merest hint of peach. Someone below said ‘peach mineral water’ and that feel right. Second steeping and beyond picked up some of the fruit notes and I got a hint of jasmine. But there isn’t much to this. But it would be a perfect palate cleanser between courses of a meal.

Honey as advertised, a little. Fruity notes. Pleasant but too ethereal for me in a black tea.

Was keeping this as I don’t get on with most oolong. But I discounted their variability. Broke it out to finish a box before the new delivery comes and it’s lovely. Summer meadows early on, dry grasses later steeps.

Update: revisited again now my taste has developed. Also tried rinsing to open up before steeping. It’s even better. More floral hints. Close to a jasmine taste but pure tea.