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AHH. Backlogging from this morning.
I woke up with a craving of this stuff so decided to make a cup really quickly before class. In rushing I actually let it steep too long (ironically enough) so it was a tad bitter but still good. I dunno. I love the taste of buttered spinach and this stuff reminds me so much of it. Great staple tea in my opinion. Anyone know of any other brands that are good? I’ve only had Adagio’s Gunpowder and I wonder how it stacks up to other companies.

Oh. Oh wow.
Seriously.
I’ve had mint teas before, you know, the run of the mill altoid dissolved in water, or 1 part listerine 3 parts water. Those sorts of mint teas. Then I opened my sample back of this stuff from Samovar and WOA. Hold up. It’s Christmas all over again.

I heated my water, steeped the stuff for 3 minutes and plunged my head into my cup. I wanted to live in there. I also stuck my nose into my infuser.. the combination of mint and steam lit my nostrils on fire. Not a pretty sight.

From the second I took my first sip, I knew this was the good stuff. The peppermint was so powerful, but yet so complex. Okay, the peppermint was there. Candy canes, yes, check those off. Then what was this other taste? It seemed so familiar. It wasn’t a licorice taste that reminded me of Twizzlers.. no. It was reminiscent of an earthy licorice. Ah yes. Fennel. And I happen to love chewing on the stuff.

And the aftertaste… oh well I think that’s the best part. Sweet, yet with a strong minty taste. It’s still lingering. I found it amazing that I was able to get such a tingley feel on my tongue, like I just finished eating an actual peppermint. Did I mention sweet?

But seriously, this is one of the best teas I’ve had. Reordering… now!

Let me say that this is my first time trying Pu-erh and it was certainly an… experience. I’ve heard a lot about this blend from Samovar and was pretty excited to try. In terms of smell, there really wasn’t too much until the leaves were wet; the dry leaves smelt earthy but weren’t strong by any means. I followed the suggestion Samovar gave to rinse the leaves before drinking, so I tossed my first steep. After I did that, the smell was much stronger in my infuser. To be honest, at first, I was a little put off by the smell; it was extremely fishy. However, after the second steep, the smell turned into more of an earthy, wet-forest smell. It was certainly different than any tea I’ve tried before.

The color was certainly new to me. I’ve never seen a tea so dark, almost coffee-like in color. It looked like a very bold tea, and certainly upon drinking I came to discover it tasted as dark as it looked. It had a very, very earthy taste to it. I steeped for 3:30 the first time and found that the taste was extremely dark, but smooth. It wasn’t bitter; just a very deep flavor. It wasn’t light or bright by any means. As I drank more, and the tea cooled down, I started to get a faint sweet aftertaste. At first, I’ll admit, I didn’t think I liked it. I thought it was too strong and foul-smelling. But now, seeing as I’ve had a few cups of it, I kind of want more. There is a sweet taste lingering on my tongue. I ended up trying a bunch of different steep times, again at 5 minutes, 6 and 7. I found that 6 minutes was the best for me. The tea didn’t taste as dark or dirt-like and was a little bit sweeter. Like a dark fruit sweet.

Overall Observations:
-Very Dark tea
-Smells of wet-wood, and a little fishy for the first couple of steeps. This smell lets less and less fishy over time.
-Extremely dark taste; much more earthy than any green tea I’ve had (I like to think of it as a very dark Hojicha), taste seems to brighten up more if you let it steep for longer.
-Easily get a lot of steeps out of a serving, and your cup will not get more bitter as a result of adding more steep time.
-Very different tea. I’m excited to try the Blood Orange Pu-erh blend. I think citrus will work nicely with this taste.

Everyone should try this at least once in their tea-drinking adventures. I seemed to enjoy it more and more as I kept drinking it.

Wow. Long week and even worse one coming up. Three exams in 2 days is never fun. Within these stressful days I was looking forward to getting my Samovar bundle of samples. Surprisingly they shipped within a day of ordering and I actually got it within 2 days of shipping. A+ service in my opinion. Delivery estimate was the 22-25th.. and I received it yesterday.

Anyway, I was eager to try the first of my tea samples, and what a better tea to kick it off with the ever popular Ryokucha. With all the ranting and raving I knew this stuff had to be good. I mean, if your going to call it “tea crack”, then I guess it’s got some serious credibility.

I followed the steeping instructions on the bag it came in. When I first opened it, the smell of Genmaicha hit me; very similar to the Adagio blend which I’ve been drinking for a couple weeks. The matcha was clearly visible; the pieces of brown rice were a vivid green and overall the smell was somewhat different that the Adagio Genmaicha. I’ll have to credit this to the matcha powder. I heated my water, poured the contents of the baggie into my infuser, poured my water in, and let it steep for a full 3 minutes. It brewed a bright green color. It looked quite delicious.

IMPRESSIONS:
When it first hits your palette, the brown rice flavor is definitely there. It stands out strong and lasts throughout the first sips. In terms of after-taste, I wasn’t getting the sweet, matcha flavor a lot of people were talking about. It was vegetative, but not so sweet. Then again, it was smooth; there was no harshness at all. The taste of Genmaicha was certainly there, although the matcha seemed to be a little hidden. I was a little disappointed in this regard. I did experience the “milkiness” towards the end of my cup, and then a noticed the matcha powder was sitting on the bottom. Maybe I needed to stir the tea around a bit before drinking. I ended up steeping a second and final time, although not much changed. I tasted the brown rice and vegetativeness of the tea but the milkiness was pretty masked by the other flavors. I will say however that between steeps I did have a sweet taste in my mouth. And this did make me want more :)

I guess my only gripe is that this didn’t taste much different than Adagio’s Genmaicha; maybe my sample wasn’t too great or perhaps I steeped it too long or too little. Other than that, it is a great genmaicha. I can see myself reordering.

I can’t get enough of this stuff. I love the the popped rice flavor like no other. Also recently ordered that popular Ryokucha tea from Samovar which also has the rice. I think I’ll become as addicted to that as I am to this blend. I really put a lot of tea into my infuser tonight.. I was feeling a thick cup. And nevertheless, I got what I wanted. On my third steep currently. MMmm.

Not bad today Hojicha, not bad. Certainly doing some work on my taste buds today for some reason. I’m honestly not that big of a fan of this stuff on most days but I think I was just craving some smoky nutty ness. Neverless, I’ve had about three cups already.. my mouth doesn’t lie. Steeped for about 3 minutes, first time @2, but I’m thinking 3 is the golden number. Kinda want some BBQ now..

When I started drinking this stuff, I didn’t think I was a fan of white tea. However I think my palette has changed since then :) This stuff goes down really smooth and has such a sweet aftertaste. I added a good amount of tea from my sampler to my infuser.. I’m almost out now. Either way, for some reason tonight (mood, lighting? xD) my opinions have changed.

Enjoying my third steep of these buttery spinachy goodness. Seriously, I can’t get enough. I need to order more! In my opinion, this tea is such a staple in every green tea drinker’s cabinet, although I’ve never tried any other blends. Any other recommendations other than Adagios? Steeped for about 2 minutes will a little over 2 teaspoons in 16oz of good old hot water. Best combination in terms of taste in my opinion. Mmm.

Enjoying a cup (or three) of this right now. Tasting great tonight; let it steep for over 3 minutes to really get some flavor. I’m pleased with the result. Classic green tea goodness. Diggin the rice.

Nothing like a great matcha latte! I think Matcha is a great choice for people who want to start getting into drinking more green tea. For one, it’s not as intense or off putting; usually drinking good green teas is sort of an acquired taste, or at least that is how it was with me. (and now I can’t get enough of it :D) When mixed with hot milk, or some added sugar even, this can be a terrific drink for all tea drinkers, new and old. I personally enjoy it with skim or soy milk, for the healthiest blend. Now to try that Mandarin Matcha everyone has been raving about…