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It is rare for me to encounter a tea that is entirely new to me. Thanks to Steepster Select, I have a new tea that I will be drinking a lot.

I opened my package of Houjicha Ichiban and was struck by the golden straw color of the stems and leaves. I carefully poured it into my tea pot, preserving every drop, and gave it a good shake. Instantly I was transported back to my childhood summers, the flavor and smell of a dry stick of grass hay hanging out of my mouth. Chewing it, relishing in the sweet grassy notes. This is the sensation, the comfort that I always want Genmaicha to be, but am always disappointed.

I inhaled, inhaled again, and relaxed. Recalling hot summer days, sweat dripping down, lifting hay onto the bed of the truck. And suddenly I remembered how itchy and non-romantic all of that was. Oops.

I added the water, let it steep, and started to drool eagerly anticipating the flavor of this tea as my office filled with the nutty smell of summer grass. I poured, waiting and took a sip. The taste was the end of summer, the smell was the start of autumn. I opened the pot, the leaves and stems had greened in the water. Rich, warm, nutty, dry flavors washed around my mouth. Slightly sweet, toasted, with light bitter notes.

This is the tea for a country child now in the city when the man is feeling nostalgic. I will be drinking this a lot more often.

I steeped this loose leaf in a small teapot.

The first steeping I followed the instructions on my Select packet. It was a punch in the mouth of a pine forest. I had a hard time discerning any specific flavors because of how large it was.

The second steeping I gave it a little less time. It came out with a solid green forest flavor with nice overtones of eucalyptus. It was savory, elegant, but still bold.

The third steeping I let it sit a bit longer. It was sweeter, but still savory and tasted closer to the smell of a pine forest with the ground covered in needles during an early, brisk sunny dawn in Spring. It was definitely my favorite steeping.

The fourth steeping I let it sit much longer (I might have forgotten about it). It was acceptable, but more astringent due to the long steep time and yet weaker because it was the fourth steeping. The third steeping was definitely the sweet spot for me.