Makinohara Roasted Sencha

For this tea tasting, I did 1 rinse and 6 steeps. After the second steep, I changed the amount of water because the tea was too bitter for me.

Before rinse

The leaves have a dark green colour and have a thin shape. If you look at these leaves, it looks like they have been waxed. The smell is a toasted and nutty aroma.

After rinse

The smell of the wet leaves is more or less the same as the dry leaves. It really smells delicious and tasty!

Steeping

1st steep: this steep is bitter right from the start. There are some subtle nutty flavours hidden beneath this overall bitterness. I generally don’t like bitter but this steep isn’t too bad. Even though it’s bitter, it’s still pleasant to drink.

2nd steep: subtle bitterness at the start and the nutty flavour becomes more noticeable. Mostly nuts in the middle, just like the aftertaste. There are also some light bitter notes in between.

3rd steep: WOW! What a difference! I felt the previous steep was a bit too bitter for this particular tea so I lowered the leaf to water ratio and this didn’t miss its effect! I went from around 120ml to 180ml with the same amount of leaves. Now I’m getting pleasant nutty flavours that are not too intense. These flavours, however, did not stay for long as I didn’t experience a real aftertaste. Started getting some umami.

4th steep: this steep is delicious! Toasted almond nuts from the start and this dies out slowly. During this steep, I’m getting more toasted notes than during the previous steeps. Some umami flavour as well.

5th steep: more or less the same as the previous steep, only less intense. Very light toasted almond nuts. In the middle, the taste is as intense as steep 4 but the aftertaste doesn’t stay as long. In general, this is a pleasant steep with umami notes.

6th steep: this is the final steep as flavours are fading more and more. I only got some light almond nuts with some umami. The umami is barely noticeable.

Conclusion
In general, I can say I really like the first tea of Curious Tea’s January subscription box. The first two steeps could have been better but I’m happy I used more water for the third steep. Of the six steeps, number 4 is my favourite because of the flavours I experienced during that steep. If you like toasted and nutty flavours, this tea is something for you. I really like teas that have this flavour profile and in combination with the umami notes, this tea is pleasant to drink; both in texture and taste because of the roasting. The only thing you need to keep in mind is the leaf to water ratio. If I brew this tea again, this is the thing I will be paying attention to.