Sencha (Pyramid Tea Bag)

oops! I accidentally posted this note under the Genmaicha Extra Green Tea Bag. I’ve since deleted that note, but in case any of you are wondering why this looks familar, now you know.

Got this in my sampler kit from Dens. It tastes very much like I remember Lipton’s Green tea bags tasting. No offense to it, I really liked the Lipton bags before I switched to loose leaf, but I always hated that it was ‘Lipton’ brand :p Perhaps the flavor of this is a bit richer, but still a similar overal flavor profile, I think.

I received a pyramid bag of the Den’s Tea standard sencha in the new customer sampler set. It’s good and very similar to Stash Premium Green, though this appears to be genuinely Japanese (the Stash is sourced from Brazil, but prepared à la japonaise).

The brewed tea is a bit cloudy and a golden brownish green color. This is definitely heartier than Harney & Sons Japanese Sencha, but also less beautiful because the color is less green—again, closer to Stash Premium Green. The experience is overall quite similar to me, with a substantial nutty-vegetal, almost food-like taste.

I had only a little time before work started this morning and was looking for an easy tea bag I could throw in my mug quickly. Den’s Tea sampler to the rescue! This was vibrant green in the bag, with powder that looked like matcha. I loved the color it brewed up to in my clear glass mug — it was a bright green!

The taste is pleasantly grassy and light. It tastes like many other Senchas I have tried, but without astringency. I am enjoying this as my morning tea.

Pretty good for a bagged tea. Very powdery, dust like leaves inside. Brews up vibrant green and a little murky, almost matcha like due to the fine particles. Medium-light body, mossy flavor, not overly grassy or umami heavy. A very serviceable sencha but doesn’t really stand out in any way.

This is the second tea I elected to try from my Den’s novice sampler. I figured I would get the tea bags out of the way and then get into the loose leaf varieties tomorrow. This also happens to be my first sencha. Like the genmaicha, there were no instructions for western style. The dry bag smelled strongly of grass with a little sweetness. I brewed it for two minutes.

The brewed tea smells vegetal and grassy. The taste is spinach mixed with sweet grass. There’s also a touch of asparagus (the tea bag was covered in quite a bit of powder – I’m not sure whether it was matcha or just powdered sencha leaf). I found this tea satisfying and quite delicious. As it cooled I started to get a slightly bitter note, so the next time I make sencha I’ll be sure to drink it faster.

(holding off on the rating until I can compare it to the loose leaf versions)

On a side note, I would love to get some general advice for steeping these Japanese greens teas western-style. In particular, the ones I have are senchas, genmaicha, and one houjicha. I would really love to just get some general guidelines for temperature and time for steeping these types of teas in 8 ounce quantities. Thanks in advance! :)

First experience with sencha, from Den’s Sampler for Novices. On a hunch, after reading the Q&A comment that Den likes to leave teabags in the cup, so did I.

I was surprised to find this so smooth, no astringency or bitterness at all. There was a whiff of flowery aftertaste when it cooled, gone very quickly. I was not expecting to like this, but I did enjoy it and might buy it again for the convenience.

Looking forward now to the other two sencha samples included in the package.

Sipdown. I received a teabag of this with my sample set… wow, a year ago. It’s still wonderful. I had forgotten how much I adore sencha. The dry bag smells grassy and light and sweet, almost like cantaloupe. The tag is notched so you can stick it on the mug. It’s a small detail but I really like it. I really hate when the tag falls into the mug and I have to find a way to fish it out.

The tea brews up a gentle, light green. It smells grassy and sweet. The flavor is grass and a touch of roasted rice. I’ve had better Den’s Teas, but then again this one probably tasted better a year ago when it was fresh.

I seem to have a lot of caffeine free tea, not really what I’m looking for early in the morning when I’m trying to gate it together enough not to call in to stay home from work today. After some peeking around, I found this green tea. It tastes good… warm and light. Not too grass or vegetable like some greens are. Today is such a dingy day, rainy… woulda been a good day to stay home. But I’m at work, helping with testing like a good counselor.

I love the tea typically served at Japanese restaurants and wanted to get some for my own. So a while back, I asked the waitress “What kind of tea is this?” and she stared at me for a second and replied “Green tea” in a “duh” kind of way. Well… thanks for that. Ever since, I haven’t asked anyone else. Anyway, long story short, I have finally have it with this tea!

This is the second sample that I’ve tried from the Den’s Tea sampler, and I’m really liking it. As much as I’ve grown to love loose leaf, sometimes it’s faster to just dunk a tea bag in some water in a mug. The tea bag immediately released some powdery stuff, which I’m assuming is some kind of matcha or powdered sencha. The tea was a foggy green with a sort of thick/milky texture (that sounds kinda gross, but it wasn’t!). The tea also has a bit of a seaweed-y taste to me. But I may just be remembering eating it with sushi so many times before. Overall, very tasty but a little weak for me. Maybe I’ll like the loose leaf version better. So far, Den’s Tea sampler 2 for 2!

I received a tea bag as a part of the sampler set. It was so wonderful to once again smell the grassy aroma! I haven’t drunk sencha (or any other tea) from Japan ever since I left.

Because no specific brewing instructions were given on the website or the provided pamphlets, I decided to see what others wrote on Steepster. The reviews varied, so I averaged out the temperature and steeping time (this was daring for me; I like to be given set instructions). I let the water heat up to approximately 180 degrees and steeped the bag for 1 minute. The result: a slightly murky dark green appearance (bit surprised by this) and a robust and bitter, fresh grassy flavor, which lingered nicely on the taste buds after swallowing.

For the second infusion, the temperature remained the same and I let the bag infuse for 1 minute and 30 seconds. This time, the appearance took on a light green. The flavor, of course, was grassy, but not as strong as it was before. This was the taste I was expecting prior to the first infusion. Nevertheless, I was more than pleased with both infusions.

The after effect: Invigorating! I would heartily recommend this tea to those who love sencha.