Tokyo

Some people don’t seem to like bancha, but I think it’s good.

I just wanted a sample of this to try because I have a lot of green tea already. Steeped via regular infuser mug method. I can see sesame seeds in the dry tea, but as other remarked this sesame is very subtle. There is a nice caramel sweetness in this tea, maybe not as much as a dessert tea but close. I might try steeping this with some extra sesame seeds to see what happens.

Overall, a decent blend. Nice clean flavor with a bit of lingering astringency which cleanses your palate, that provides a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the caramel. I was somehow wishing for something “more”. Not sure I would buy a whole tin of this but I will certainly enjoy the sample that I have. :)

Mmmmm, yes. I rather like this one. It’s a nice solid green and it almost seems like it’s creamy and coconutty, but it’s actually the caramel and seseame seeds. Oh, I’m bad at this when I don’t cheat and read the desciptions. It’s totally toasty with the seeds, which is probably where I got coconut from. And it’s deliately sweet too, which is how I like my greens.

This might be one I’d want to re-order. I’ll have to narrow it down between Bangkok and this as I might not be able to drink 8 oz of green teas, but can commit to 4…

I haven’t been feeling tea for a long time. It seemed to be getting worse and worse. Even Laoshan Black was near to repulsive, and let’s be real – that’s just ridiculous.

Then, this morning, while I was packing up teas to have in my desk, despite this awful feeling, jessiwrites posted a lovely picture of her tea and I felt actual excitement. I had packed Tokyo for work and I thought maybe a green tea would work more in my favour than the black teas I’ve been trying. It seems to have helped, yay!

Tokyo was delightful. I sipped it slowly while I answered emails all morning. It was subtly grassy with a hint of caramel. Maybe this is all I needed to get back in the tea game. I may stick to my two greens – Tokyo and Bangkok – for the time being, at least until I’m brave enough to venture back into my favourite black teas.

I was very excited to try this—since I love sesame-flavored Asian sweets!

The leaves brew up really “fluffy”—they expand almost like an oolong! So my tall mug looks like it’s half full of leaves after putting in about a teaspoon and a half.

The taste is florally and sweet—no green tea bitterness or astringency. I detect mostly the caramel and just maybe a hint of the toasted sesame. The sweetness reminds me of Golden Moon’s Sugar Caramel Oolong—without the steamed banana leaf flavor I always get with their oolongs.

I wish I can get more “sesame” out this—but, overall, I’m really liking the sugariness!

This is a green tea I can see myself reaching for everyday. It’s very tasty and easy to drink.

Love to Rachel Sincere for a sample of this tea!

I’ve been craving a nice green tea this afternoon while I knit like a maniac. I really wanted a certain tea, but my “try me” pile has grown out of control, with more on the way.

DRY: Appears to be the typical pile of green tea leaves, but when I took a scoop there was sesame seeds! Ooh I love sesame seeds! (yeah, I’m easy to please)

STEEPED: light yellow green, smells like green tea (wooo!) and toasty sesame.

TASTE: Brisk, light, veggie and toasty tasting green tea. Not sure if I can make out the caramel but the tea is on the slight sweet side and mellow.

I forgot I had tea left in my cup and it went cold. Cold, I can make out more sweetness and the toastyness is nice! This would make a good iced tea or to lightly sweeten.

OBSERVATIONS: I used the 1 to 2 minute steep suggested on the Harney & Son’s website http://www.harney.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=3808&category=0&secondary=0 , but looking at other steepster notes, most peeps did 3-5 minutes. Maybe the longer steep gets more caramel sweeteness. What I’m getting is pretty light flavoring.

COMMENTS: Maybe this is one of those teas I gotta fiddle with steeping times to get a more interesting taste. Another time!

I’ve wanted to try this blend for a while, so while placing my most recent order (can’t resist that free shipping deal!) I made sure to include a sample of this tea.

I like this. The bancha has a buttery creaminess to it, slightly vegetal and sweet, and these notes harmonize quite well with the sweet caramel notes and the toasted nutty flavor of the sesame seeds.

Very enjoyable. A soothing, tea that is sweet, but not too sweet.

I got samples of this tea from recent swaps with both Azzrian and Alphakitty. Thanks guys! I have pooled them all into one pouch so who knows who this is from. :D

I know I just got done saying earlier that I haven’t been into green teas lately, but this one is slightly different because it’s not a fruity green but rather sesame and caramel, which sounds pretty good. I do love a nutty green.

THis one didn’t quite pan out as fantastic as I’d hoped, but it was pretty tasty still. Not as much caramel or sesame as I’d hoped, although what was there was nice and natural, seeming almost like it was just part of the green tea itself. I just can’t help but wish that the base was not bancha but whatever awesome chestnutty base is on the Earl Green from Empire Tea Service.

This blend was reccommened to me by several people, so of course I had to pick some up at my last trip to H&S! I got more of this than usual—with a new tea I usually go for 2 oz, but based both on reviews and the fact that I plan on mainly cold-brewing it I went with 4 oz. I was expecting more of an in your face flavor with this, but the leaves smell very subtle, just a hint of caramel and sesame.

The brewed tea is similar, with a very mellow caramel flavor that’s quite soft. It’s not stick to your mouth sweet at all, it’s actually refreshing and light! The sesame is a nice counterpart, adding a touch of nuttiness. It really reminds me of the less-sweet Japanese confections, like the subtly green tea flavored buns or sesame rolls. Very pleasant, and I’m really looking forward to trying this iced.

sipdown! kittylovestea was kind enough to send me some of this, even though i was fairly sure this wouldn’t be a tea for me. While i can understand how some would find this tea to be a pleasure to drink, it is not the tea for me. Ah well! another to cross off my list. Thanks kitty!

Finally brewed a proper cup of Tokyo. First attempts were disastrous so I had to dump it. Both previous times I’ve either burned the leaves because I didn’t wait for the water to cool enough, I just winged it and well, some green tea you can’t do that with. Second time I didn’t set a timer because I’m so awesome..l and forgot about it for close to 10 minutes I think. It was bitter both times so watch your Tokyo, don’t just get busy and forget it.

Now that I managed to steep only 2 minutes and around 180 I can drink it. Because I can see the sesame seeds in the dry leaf I expect there to be sesame taste. Don’t get any. Also, can’t say I get caramel either. It is, however, somehow smooth and buttery and it does taste like maybe a 3rd steep of Genmaicha would. I prefer Genmaicha.

The color of the brew is pale yellow and is not very fragrant but a good sniff will tell it has the same smell as the dry leaf.

I’ll keep it just because I don’t have much straight green tea in the house. I would hardly call this flavoured despite the sesame.