Japanese Green Quince

Once upon a time I bought a quince with OMGsrsly. I never actually got to eat it because I left on a long trip the next day, but the smell and all of the possibilities still stick with me. Also, without that little event I would never have known what a quince is and would have had absolutely no reference for this tea. It’s not a good reference, mind you— I’ll have to buy another quince for that!

I’m not swooning over the base here, although fragrant fruit coupled with seaweed note creates a heady, almost apple-like feel. There’s also a dry, prickly vibe here that I’m having a hard time describing. It works for me though!

Thanks, MissB for sharing and passing this along to OMGsrsly!

Nabbed this sample from it’s hiding place today to drink while at work! The label say’s it’s from MissB originally, but I go this in my swap with Roswell Strange. Thanks to both of you!
Now, I am not too familiar with quince, but I am getting a sort of pear-like quality to this. Maybe something slightly tart, like an apple or even grapefruit-esque. It’s a really refreshing combination of the quince and the crisp vegetal green of the tea leaves. I enjoyed this both hot and iced. An interesting an pretty uncommon flavor profile. Hmmm…

Cold Brew Sipdown (122)!

Couldn’t help but think of Anna when drinking this hedgehog-y tea. It comes from the lovely MissB though. I’m loving drinking these samples from your travels abroad. Gotta thank you and the H&W for including me even though I’m far off in Saskatchablah.

I admit; I had to look up what Quince is supposed to taste like. I didn’t have a clue what it was. I’m incredibly proud of my taste buds though because I when I tasted this I thought it tasted incredibly akin to very ripe apples and Bartlett pears and, after looking Quince up, I learned it’s supposed to taste like an apple/pear cross. Score one me! Seriously; I was tasting the quince before I even knew what it was.

I also thought that there was a light floral undertone to the flavour too though; it rounded the tea out and made it feel more layered in flavour though there were moments where with the fruit it tasted borderline perfume-y. The green base was…

Well, it was green. Really green actually in that sort of colour equals taste way – but I couldn’t break it down further for you. I was focusing perhaps a little too much on figuring out what the quince was and less on the backdrop for the flavour. I didn’t mind it though; it all went together very well. I’m not big on green teas in general; but fruity is the way to go with flavouring them, in my opinion. Kinda hard to mess that up (unless the base itself is shit).

Thanks MissB – this was surprisingly really lovely! I almost wish I hadn’t passed on my last little bit of it to someone else (though I’m sure she’ll love it). I’m curious how this one would have done hot…

What?! I’m the first reviewer?

This is from the lovely MissB who’s on walkabout in Europe.

It smells SO heady and fruity. Kinda like the quince and apple thing I made in the fall, actually. Quince is so delightfully perfumey, and even though this is definitely a sencha base, the perfume overshoots the mineral/seaweed flavours.

Sipping on this hot, it tastes like I remember quince smelling. Floral, apple, something unidentifiable that is quince. I’m quite liking this. Not necessarily enough to keep it all (ha!) but enough to slow down and really appreciate this cup.

http://instagram.com/p/ydRbjOx5Ic/ (I need to charge my Real Camera’s batteries, whoa, that is a blurry cell phone pic!)

Even cooling, as the green base becomes more apparent, I’m still liking this.

Thanks, MissB!