Bancha Yoko

Day 4 of the Inoki Bathhouse advent calendar. Love Japanese greens, so this was right up my alley. Off the bat, I really liked the color of the steeped leaves – a slightly less green version of how cooked spinach looks. As for the flavor, I was expecting something hojicha-esque but this wasn’t really. It was more like a mix between sencha and a light hojicha. Vegetal with a bit of nuttiness. This got finished off quickly!

Adventageddon Day 4

Gongfu!

Not a tea for me, but definitely one that was interesting to try and challenge myself with since I don’t often go out of my way to brew up Japanese green teas (outside of matcha/hojicha) since I know I struggle with them. And, to be fair, there were elements of this I enjoyed. Namely, I thought the really unctious and buttery mouthfeel was quite pleasant even if I didn’t jive with the tasting notes. The nuttiness at the front end of the sip was okay, but it just finished so aggressively oceanic with really kelp/nori like notes that I couldn’t get passed.

I pushed myself to do four infusions and give this one a real honest shake, but I couldn’t do more than that. Honestly, it’s nothing negative about the tea itself. Sometimes certain flavours just aren’t for you, and that is not a reflection on the quality of the tea in any way. When I saw this in the morning I knew that’d likely be the case, but you never know 100% until you give it a go.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDLC-EZyVkq/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzBkZnMGahw&ab_channel=KittyCoen-Topic