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“Because my friend’s partner has really gotten into scotch and whisky and is a lover of most things from Japan, I brought this one with me because I thought he would find the fact it’s stored in...” Read full tasting note
“I didn’t realize when I added this to my cart how little tea I’d get. I think it’s only 50g. It has a really rich smoky flavor that I’m not finding overwhelming. It has something light and tart in...” Read full tasting note
SMOKY NARA®
Grand cru black tea smoked over
oak wood from Japanese whiskey casks
A divine tea.
This great Japanese tea is smoked in oak wood from whiskey casks, using an artisanal method.
The enveloping liquor is rich in round malty notes and vanilla tonka bean.
From a family garden in the Shizuoka region, near Mount Fuji, it is cultivated using a method included in the ingenious system of world agricultural heritage, respectful of the biodiversity of plants and animals. It bears the Jardin Premier * label.
Premier Garden Label
Company description not available.
Because my friend’s partner has really gotten into scotch and whisky and is a lover of most things from Japan, I brought this one with me because I thought he would find the fact it’s stored in Japanese whisky barrels really interesting.
I was correct in that he did find that really intriguing, but I don’t think he particularly liked the tea. My friend certainly didn’t. That’s okay though; I think I enjoyed it enough to make up for them both. It’s pretty robustly smokey, though not quite as intense as many Lapsangs that I am a frequent consumer of. I find the smoke note itself very woody yet clean with a slight drying to the finish, and I definitely tasted the advertised notes of tonka/vanilla. I wonder how much of that is the tea itself and how much is from the whisky barrels its stored in? A really good whisky often has very fragrant notes of vanilla and this reminded me of that a lot.
I didn’t realize when I added this to my cart how little tea I’d get. I think it’s only 50g. It has a really rich smoky flavor that I’m not finding overwhelming. It has something light and tart in the sip that I can’t quite pin point. It almost has a sweet yet savory taste. Part of what made me curious about this tea is the tonka bean notes. I’m not exactly sure if it’s flavored with tonka beans or just tastes like it. French translated to English sometimes gets a little choppy. This past year I was able to get my hands on some tonka beans, so I have an idea of the flavor established. The finish definitely tastes like tonka and is a little dry. Overall I’m liking this and am looking forward to sipping more!
They actually have an English version of the site if you click “EN” at the top right corner. To me, it sounds like they mean natural notes of vanilla and tonka bean.
Awww, I was really excited about the idea of a tea flavored with real tonka beans. It’s a forbidden bean in the states which makes it sound so much more delicious!
Coumarin strikes again (tonka beans sound delicious).
It’s so weird that it’s illegal here. There are so many other things way more toxic that we can have, but not that one!
