Lotus Nut Green Tea

Sipdown! I cold steeped the rest of this tea in my takeya iced tea maker, phew!

Must sip down more! Anyways, this came out really nut shelly tasting. I’m sitting back, crocheting a commission and watching awful california DMV driving instruction videos. http://youtu.be/E9H0yON1Xf0 to relearn how to drive again. Gosh, those videos are terrible yet helpful.

So good! I can’t believe I’m the first one to log this tea, because it’s seriously good.

I’ve only had lotus seeds once, in the paste that they use to fill steamed buns. A good friend of mine in California brought me some steamed buns while I was living there … and one batch of them were lotus seed paste buns, and they were so good. I have tried to find something like it again, but it hasn’t been easy … all the steamed buns I find are usually BBQ pork.

Not that BBQ pork is bad, but, I want more lotus seed buns!

Anyway… this tea definitely reminds me of the lotus seed paste I tasted way back then. It’s been a lot of years (let’s see … I’ve lived here in the Pacific Northwest for more than 10 years now … so it’s been at least eleven years since I’ve had those lotus seed buns!) It has a sweet, creamy, nutty flavor to it, as well as a hint of freshness and a touch of vegetative taste. And there is also a slight bitterness to the cup, nothing off-putting, but instead, kind of lively … it contrasts with the sweetness and creates a very pleasing taste.

YUM!

Sipdown, 237. Thanks to Kasumi no Chajin for this sample!

I have been curious about lotus teas for a while. Mostly lotus flower/florals, but lotus nut is interesting too. I do love a nutty green tea. I knew I was using kind of a lot of leaf for this one, so I only steeped it one minute. The liquor is already a lovely light amber color and smells both vegetal and nutty. Not in a chestnutty way like some green teas, just… different. But definitely nutty.

Mmm, this is quite pleasant. It seems like a completely unflavored green in many senses, as it has the same type of leafy nuttiness that you get in some types of green tea. It’s not buttery like some of those, but it works well anyway. There is maybe also a hint of toastiness. Overally a tasty tea; I think it would be a good meal-time green as well.

Loose
Appearance: grey green,
Aroma when Dry: sweet, nutty, earthy
After water is first poured: Lotus and Lima bean Manju
At end of first steep: warm manju and rice
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: hints of green
Staple? Possible
Preferred time of day: afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first?: notes of sticky rice, earthy lotus manju,
As it cools?: notes sweeten, get nuttier, earthier
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? yes, tart, earthy

Second Steep(5 min):
At first: a bit sweeter, earthier, brothy notes