Sencha Ariake

It’s probably not fair to imbibe Palais des Thés Sencha Ariake so soon after having enjoyed ichiban sencha and gyokuro, but it was the luck of the brew.

Sencha Ariake brews up quite a bit more yellow than I was expecting. The temperature was lower than their prescribed 75C, and I kept the brewing time short. Still, the liquor ended up looking more like the color (bright yellow veering gold, not green) I expect to see in a second infusion of many green teas…

The taste is good but less smooth and closer to a bagged green than a true sencha. I am using the muslin cotton sachets, which have the same sort of cotton stitching as the Mighty Leaf Sachets and have the same droopy look. The size is similar to that of the Kusmi muslin sachets.

I don’t know, but the dried tea seemed heartier than I am accustomed to seeing for sencha. It might be that they need to use something a bit more rough-hewn so that the particles will not all rush through the large pores of these cotton sacks.

This tea is pretty good for a bagged green tea, not so great for a sencha. Will not restock once this small supply (from two large sample set boxes) has been depleted.

(Blazing New Rating #47)

I picked up a sample of this higher quality sencha the last time I was at Le Palais des Thés. The employee sholdn’t have asked me if I wanted any free samples, because preparing them all kept him busy for quite some time.
So today I was in the mood to try something new. As soon as I emptied the sample bag into my clay kyusu (love that high pitched “cling” sound as the dry leaves hit the pot) I started to notice very fresh aromas of cucumber and freshly mowed grass. Sweeter and hay – like aromas appeared when I poured hot water over the leaves. After a minute I poured the tea into my tall glazed ceramic cup (that I made myself). At this point, the prevailing smell was that of cotton candy or bubble gum – strange as it may sound.
As for the taste itself – it was silky smooth, light and only slightly bitter towards the end.
The final verdict – I am not sure. While I like this tea quite a bit, I am stil a newbie and I am not really good at telling apart different taste and aroma nuances. But what bothers me at this tea is the price. I do not thnk it is really worth 15 EUR per 100 g, especially if you are a beginner (as I am). I have drank much cheaper teas that were equally good for me. But I am aware that many sencha enthusiasts would be able to appreciate this tea much more.

mostly broken leaves. light grassy fragrance. dominated by roasted flavors. mellow overall.