Tamaryokucha Imperial

I remain convinced, as I believe that I reported last time I brewed up a glass, that the flavor and aroma of the tea in this muslin sachet are very similar to genmaicha—so, yes, Japanese. I am tempted to dissect my way through the cotton to see whether I’ll discover some popped rice in here somewhere…

Well, what can I say to conclude this steep-off chez sherapop? I am not at all sure that Tamaryokucha and Tamayokucha are the same tea at all! I am happy that the Tea Leaves version is organic, but when all is said and sniffed and sipped, I prefer Le Palais des Thés. Despite the small amount of tea in the modest sockish sachet, I find that the resultant liquor tastes better, in the end. I do believe that this tea is very close to genmaicha, but that would be a high-quality version, with a good base tea, not one of the cheaper versions which sometimes use low-grade green tea under the assumption that the toasted rice will cover it up.

One final note, since I tried two different muslin sachets from Les Palais des Thés today. I noticed in both cases (this and the Long Jing) a small snippet of cotton thread floating in the glass! I presume that it is safe to eat, as I could just have easily swallowed it while drinking the tea. I have wondered, actually, about the flavor of these little socks. They must taste like something, no? It seems to me that they should be changing the flavor of the teas, if ever so slightly.

That’s not, however, the real reason why I dislike the cotton sock method, pace Kusmi and Les Palais des Thés and whichever other companies are using them today. I also dislike not being able to see the dried and the infused tea leaves. I feel that I am missing out on some of the full tea experience when I use sock sachets…

Very sweet and balanced Japanese green tea.