Onocha Tea: Bancha

Another tea from my January Yunomi subscription box. I think I’ve only tried one bancha ever, and it was from Harney & Sons (a reputable company, but I wouldn’t consider Japanese greens to be their strong suit). I didn’t enjoy it much, found it a bit rough for my tastes. Nevertheless, I’m excited to try another one, especially since this one is apparently lightly roasted to make it have a smoother flavor. I must say, I was quite surprised upon seeing the leaves! They’re quite large and very intact, which is something you don’t see that often with Japanese green teas (I assume this is because their leaves are somewhat more fragile than most teas). Dry scent is very mild and sweet grass. I went with a slightly lower water temperature than the package recommended, just because I’m used to steeping my green teas at 175 degrees and I was afraid to go too high.

The steeped tea is surprisingly pale in color, it’s a very light yellow-green. Right away, I can smell a savory seaweed/umami note. This tea is quite mild, though I’m not sure whether that’s intentional or the result of my steeping parameters. It certainly tastes intentional, meaning there is plenty of flavor here even if it’s mild overall. There’s a strong umami seaweed presence, but I find that delicious. The middle and end of the sip get very sweet, and it’s a clear sweetness like spring water. I can also taste a slight roasted nutty flavor, which I assume is from the roasting process. There’s a tiny bit of pleasant astringency as well. Overall, I’m very impressed with this one! I guess I should try more bancha.

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