8 Tasting Notes
Because of the price, matcha shortage, and my desire to be quirky and different and non-conforming to the trends (ive bee, I have been searching for alternatives to my favorite tea powder. I’d say this is the closest thing I’ve tried. After opening the pouch, I was immediately hit with a cloud of finely ground leaves that smelled exactly like matcha. I whisked it with a small amount of cool water, resulting in a liquid of relatively mucilaginous viscosity. When I tasted it, yep, the first notes were just like matcha. Afterward, it got a bit too vegetal and pond scummy for my liking, though not awful. Tried it again with oat milk and honey, helped with the displeasing aftertaste. It was priced half-off, which I think is because I bought it a year after its harvest, which is probably why it didn’t taste like pudding and avocado as advertised. I’ll review it again once I get this year’s harvest.
texture: kinda silty, not gritty, but smooth soft particles, you can tell it’s really super finely ground leaves. and yeah viscous, more slimy, doesnt froth up, just has big mucilaginous bubbles
taste: like matcha. doesnt have a tannic taste like matcha at all, not tannic or astringent, but a bit of bitterness in a dried vegetable way if you get what im saying. i do taste a hint of unripe avocado, the flesh close to the skin, even with a bit of the skin mixed in. a bit of spinach. natural tinge of sweetness. very green.
yeah in conclusion, really promising expectation fulfilling start, letdown end, but letdown end isnt there if you make it a sweetened latte, but i still have hope for plain milkless fresh harvest
Flavors: Algae, Aloe, Autumn Leaf Pile, Green, Moss, Peat Moss, Summer, Sweet, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Vegetal, Viscous, Wet Earth, Wet Moss, Zucchini
Preparation
Pretty decent! Not the best, but a solid oolong to buy on a budget. Warm, autumnal, ever so slightly caramelized. However, it is relatively plain, mild, one-note, and somewhat tannic. I prefer to drink this tea with honey or brown sugar, and use it in a peach resin tong sui.
Flavors: Brown Rice, Caramelized Sugar, Dry Grass, Sweet, Warm Grass, Tannic
Somewhat of a letdown, though my expectations were perhaps too high to begin with. I bought this tea as a gift, so I only allowed myself a small serving to drink with the receiver. I prepared my cup in koicha fashion. As all of the other reviews say, it was umami and grassy, but it was not as layered as I hoped it to be. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I experimented with a greater variety of techniques. Very umami though. I’ll give it that!
Flavors: Freshly Cut Grass, Grassy, Savory, Seaweed, Sweet, Warm Grass, Umami
Absolutely gorgeous! While the appearance of this tea is the main appeal to me, the aroma and flavor are also quite delectable. Elegant, smooth, very little astringency. I would like for this brew to have a more pronounced bergamot note and for the leaves themselves to have more nuanced depth. That aside, this might just be the most pleasant Earl Grey I have had the opportunity to try.
Flavors: Bergamot, Floral, Tea
