Tag: Green Tea

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Murchie’s Spring Green Mao Feng

Spring Green Mao Feng by Murchie’s
Green Tea / Straight
$7.95 for 2oz (56g)

Spring Green Mao Feng was a purchase I made myself at a Murchie’s retail location upon the recommendation of a staff member in the store.

First Impressions

I wandered through a Murchie’s retail location and asked for recommendations on green teas – and this was one of them. Spring Green Mao Feng was put into a plastic pouch with a clear window in the front. The bags have printed steeping instructions o the bag to apply to all of their teas, with a brief description of the company at the top (fun fact, Murchie’s has been around since 1894!).

Spring Green Mao Feng is a Chinese green tea – where mao feng translates to fur peaks. Traditionally, mao feng comes from Anhui, China. Spring Green Mao Feng is a beautiful, wiry dry leaf, going from a light spring green to a deep black. It has a grassy aroma to it, and it just smells fresh, like spring rain would.

Preparation

Murchie’s recommends steeping green teas in 79-82°C (175-180°F) for 2 to 3 minutes. I did an initial steep of Spring Green Mao Feng at 79°C (175°F) for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Spring Green Mao Feng steeps to a light yellow. The aroma is light, grassy, and vegetal. There’s a mild sweetness, no bitterness or astringency. It has a very smooth texture and easy to drink. Spring Green Mao Feng has a grassy, vegetal flavour to it that makes for a nice cup of tea. Just a touch of sweetness that lingers at the tail end of each sip.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Spring Green Mao Feng a total of seven times (eight steeps total with the same leaves), using the same water temperature and adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. Spring Green Mao Feng holds up beautifully to resteeping over and over again, with the wiry little leaves opening up to show off full leaves in a delightfully young, spring green colour.

My Overall Impression

I loved Murchie’s Spring Green Mao Feng. This green tea came recommended to me, and I wasn’t disappointed! I enjoyed the flavour of this tea from the initial steep to the last resteep. The leaves hold up incredibly well, and I loved the grassy notes. It just felt like spring in a cup – there was something refreshing about it. I would highly recommend resteeping this one as much as possible to get all the flavour possible from the leaves.

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Dessert by Deb’s Matcha Key Lime Pie

Matcha Key Lime Pie by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea (Matcha) / Flavoured
$6.50 for 25g

First Impressions

When I spotted Matcha Key Lime Pie in my bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb, I was intrigued. I mean – key lime pie? Hello, that’s a delicious dessert any day of the week.  Mix in some matcha and it’s a good day all around! I really do hope that there’s a matcha key lime pie that exists out there in the real world, because I would dig into that for sure. This Matcha Key Lime Pie comes in a metallic pink pouch with a polka dotted label. Matcha Key Lime Pie is from Dessert by Deb’s Japanese & Asian Patisserie collection.

The aroma from the dry leaf is a strong lime aroma that does make me think of key lime pie. I don’t really smell the matcha or the coconut, but lime is such a strong citrus fruit, that it really does make for a strong flavour profile. Matcha Key Lime Pie consists of: green tea, natural lime flavour, lime pieces & peel, toasted coconut, Canadian maple, and ceremonial matcha – where the coconut, maple, and matcha are all certified organic ingredients.

The matcha powder dusts over all of the other ingredients quite easily. The appearance of all of the ingredients is a similar bright spring green that is the matcha. It is beautiful though, and has a great lime aroma to it.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends preparing Matcha Key Lime Pie in 200°F (93°C) water for 5 to 6 minutes, and also recommended to prepare it as a latte. I opted to prepare Matcha Key Lime Pie straight up with an initial steep of 5 minutes, with the plan to have Matcha Key Lime Pie as a latte later.

First Taste

Matcha Key Lime Pie steeps to a bright spring green, with a strong lime aroma. The flavour of the tea is tart – much like a key lime pie. There’s a good amount of lime flavour, with touches of umami throughout. There’s something about the lime that just sort of coats everything – the flavour of it just permeates the whole sip of tea and definitely over powers the coconut, since I don’t taste it. And I also find that the tartness of lime also takes over any sweetness from the maple that might have otherwise been in my cup of tea.

A Second Cup?

Attempting to resteep Matcha Key Lime Pie resulted in a sad cup of tea that was sorely lacking in the lime flavour, so I would recommend just one steep with these leaves.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Matcha Key Lime Pie. I really enjoyed the tartness and strength of the lime flavour in this green tea blend – I do wish that the coconut and maple shone through more, but I still found that it reminded me a lot of key lime pie so I wasn’t put off by it. I do wish that there was more sweetness in my cup, so I would definitely add some sweetener to it to make it even more of a liquid dessert. Still delicious though, and I think it’s certainly a unique blend because I’ve never had anything like it.

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Naoki Matcha’s Uji Harmony

Uji Harmony by Naoki Matcha
Green Tea (Matcha) / Straight
$50.00USD for 60g

Uji Harmony is part of Naoki Matcha’s Masters Collection Matcha Set, a collection of three different ceremonial grade matcha. Uji Harmony makes up 20g of the 60g set. Naoki Matcha has provided me with Uji Harmony for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Arriving in a sealed, resealable pouch, Uji Harmony is the third matcha in the Masters Collection Matcha Set from Naoki Matcha. Uji is a city located near Kyoto, Japan, and Naoki Matcha describes it as being a well-known matcha producing region. Green tea has been produced in the area for centuries, and is also home to one of the oldest tea shops in Japan (established in 1160!).

Uji Harmony is described as a matcha blend by Naoki Matcha – but it’s still 100% Japanese Matcha. The colour is a bright spring green, with a light grassy aroma to it. Just check out that beautiful powder! It’s such a nice colour. Fun fact about matcha – it takes hours and hours to produce matcha that’s traditionally produced using a stone mill. If the tencha is ground too quickly, it can cause degradation of the tea. But look at that beautiful colour:

Preparation

Now, there is no preparation instructions on the packaging, but there is a referral to go to the Naoki Matcha website. I opted to prepare Uji Harmony in a traditional method with a bamboo whisk and bowl (my method described here).

First Taste

After a whisk of Uji Harmony, it becomes a lovely grassy green with a thin layer of bubbles and froth across the top. The flavour is grassy, vegetal, with a good amount of umami. I found while drinking that there was a bit of a nutty undertone that reminded me of cashews. It has a a nice flavour profile in that there are subtle changes through each stage of a sip.

A Second Cup?

As with all matcha, there are no second steeps with Uji Harmony.

My Overall Impression

I loved Naoki Matcha’s Uji Harmony. The flavour profile of this matcha was a treat to prepare and drink. Uji Harmony sifts and whisks up easily, and it is easy to drink – which is always a nice feature in a matcha. It has an interesting flavour profile, with the nutty undertones, which makes it a delight to drink and experience. While I enjoyed Uji Harmony straight up, I would imagine it would do well also as a latte or iced. This is not one that I would waste on blending into smoothies or other culinary pursuits.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.