Tag: Green Tea

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Teazorean’s Hysson

Hysson by Teazorean
Green Tea / Straight
$16.83 for 32g

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Teazorean has provided me with Hysson for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Teazorean describes Hysson as their “premium grade green tea”, and they sent me 10g to me in a cute little tin. The tea is a nice mix of different shades of green, with the pieces of tea leaves being flat. The smell that comes out of the tin of tea leaves is one that’s primarily vegetal and earthy – it reminds me a bit of mushrooms with a salty undertone.

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Hysson is a straight green tea. Teazorean shares details about where the tea leaves are grown on their website if you’re interested in learning about their tea farm on a volcanic island.

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Preparation

Teazorean recommends steeping Hysson at 205°F (96°C) water for 5 minutes. My initial steep of Hysson followed Teazorean’s recommended steep times.

First Taste

I found my initial steep of Hysson to be quite bitter and quite undrinkable due to the high levels of astringency – the initial steep at 5 minutes was a dark, dark orange. I attempted another steep of Hysson with water at 175°F (80°C) for 2 minutes. I found the tea to be palateable, with a mild astringency, no bitterness, and just some earthy mushroom notes in the tea. I really do think that the recommended steep temperature and time was far too hot and long for these leaves.

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A Second Cup?

I resteeped Hysson again at 175°F and for about 3 minutes, and found that the flavours were quite similar to the first steep. The big difference was less astringency and milder mushroom earthy notes to the tea.

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My Overall Impression

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I liked Teazorean’s Hysson. I was really disappointed with this green tea when I steeped it in the recommended temperature water and for the length of time. It was far too bitter and astringent at the recommended steeping instructions. Once I steeped it at a cooler temperature and for less time, I found Hysson was a tasty cup of green tea with delicate mushroom flavours. It’s a nice tea, and I really enjoyed it. I think this would make a great pairing with savoury foods.

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Yunomi’s Handpicked Mountain-Grown Shizuoka Sencha

Handpicked Mountain-Grown Shizuoka Sencha by Yunomi
Green Tea / Straight
$7.00USD for 10g

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Yunomi has provided me with Handpicked Mountain-Grown Shizuoka Sencha for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Yunomi sent me this Handpicked Mountain-Grown Shizuoka Sencha from the Murakami Tea Garden, located in the Yoshiwara District, Shizuoka Prefecture. I was able to learn from the Yunomi website that the Murakami Tea Garden was established in the late 19th century, and they only produce 1300kg of tea each year as they only harvest the tea leaves from the spring first flush harvest.

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This sencha came to me in a beautiful golden paper covered foil packet that’s resealable. The sencha was steamed for 90 seconds after being harvested on May 4 2017. It’s kind of amazing that they can tell me exactly when it was harvested and for how long it was harvested. The smell from the dry leaf is very lightly salty, a bit of seaweed, a bit of ocean air. There’s a slight underlying sweetness to the aroma from the dry leaf that reminds me of flowers and peaches.

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Preparation

Yunomi has recommendations for the first three steeps. First steep at 60°C (140°F) for 1-2 minutes, second steep for 15 seconds for 80°C (176°F), and the third steep for 45 seconds at 80°C (176°F). I followed the instructions for the first three steeps of this Handpicked Mountain-Grown Shizuoka Sencha. Yunomi also includes that if you use a hotter temperature water, it’ll be more astringent; and a cooler temperature water, the tea will be sweeter.

First Taste

The initial steep of Handpicked Mountain-Grown Shizuoka Sencha steeped to a pale green-yellow. The aroma that wafts up from this sencha is one that reminds me of salty air by the ocean and there’s underlying honeyed sweetness to the tea. I sipped it and found it to be just a touch sweet and salty at the same time. The umami flavours are quite good, I found zero astringency and bitterness when I steeped it at such a low temperature compared to other green teas I’ve had in the past. There was a subtle flavour of floral sweetness in the tea that I find quite enjoyable.

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A Second Cup?

I followed the Yunomi steeping recommendations for the second and third steeps for this sencha. The green tea became sweeter and saltier with each steep. I found that I could steep the same leaves a fourth and fifth time, and found this Japanese green tea became a touch sweeter. The sixth steep was quite watery and unenjoyable. I would recommend a total of five steeps with this sencha.

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My Overall Impression

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I loved Yunomi’s Handpicked Mountain-Grown Shizuoka Sencha. From the dry leaf to the steeping process and the smell that comes up from the wet leaves, this sencha has a beautiful fragrance and flavour. I really enjoyed the contrasting sweet-and-salty flavours in this sencha and I’m quite happy to have tried it. I like that the tea can be resteeped a few times is a lovely quality to the sencha – especially as Yunomi included extensive steeping instructions for not only an initial steep for subsequent steeps as well.

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Fox Tea Club’s Aphrodite

Aphrodite by Fox Tea Club
Green Tea & White Tea / Flavoured
$9.95USD for 2oz

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Fox Tea Club has provided me with Aphrodite for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I’m a fan of green tea, and I’m a fan of white tea – but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I opened up this packet of Aphrodite. Fox Tea Club’s green and white tea blend smells floral and full of lemon, which is a divine combination. The lemon zest smells fresh, which is energizing. I can’t really make out the smell of the white or green tea, because the lemon zest is just so strong.

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Aphrodite consists of calendula, green tea, jasmine, lemon, safflower, and white tea.

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Preparation

There were steeping instructions on the Fox Tea Club website for the Aphrodite tea. I steeped this at 80°C (175°F) for 1 minute. If you’re steeping a tea blend and you don’t have any steeping instructions, you should always opt to steep at the lowest optimal temperature and for the shortest steep time.

First Taste

Aphrodite steeps to a bright, beautiful yellow. It has a remarkably vibrant lemon aroma from the steeped tea, which is quite enjoyable. There’s a light floral fragrance to this tea, that’s overwhelmed by the lemon. The taste of Aphrodite has a subtle sweetness to it, that balances well between the floral and lemon. I think it tastes good, there’s no bitterness in the tea at the water temperature and length of steep time that I opted for.

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A Second Cup?

I resteep Aphrodite twice and I found that the first resteep was okay (and fairly close to the first steep), with the balanced flavours of floral with lemon. The second steep had very minimal lemon flavours in it, so I would say that Aphrodite is just good for one more steep.

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My Overall Impression

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I liked Fox Tea Club’s Aphrodite. While this tea didn’t have me in an lovin’ mood, I really did enjoy the fresh brightness of the lemon zest with the sweet floral flavours. The white and green tea bases hold up the lemon and floral flavours well, and I enjoy the floral aromas and flavours. I’d definitely recommend giving this tea a try if you enjoy jasmine and lemon – just be sure not to add any milk or cream because it’ll curdle in a tea with lemon.

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