Michael's teas from Hattori-san and Kanbayashi

Hi all,

Just wanted to inform the Steepster community that my friend Michael Wood (from Teashow TV) has recently returned from Japan with four hand-selected teas from Uji tea masters, all pre-earthquake. They are:

Hattori-san’s Gyokuro: http://bit.ly/ieEQUe
Hattori-san’s Kabuse Sencha:http://bit.ly/j3kIRq
Kanbayashi’s Houjicha: http://bit.ly/ml93rV
Kanbayashi’s Sencha: http://bit.ly/iNHFT3

I’m sure that not many people have gotten a chance to try these; I’ve tried all four. My favorite two were the Gyokuro and Houjicha, with the Gyokuro easily comparable to the higher end ones that Hibiki-an sells and the Houjicha representing excellent value and one of the best I’ve ever tasted—extremely smooth and coffee-like.

Between the two Senchas, there are some subtle differences but I think you’d be perfectly happy with the less expensive one. Both offer terrific vegetal, bitter-sweet snaps that you would come to expect from a Sencha, with Hattori-san’s offering a bit more crushed rock on the finish.

If anything, check out the links for Michael’s story on each tea. It’s very enlightening if you don’t have much of a background in Japanese tea.