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While I’m not new to “green tea” this really is somewhat new territory for me. Outside of matcha I’ve never had any awareness of what sort of tea was in whatever “green tea” I was drinking, so it may not have even been a quality tea to begin with in most cases. That could also be why I was never much of a fan of green tea (outside of matcha, I love that).

This is the first time I am aware to have had “sencha” so I spent a little time learning what I could about this particular tea, which I learned is from Shizuoka province, the largest tea producing Japanese province. In that regard I suppose this is a fair starter sencha.

The flavor is distinctly green, dark green in fact. At first I was thinking grassy, similar to a shot of wheatgrass, but further along it clearly became a bowl of sauteed spinach (sans garlic or other flavorings) that had transformed into pure liquid form in a cup. It’s substantial in both flavor and body.

I liked it.

This tea is and isn’t. The dry aroma is punchy, but when steeped is just a subtle vegetal aroma coming from the light greenish-yellow liquor with a fair body for how otherwise delicate it is. The flavor is subtly green with some light, smoothing nutty notes and just barely a hint of fruitiness from the pomegranate which I would not identify as pomegranate without it being known ahead of time. It’s pleasing and I found it very drinkable, yet also not particularly noteworthy. I actually want to make some more, curiously. I probably won’t buy it again but I suspect I can finish this off without too much effort.

Trying this with a shorter steep because I felt my first tasting did not really match my expectations. It is not as brisk this time. It’s still basic to describe though. That doesn’t mean it’s not good, it just doesn’t require much to describe it.

It has an earthy black tea aroma. Not strong, yet not light either. Just distinctly “earthy black tea”. I spent some time to pick out other elements, but that seems to sum it up. It smells fine, but I doubt anyone will be making candles of it. There is nothing to complain about, or celebrate. “Earthy black tea” is truly all I needed to write.

The shorter steep seems to have eliminated the briskness, which was not overwhelming last time, but got in the way of enjoying it. The tea still has a nice body, so this seems to be the right steep time at this temp.

The flavor starts off bold but mellows right out leaving a lingering hint of malty sweetness for the finish. Otherwise the taste matches it’s aroma, it’s an earthy black tea.

It’s good, but I will most likely never order it again. I was expecting more in the flavor department than this delivers, but perhaps that is more my fault with such expectations than this tea’s fault with it’s simplicity. It is quite drinkable. I have actually finished this whole brew as of finishing this up these notes.

This is the first time I have ever tried PG Tips and I’m pretty sure this is the start of a new chapter in my mornings.

This is bold and thick with a wonderful range of flavors to boot. This really delivers!

I was torn in a side by side flavor-wise with my current favorite Yorkshire Gold, but PG Tips has an edge based on the overall heft.

I am surprised, I was expecting this to match up closer with the Yorkshire red than the gold, but instead it seems to be the best of both of those all in one.

Smells more bold and earthy than I was expecting and tastes a little brisk up front but has a smooth finish. I’m curious to try this iced, seems like a good candidate for an iced black tea.

Very nice for breakfast. Good strong flavor. Not much else required to describe this one. Definitely approve.

As mentioned in my prior tasting note on this, this has a nice prominent citrusy bergamot flavor, but I had trouble finding any character within the tea. So I steeped it longer (6 minutes) to see if that changes things.

It didn’t. Tastes exactly the same.

It is a pleasant drink, however. I can think of brands I can get in Earl Grey teabags from the grocery store shelves however that I would get before this. But only because this tea is lacking. The bergamot flavor here tastes a bit better than that store brand.

I bought this after learning some of the flavored teas I had tried were rooibos. I had never even heard of Rooibos before. I noticed a similar sweet and fruity flavor between them but wasn’t sure how much of that sweet and fruity flavor was from the tea or the added flavors. This was to give me a straight rooibos tasting so I could better discern the tea from the additions.

I am surprised by the aroma and flavor every time. It’s like some sort of sundried stonefruit bubblegum concoction. Theres also a earthy bark-like aftertaste.

Since it’s naturally decaf and can be flavored any way I choose I thought I would use this a lot more than I have, either with herbs from the garden or with some of the common herbal teas I have in the cabinet. I just don’t have the interest that I do with black tea at this moment so it remains unexplored.

This is bagged, but seems of good quality. I can find no faults with it. This seems like good stuff. I’m looking forward to exploring the world of rooibos once I’m ready, that’s just not my thing right now.

I ran across 3 unopened bags of Lady Grey this morning and set them aside for this afternoon to finish them off. I thought I had finished these along with the Twining’s Earl Grey which were two of the six different varieties I bought to begin my first ever foray into the lands of Earl Grey.

Lady Grey is rather lemony by design with the added lemon peel, but not too strong. It’s very pleasant, actually. The tea is quite drinkable.

I could see buying this again when traveling or something and having to rely on getting something at the store. It’s nice and rather refreshing, especially considering it’s in a bag!

For anyone so inclined, Lady Grey and Earl Grey together are pleasurable as well. I couldn’t decide if I preferred two Ladies and one Earl, or the other way around. They work well together in my opinion.

I had this cooled today. I had a light breakfast and needed a little something later so I made this double strength, added a small bit of sugar, a couple ice cubes to drop the temp, and then a couple tablespoons of cream bringing it up to a 12oz portion.

Yummy!

I’m not usually into adding sugar, milk, etc. So it’s always a nice treat.

I drank it too fast to properly review. I guess it was good!