Reblend
While the Christmas theme, coupled with the IKEA association (lignonberries), makes me view this tea more favourably, I’d enjoy it more if it had a more exciting green base. The wintery fruit flavours are tasty, and like something that aforementioned company would be proud to sell.
…But Chinese sencha is the bane of my flavoured green tea-filled existence, and my feelings are torn (when my “non-tea” friends claim they hate green tea I swear they are getting some of their biases from an oversteeped batch of generic straight Chinese Sencha).
Edit: To clarify, the recommended steeping parameters fit this tea perfectly and there is no bitterness- just lots of veggies. The parenthesis is more a reflection towards my experiences with Chinese Sencha in general, which have made me a tad jaded and not just a little bitter in person.
Flavors: Berries, Pear, Vegetal
Preparation
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Comments
For my earliest tea drinking days when I would look unfavorably toward green teas, the ones that would come to mind were young hyson and dragon well, believe it or not. I had very bad experiences with both of these teas and I have since come to the conclusion that it wasn’t so much the tea type as it was the person brewing the tea. (In other words: me.) Back then I was very ill-educated about how to properly brew a green tea – I didn’t understand that water temperature was so important and I also didn’t understand that you should be mindful of tea brewing time. I never used to set a timer back then – I was always just like, yeah, it seems like it’s been 2 minutes or 3 minutes or whatever. I have learned from the error of my ways and have come to appreciate both the aforementioned teas.
The main reason I chose the Chinese Sencha here is because it’s a reblend and I wanted to kind of stick to the recipe. The reason I use it in other blends is that it really depends upon what I’m blending – Chinese Sencha does have a nice buttery note to it that works well in flavors where I want some creaminess. I personally like Chinese Sencha – but your criticism of it is definitely noted. :)
I think you’re spot on with that assessment on why many people struggle with green tea. Before I had a temperature variant kettle, steeping the more temperamental green tea varieties sometimes resulted in a few putrid cups- all my fault. Coincidentally, Dragon Well and Young Hyson were the teas that made me start to appreciate straight green tea. However, I probably would never have gotten that far if it weren’t for flavoured Chinese Sencha teas like this one.
I appreciate your explanation for choosing Chinese Sencha. I’m sorry if my criticism came off as harsh, or seemed like an attack on 52Teas and your suggested steeping parameters. I have a lot of respect for your blends, and my general apathy towards Chinese Sencha is personal and originates from overexposure to it. 52Teas is probably the only company I’d consider taking a chance with this tea base.
Now that I think of it, your Lime Jello Salad also has Chinese Sencha and it’s one of my favourite flavoured green teas. Maybe I prefer this base iced/cold steeped, and probably should’ve tried that method with this one. As for this particular tea, if you ever reblend it with a different base I’d probably be the first in line to buy some; I enjoyed the flavouring quite a bit. :)
No – I didn’t take it as harsh criticism – but I did want to offer an explanation as to why I do select Chinese Sencha when I do. Chinese Sencha is kinda like Ceylon in that it’s the ‘go to’ tea when someone is crafting a flavored tea. I have been trying to put more thought into the blends rather than reach immediately for the Sencha (or any other tea automatically) and try to think of what tea would best suit the flavor I’m trying to accomplish.
I appreciate your input so I thank you! I didn’t feel like I was being attacked at all, I just wanted to clarify. The Lime Jello is crafted with a Chinese Sencha (or was) – perhaps I might toy around with it the next time I reblend it – although Lime Jello is one of my all time favorites as well so maybe it’s better NOT to mess with it.
Your willingness to experiment with blends and tea bases is what I love about the new 52Teas. It makes me much more eager to try all of your different offerings; even if I didn’t like a particular flavour profile or tea base on a previous occasion, there’s a good chance I may like it in a new reiteration. I’m actually sitting here sipping away at another one of your green blends (Pineapple Peach), which uses an interesting tea from the Satemwa Estate. It’s a lovely contrast in versatility with this Pear tea.
Lime Jello Salad is a prime example of me loving something made up of components I typically dislike. I would love to try a bunch of experimental variations of Lime Jello (that would be fun), but that’s because I’m already a big fan of the original with Chinese Sencha.
Thank you for commenting and providing such thoughtful explanations. I know a lot goes into the creation of each blend and trust your judgment. The stars may need to be aligned precisely so for me to personally love a blend with Chinese Sencha, but I appreciate that it has its own niche in the tea world and respect when you choose to use it. The same goes for Ceylon, CTC, Honeybush and Hojicha- I generally shy away from these but you and a few other tea blenders have done some wonderful and adventurous things with all of them.
Hear, hear! Totally agree.
52Teas, I appreciate so much you taking the time to unwrap your approaches and rationale with creations. I may not always have something to say in response, but I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and expertise. It gives me something to sit with, experiment with, and mull over, and ultimately, appreciate teas even more. So, thank you.
For my earliest tea drinking days when I would look unfavorably toward green teas, the ones that would come to mind were young hyson and dragon well, believe it or not. I had very bad experiences with both of these teas and I have since come to the conclusion that it wasn’t so much the tea type as it was the person brewing the tea. (In other words: me.) Back then I was very ill-educated about how to properly brew a green tea – I didn’t understand that water temperature was so important and I also didn’t understand that you should be mindful of tea brewing time. I never used to set a timer back then – I was always just like, yeah, it seems like it’s been 2 minutes or 3 minutes or whatever. I have learned from the error of my ways and have come to appreciate both the aforementioned teas.
The main reason I chose the Chinese Sencha here is because it’s a reblend and I wanted to kind of stick to the recipe. The reason I use it in other blends is that it really depends upon what I’m blending – Chinese Sencha does have a nice buttery note to it that works well in flavors where I want some creaminess. I personally like Chinese Sencha – but your criticism of it is definitely noted. :)
I think you’re spot on with that assessment on why many people struggle with green tea. Before I had a temperature variant kettle, steeping the more temperamental green tea varieties sometimes resulted in a few putrid cups- all my fault. Coincidentally, Dragon Well and Young Hyson were the teas that made me start to appreciate straight green tea. However, I probably would never have gotten that far if it weren’t for flavoured Chinese Sencha teas like this one.
I appreciate your explanation for choosing Chinese Sencha. I’m sorry if my criticism came off as harsh, or seemed like an attack on 52Teas and your suggested steeping parameters. I have a lot of respect for your blends, and my general apathy towards Chinese Sencha is personal and originates from overexposure to it. 52Teas is probably the only company I’d consider taking a chance with this tea base.
Now that I think of it, your Lime Jello Salad also has Chinese Sencha and it’s one of my favourite flavoured green teas. Maybe I prefer this base iced/cold steeped, and probably should’ve tried that method with this one. As for this particular tea, if you ever reblend it with a different base I’d probably be the first in line to buy some; I enjoyed the flavouring quite a bit. :)
No – I didn’t take it as harsh criticism – but I did want to offer an explanation as to why I do select Chinese Sencha when I do. Chinese Sencha is kinda like Ceylon in that it’s the ‘go to’ tea when someone is crafting a flavored tea. I have been trying to put more thought into the blends rather than reach immediately for the Sencha (or any other tea automatically) and try to think of what tea would best suit the flavor I’m trying to accomplish.
I appreciate your input so I thank you! I didn’t feel like I was being attacked at all, I just wanted to clarify. The Lime Jello is crafted with a Chinese Sencha (or was) – perhaps I might toy around with it the next time I reblend it – although Lime Jello is one of my all time favorites as well so maybe it’s better NOT to mess with it.
Your willingness to experiment with blends and tea bases is what I love about the new 52Teas. It makes me much more eager to try all of your different offerings; even if I didn’t like a particular flavour profile or tea base on a previous occasion, there’s a good chance I may like it in a new reiteration. I’m actually sitting here sipping away at another one of your green blends (Pineapple Peach), which uses an interesting tea from the Satemwa Estate. It’s a lovely contrast in versatility with this Pear tea.
Lime Jello Salad is a prime example of me loving something made up of components I typically dislike. I would love to try a bunch of experimental variations of Lime Jello (that would be fun), but that’s because I’m already a big fan of the original with Chinese Sencha.
Thank you for commenting and providing such thoughtful explanations. I know a lot goes into the creation of each blend and trust your judgment. The stars may need to be aligned precisely so for me to personally love a blend with Chinese Sencha, but I appreciate that it has its own niche in the tea world and respect when you choose to use it. The same goes for Ceylon, CTC, Honeybush and Hojicha- I generally shy away from these but you and a few other tea blenders have done some wonderful and adventurous things with all of them.
Hear, hear! Totally agree.
52Teas, I appreciate so much you taking the time to unwrap your approaches and rationale with creations. I may not always have something to say in response, but I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and expertise. It gives me something to sit with, experiment with, and mull over, and ultimately, appreciate teas even more. So, thank you.