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This tea is not overly ricey (is that a word??). The sweetness of the bancha comes through as such a delicious aftertaste; it makes me want to compare this bancha to others and see if it really is a superior one (it tastes like it at least!).

I tried an experiment in the last week – I took about 2 TBS of this an put it in a dry pot, and roasted it over medium high heat for about 3 minutes. I did it a little too long, as some of it burned (it is such a difficult balance, because it goes from green to roasted to burnt VERY fast). It wasn’t too bad, though not as good as other houjichas I’ve bought.

I’d like to try it again but take it off the fire sooner. Freshly made houjicha (or in this case houji-genmaicha) sounds like it would be amazing.

Maybe I wasn’t using enough leaf before? This evening it was really good! Upping the rating a bit.

This is AWESOME iced.
10g, 12oz water, brewed for 1.5 mins. Then I poured into a pot with probably 8 ice cubes (ended up being about 18-20oz water).
The second infusion (also iced, same parameters) I shorted the steeping time to maybe 20 seconds. It was even better than the first.

Somewhat buttery, deliciously fruity. I did 4 infusions and probably could have done more.
I don’t have a lot of experience with Oolongs (especially green/non-roasted ones), but it was very good. I don’t know if I’d buy more, but only because there are so many Oolongs out there to try.

Hard to rate this one; I think I might like it more if I tried it more often. I just have a sample of it, with probably one more multi-steep serving left.

The first steeping I haven’t liked so far (both times I’ve brewed it), being that the flavor each time was mostly pan-fried or stir-fry flavored. But with the 2nd and 3rd steepings, it really took on a nice sweet, almost umami-like flavor. I was recommended this white tea out of the others to try at the store because it is rolled up more like an oolong and therefor has more flavor that traditional white teas. I don’t have any other loose white tea experience to compare this to, so I wouldn’t know, but it does seem to have plenty of flavor.

This has some similarities to the pi lo chun and long jing that I’ve tried recently, but is definitely unique. I don’t think I’d buy a whole 1-2 oz bag of this, since there isn’t enough time to enjoy everything good in this world (ie, there are other teas I’d rather drink), but I do like it.

If I were rating teas just by name, this would get 2 thumbs up from me, as it SOUNDS like the coolest tea ever. Well no, if a tea was named “Trogdor the Dragonator Long Jing” or something like that, that would be even cooler.

This tea is SO SO good.
After pouring out the first infusion, the steeped leaves smelled incredibly delicious; they smelled like fresh cracked black pepper. I’m not exactly sure what it was, but it actually made me want to eat them. It was irresistable.

This tastes like a weaker, and far less tasty version of the Shi Feng Long Jing (the only one I’ve had is by Tea Valley). It does have a faint sweetness at the end that is pleasant. But as the description states, it is smokey, and that flavor comes through, especially once the tea has cooled off some. Not a fan. I’m glad I just have a sample, and that I could satisfy my curiosity about this tea cheaply.

I have to thank Coftea for the suggestion to try this according to high quality Sencha parameters.

The apple flavor seemed a bit more subdued, but the natural sweetness of the sencha came through in such a good way, that it almost seemed to have a stronger apple flavor than when boiling water is used!
Besides, the sencha base has such a nice flavor anyway, you hardly need to have the apple for it to be enjoyable… though, the mix of the two together is what this tea is all about.

I’m glad Den’s uses high quality sencha as the base; it makes a big difference!

Had it iced – I think perhaps even better than hot! :-)
Den’s suggests using boiling water for their flavored senchas…I’ve found I enjoy them more a bit lower (maybe 180 – 200?).

I was really impressed by this tea!
The smell that came from the bag and then from the pot was delectable.
The flavor was a filling umami and very sweet as well. Very different kind of sweetness than a typical sencha (which to me can sometimes be sugary sweet, combining a slight bitterness with sweetness), more like a fruity sweetness without the fruit flavor.
Anyway, I was very impressed and all 3 steepings were yummy.

Now if only I can get some more local vendors to carry something like this! I doubt I will often order from Rishi because of distance and shipping when there are so many good nearby options, but this is a tea I think I’d enjoy having on hand more often. However, at $8.50 for just about 2oz, this is a very good deal.

I don’t speak Japanese, but I think “Gokubo” means “5 flavors” … I’m not sure I tasted all 5 of them, but nonetheless, this was excellent. I definitely recommend!