Nio Teas

NIO advent tea.
I’ve come down with something. Sniffles and runny nose. I just want to sleep but kids and stuff… So matcha and some prayers are a necessary to get me through the day. The dry aroma is nice. Somewhat chocolaty and a bit sweet. The powder is meh. Which doesn’t bode well for the flavor but now that I am drinking it I’m actually surprised at the depth it has. Some good vegetal notes, great umami, and some marine notes.

NIO Advent 2023
These small packets of matcha always make me a bit pensive. I suppose if I go into it with little expectation then I can only go up from there. The powder is a nice green color. With a decent aroma. My favorite part so far was when whisking. The aroma was lovely. A bit creamy and a bit vegetal. It froths up nicely; even for someone like myself with tolerable whisking skill. The color of the liquor is a very nice green. A slight bit astringent in the mouth but not to the point of being annoying. It’s also smooth and thus far minimal grit. Very green. Slight bitterness and a bit creamy with vegetal notes. A bit of minerality also shows up when it first touches your tongue. I didn’t taste it right away but as it has cooled it showed up ever slow slightly. The powder is also staying nicely suspended!

NIO advent 2023. Ah, lovely dry aroma. Sweetgrass. Mixture of wet, just cut grass, and stale summer-dried grass. Glossy, dark jade leaves. Two minutes? Dang. I don’t think I can wait that long. Ooo no. Don’t wait. The sips at 20 seconds are nice. Full of light and swaying grass. I feel like I am eating more of the leaves than drinking them. Highly recommend an infuser for anyone else who is going to consume this tea. The mouthfeel begins silky and switches to a bit of astringency. Ooo whee… I don’t know… two minutes is a bit much for me. maybe 1.5 at tops. The overall flavor is nice. The usual grassiness with vegetal notes of cooked spinach and frozen parmesan.

Taking a break, for a moment, from the shiboridashi to switch back to the kyusu. This lovely-looking kabusecha needs it. The leaves are a mix of dusty and glossy and mostly curled and tightly twisted. Slightly tropical floral but mostly grassy steeping aroma. All of the leaves open nicely revealing a mix of olive green and basil green tones. A nice vegetal brew with grassy notes and some nutty undertones.

NIO Advent 2023
After the last matcha I had from this pack, I am very pensive. Granted that was a different producer. I have an amapan sitting next to me just in case. The dry color is decent. Could be a bit more vibrant. Looks to be a lower grade. Maybe better for a latte. The taste is that of a culinary or slightly premium. A bit vegetal. A bit mineral. Somewhat grassy. Definitely better for latte. Works well with my ampan.

Nio Advent 2023
A mix of long and short glossy green leaves. A pleasant and clean aroma. One minute seems about right though I always get a bit nervous going for too long with Japanese greens. Vegetal notes of fresh asparagus, cooked spinach, radish? It’s a decent tea. Something to drink while you are eating something but on its own it is a bit lackluster.
Unrelated kind of… When your kids get sick you don’t really sleep. I don’t really sleep because I have an overactive imagination. I’m tired. And the kids …are being kids. Siblings are interesting. I get to do a sit-down talk with my sister tomorrow. Let you know how that goes ^^;

NIO Advent 2023. This one is listed on the package as Chiran Shizuku Sencha. You can definitely tell, upon opening the package, that it has matcha mixed in but the fact that it is not mentioned in the sample title is a tad bit annoying. The dry aroma is nice. A pure green grass with bits of hay and cream. Very nice vegetal notes on this one, bits of fresh grass.

Nio advent 2023.
The aroma coming from the bag is not pleasant. At first, it’s kind of grassy but then it quickly changes to an almost mildew-like. And the color. It’s not the worst I’ve seen, kind of in the middle of the pack. An older avocado green. It also does not whisk well and definitely needs to be served. Oh… #$%^#($%. That’s so bad. Nope. Maybe it would be better in a cookie? I don’t know if I could even stomach this in a latte…No… oh my …. $%^ second sip is curdling in my mouth. Did this sample go bad? Holy balls… This is so bad… so bad…. Nope nope. I’m going to go wash my mouth out with So Delicious eggnog

NIO advent Tea
If your green tea package has the name Osada on it I can personally vouch for their credibility and amazing tea. You may drink it and not even know you are because many companies, like Nio and Zerama, use them. I discovered them back in 2021 after trying out their Yamabuki Nadeshiko through Zerama. Then I had the great honor of interviewing them both Osada-san and Hiro-san are amazing people. Read my article if you have the time! https://teatiff.com/2022/11/04/osada-tea-japan/
Anyway, onto the tea. A bit more leaf gets through the built-in strainer than expected. But it’s good for you…. meh. Grab a strainer. I don’t mind eating a few leaves but it becomes annoying when it’s multiple pieces. The package calls for 45 seconds and they’re not kidding. The astringent grassiness comes on fast if you aren’t paying attention. The flavor has a bit of a toasty character to it. Bits of grassy notes mixed with some slightly nutty notes. The wet aroma is kind of roasted, kind of dandelion, and kind of grassy. I can’t put my thumb on one. It’s like a calm… tornado.

I’m nearing the end of the Nio samples that aren’t matcha. It’s been an interesting experience trying all these green teas! This sencha sample does include matcha powder and they suggested cold brewing it. I steeped the 5 g sample in 150 ml of room-temperature water for three hours, and then twice more to extract all the flavour.

The dry aroma before steeping is of sweet grass and spinach. The cold steeped tea is quite thick, with notes of spinach, kale, grass, broccoli, umami, and something fruity in the aftertaste. The longer I hold it in the mouth, the more punch it has. I did two additional steeps, which were not as aggressively vegetal. The third, longest steep even had some earth, cream, and melon.

I think cold steeping these senchas is a good idea. I enjoyed this tea, particularly the later steeps, and might have appreciated it even more during last summer’s many heat waves.

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This bancha is another first for me. I’m still waiting for my scale, so these generously offered pre-packed samples are proving to be very helpful (though to be honest, I wish I had more black teas and oolongs). I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 160F water for 60, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

With its collection of twigs and leaves, this bancha definitely looks like a rustic stem tea. The dry aroma is of grass, honey, butter, and roast. As another reviewer mentioned, this tea tastes a lot like genmaicha, with grass, roasted grains, honey, hay, and seaweed impressions. It reminds me of something served at a sushi restaurant. The next couple steeps have flavours of toasted rice, saline, spinach, and butter, along with grass and gentle roast. The final steeps have notes of earth, metal, popped rice, and grass.

This is a pleasant tea that I probably steeped too many times. I think it would go well with food and am craving sushi now. :)

Use LEAFHOPPER10OFF to get a 10% discount (I get a small commission when you use this code). Their holiday sale is going on for a while, and the code should still be good in 2024.

Whhhhaaat?! This is a sencha? Look at those dark glossy leaves! Seriously? The aroma is nil though. I can’t smell what should be, what I assume should be something good. The infusing tea smells of asparagus an cooked spinach. Actually mainly just spinach. Hmm… the flavor is not gyokuro. Tastes more like a sencha. Slightly grassy and a bit vegetal.

It’s great that Nio included a shincha in my bunch of samples! I assume this is from the 2022 harvest, though it doesn’t say so on the package. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 140F water for 45, 20, 20, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is promising, with notes of stonefruit, florals, spinach, cream, and grass. The first steep is quite vegetal, with notes of squash, spinach, kale, grass, umami, and nectarine, particularly in the aroma and aftertaste. Steep two has even more veggies and a thicker body, with squash, asparagus, kale, spinach, cream, and that lovely nectarine. Subsequent steeps have more umami and less cruciferous punch, and I get apple, grass, nectarine, and spinach. The fruit is better integrated into the grassier, softer later steeps, although the tea is a bit drying in the mouth.

The apple and nectarine make this a fun shincha, particularly in the later steeps. I’m less enthused about the veggies. I think lower temperatures definitely help to tame them.

Nio Teas is having a holiday sale with up to 64% off. Get an additional 10% off with the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission when you use this code).

Nio Advent 2023
I’m cold. I just can’t warm up. This is to remind me when it is stupid hot this summer and I want it to be cold again that there is no winning. The coloring on this one is decent. Vibrant but could be a tinge deeper in green. The dry aroma was kind of meh but then again with packaging like this one should not expect much. Water brewed to 40F. Sieved and whisked. Surprisingly I made a good froth. Hmm… Well… The first sip was a little bitter. So I’m adding more water. The grassiness is not dissipating. May work better as a matcha latte or in culinary recipes but on its own this one lacks character. Unless punch in your mouth is a good character of matcha but.. not for me.

Nio advent 2023. Hopefully, this is the right one. It smells divine. I love the roasty toasty notes you get in a hojicha. As the tea steeps it smell burnt. Lots of burning. Burning green pepper…. I hate green peppers… Ah, but the liquor smells lovely. Definitely a darker hojicha roast. The charcoal notes are quite a bit higher than the toasty notes. An interesting sweet note with the first sip after it’s cooled a bit. I don’t think this would make as quite a good latte as the lesser roasted versions.

Advent Tea 2023
A beautiful tea in appearance. Some say that the Chinese value the look more than the Japanese do but I highly appreciate the vibrant greens. This one, for example, with the contrast of light and dark greens is quite a joy to behold. The aroma is unsettling. I can’t say I like it. The same went for the flavor at first but it changed. The creamy mouth feel is quite nice. Very vegetal in flavor. Fresh-cut grass and corn husks. Like with other Japanese greens, I find I am enjoying this one more as the water cools down. There is a sweet grass note that comes out that I am finding quite enjoyable.

As much I love jumping around and trying new teas, I’ve gained a higher appreciation for those who stick to one terroir or country. When your palate sticks with one long enough you can spot the subtle differences from year to year.

NIO Advent Tea 2023 #5?
Dry Leaf: Glossy vibrant greens. Needle-like. Broken but still beautiful. Grassy and slight stone fruit in aroma.
Flavor: Very vegetal. Bits of cream. Grassy towards the finish.
Wet leaf aroma: If mushy had a smell… Maybe it reminds me of the spinach. And cooked spinach is always mushy.

I still don’t have a working scale, so these pre-measured Nio samples are the perfect solution. This is my first hojicha, and unless the name has changed, it’s a different one from what other reviewers received. There’s a lot of tea in this pouch, and I hope they didn’t actually give me 10 g instead of 5. I steeped the contents in 150 ml of 175F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of caramel, autumn leaves, roast, and cacao. The first steep is full of cozy roast and caramel, with notes of barley, minerals, and charcoal. I understand why people compare hojicha to coffee. It looks like this is a 5 g sample after all, as it doesn’t destroy my tongue with bitterness; the larger leaves must have made me think there was more. The next couple steeps have notes of roasted grain, caramel, coffee, autumn leaves, minerals, wood, faint grass, and charcoal. The final steeps are weaker, but similar in terms of flavour, emphasizing the roast and minerality. The tea never gets excessively bitter or grassy.

This is a perfect winter tea, though one I’d need to be in the mood for. I’m enjoying these “nontraditional” Japanese green teas quite a bit!

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NIO Advent Tea #3 A matcha was just the thing I needed this morning. It’s kinda gloomy out there and I’m tired. The dry powder smells deeply of dark chocolate The coloring is nice. As the water is poured and the matcha is whisked, the aroma changes to vegetal and grassy notes. I suck at making foam. Despite that, the foam that I did manage to create lasts quite a long time. The flavor is a bit nutty with grassy overtones. And some bitter root veggies.

Nio Advent Calender 2023. #2
I saw a few names that were similar but not quite the same as this so I figured I would give it its own thing.
Ah, the aroma is lovely. Slightly grassy. Bits of hay. Sweet grass. A bit of stone fruit. The leaf is thin and needle like. Mainly dark green with bits of lighter greens. Lots of freshly but grass with the first sip. As with most Japanese greens, this one is like a two-year-old and shouldn’t be left alone. The astringency, if you do, will punch you in the face. The grassy notes dominate with each steep though I do also get some vegetal notes.

Advent Tea #1
Long needle-like appearance with jade coloring. The aroma is divine. Sweet grass and stone fruit. The flavor has heavy notes of asparagus, corn, maybe leaning more towards freshly picked corn with the husk still on. A very vegetal forward green. Does not require much steep time. In fact, I suggest you do not walk away from this session. The soft mouth feel can be easily overtaken with bitterness and you’ll be left with unnecessary astringency if you treat this like any other tea. Though generally this should be said for any Japanese green. The grassiness comes out more in the subsequent infusions.

Thanks to Nio for this sample! The website says it features citrus and minerality, which sounds promising. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 140F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry leaf aroma is of citrus, spinach, and sweet grass. The first steep has punchy notes of spinach, cucumber, and grass, followed by orange, apricot, and butter. It’s kind of drying in the mouth. The next steep gives me bok choy and minerals, with a sweet, lingering peachy/apricot aftertaste. The stonefruit persists through the next few steeps, and the spinach also seems to get less aggressive. The tea ends with sweet grass, minerals, lettuce, and faint stonefruit.

This sencha is another winner for me. There’s some of that vegetal kick, but the stonefruit and citrus are lovely. I imagine this would be nice cold brewed.

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I’ll give you guys a break from all the Nio posts after this, though I have about a dozen more samples to try. I’m thinking of devoting either December or January to sipdowns, as I have miscellaneous bits of tea from swaps to enjoy as well.

This sencha is from the yabukita cultivar, which is supposed to be quite vegetal and fruity. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 140F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of apple, squash, spinach, cream, and grass. The first steep has notes of apple, squash, mango, spinach, kale, and grass. The next steep initially tastes like lettuce and bitter grass clippings, but the cooked apple, mango, and tropical fruit (passionfruit?) bloom in the aftertaste and the bottom of the cup. That fruitiness persists through the next few steeps, sometimes overtaking the grassiness and sometimes not. The final few steeps are vaguely fruity and less aggressively vegetal, with a sweet, grassy flavour.

I would have liked this tea more if it hadn’t been so vegetal. As it is, the tropical fruit was fun and the last few steeps had a nice balance. Those with a higher tolerance for cruciferous veggies might really enjoy this sencha. Based on the few teas I’ve tried, I like the saemidori cultivar more than the yabukita.

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This kamairicha is another first for me! I have a bit of experience with Chinese green teas, so it will be interesting to see how pan frying affects Japanese greens. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 160F water for 60, 20, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of toasted rice, roasted nuts, and grass. Oof! The spinach and squash in the first steep are a surprise! I also get butter, asparagus, toasted rice, nuts, roast, and minerals. The next steep has a thicker body and is a bit drying, with more pronounced hazelnuts and butter and lots of veggies. Subsequent steeps have notes of asparagus, spinach, grass, roast, nuts, minerals, butter, and earth.

My nose expected a very different tea than my taste buds received. I enjoyed seeing how pan frying creates those buttery, nutty aromas, but it seems to be much better integrated into Chinese greens than Japanese ones, at least based on this small sample. I have to say I liked yesterday’s kukicha much better.

Get a 10% discount with the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission when you use this code). Their Black Friday sale is massive and ends tomorrow.