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I have to say this vinegar soda they call kombucha is starting to grow on me. I don’t really consider it tea and it’s still a little too sharp to chug down an entire bottle but there’s definitely something addictive about it.

This one was really delicious. It tastes closer to real juice than other kombuchas I’ve tried. It’s like mango nectar with a little fizziness and added tang. A few sips of this made me feel a lot less stuffed after a heavy meal so perhaps there’s something to the purported probiotic/gut benefits of kombucha after all.

This was the second winter harvest baozhong I picked up from TTC, the other one being the more oxidized “Heritage” variety. It’s remarkable how the same kind of tea grown in the same region, of the same cultivar, and picked in the same season yet processed slightly different can be so radically different.

Out of the bag, I get fresh aromas of orchid and spring flowers (hyacinth, tulips). In a heated pot, the usual lilac notes of baozhong are detected along with sweet hyacinth and an odd hint of black pepper. I brewed this grandpa style starting with 195 F water. First sip is light with lilacs and little green apple in the finish. Fairly thin and light bodied. After topping off with boiling water, a meadowy green flavor emerges along with sweet pea, more lilacs, and a mineral/spring water like note.

While this an enjoyable tea, it’s several notches below Heritage baozhong which I consider a top grade tea. It has a mild, simple floral flavor and lacks the complexity and depth of better baozhong oolongs.

Figured its about time I reviewed this tea now that I’ve consumed more than a third of the 100g pouch. I don’t know if it’s just me or what but I’ve found the 2019 crop of sencha to be lacking. None of the teas from the three usually reliable vendors I ordered from – Yuuki-Cha, O-Cha, and Thes Du Japon – blew me away. This one ranks near the bottom of the Japanese greens I tried this year which is disappointing because I’ve had amazing Saemidori tea from O-Cha before.

Although described as a medium steamed tea, the leaf is quite broken and powdery which leaves a lot of sediment in the cup. Dry leaf has a subtle scent of umami and grass. The color of the liquor is a vibrant lime green. I brewed this tea using a wide range of temperatures from 145 – 180 F. At lower temperatures, I get a gentle wheatgrass like taste mingled with umami. At higher temperatures, the tea has a more assertive brothy vegetative flavor but also bitterness due to how quickly the broken leaf infuses. Notes of artichoke, spinach, and grass. Overall, more savory than sweet and without much depth of flavor. Good for about 3 steeps unless you increase leaf quantity which also also leads to increased bitterness. Cold brew was not terribly impressive.

Sipdown. My last few teaspoons of this tea were getting stale but ambient brewing rescued it. Despite the freezing cold and endless snow we endured in Chicago today, it was really refreshing to drink this over ice. By the magic of room temperature steeping, the sour, stale seaweed taste was transformed into a floral bouquet in my cup. So delicious that I made two ambient brews and finished off what was left of this tea.

I must say cold/ambient brewing has been a godsend for less than perfect teas and those past their freshness. I’ve been able to salvage so many teas that I might have otherwise thrown out this way. Highly recommend giving cold brewing a try before giving up on your less loved teas.

This was a chance discovery at Aldi. The list of ingredients here – sencha, strawberries, regular and holy basil, and hibiscus – was unusual yet intrigued me enough to pick up a bottle. It turned out to be a terrific flavor combination. It has a natural fruitiness and a sharp but pleasant tang that complements the strawberry. The basil adds a subtle herbaceous tone. I couldn’t really taste the sencha though and I suspect the hibiscus is just there to add color. Really refreshing and has just enough sweetness without being too sweet. I can definitely see myself chugging this stuff down during the warmer months.

This was the first tea I chose to drink in 2020. Shibi has been a perennial favorite of mine over the years and this latest harvest was a reminder as to why. It’s rich, complex, and has a wonderful floral-fruity flavor. The tea starts off buttery and fresh with aromas of pear, coconut cream, and daffodils. The flowers arrive in waves, starting with peonies, wildflowers, lillies, and hyacinth. This is interspersed with hints of tropical fruit and a little vanilla. Thick in the mouth with a pleasant lingering aftertaste. An exquisite high mountain tea and one of the best terroirs I’ve ever tasted.

This Gui Fei is basically honey in tea form. It’s thick and syrupy, dripping with the taste of wildflower honey in every steep. Dry leaf smells of graham crackers. Sandalwood and eucalyptus aromas when wet along with some cinnamon emerging later. The tea is smooth and delicious, full of honeyed, brown butter-esqe goodness throughout the steeps but also a bit woodsy at times with hints of apricot and flowers. Although Gui Fei is a bug bitten tea, I taste very little of that bug bitten flavor. It’s more akin to a good roasted Dong Ding.

The only knock on this tea is that it doesn’t change much from steep to steep. Otherwise it’s a very enjoyable and easy drinking oolong.

This tea has been tremendously more enjoyable these past few days I’ve been under the weather. The slightly pungent turmeric, warming ginger, and mild spices really help soothe my flu symptoms.

Instagram shot: https://www.instagram.com/p/B7B0cQ0AFfs/

Once again a very nice Laoshan green varietal. This autumn harvest is sweet and crisp like butter lettuce. Notes of soy, green beans, sweet corn, anise, and flowers. While I like this tea I don’t quite love it. It may be that I’m finally starting to tire of Laoshan green teas. I’ve been finding myself craving sencha and kamairicha more than other greens these days.

Can you believe I’ve never tried kombucha until now? I’ve seen the colorful bottles on grocery shelves everywhere but dismissed it as a hipster drink and not real tea. Well curiosity got the better of me and I picked up a bottle of this at Trader Joe’s. The guy there recommended this flavor for noobs.

And I have to say this was pretty tasty although a tad on the sour side. It’s slightly fizzy with more lemonade than strawberry. Smells a little vinegary but thankfully that doesn’t come through in the taste. Whatever straight kombucha is supposed to taste like is masked by the strawberry Lemonade flavor.

I couldn’t drink too much of this since I was nursing a sore throat but it’s definitely piqued my interest in kombucha. I think next time I’ll try the mango or one of the other flavors that is a little less sour.