It is rare for me to encounter a tea that is entirely new to me. Thanks to Steepster Select, I have a new tea that I will be drinking a lot.
I opened my package of Houjicha Ichiban and was struck by the golden straw color of the stems and leaves. I carefully poured it into my tea pot, preserving every drop, and gave it a good shake. Instantly I was transported back to my childhood summers, the flavor and smell of a dry stick of grass hay hanging out of my mouth. Chewing it, relishing in the sweet grassy notes. This is the sensation, the comfort that I always want Genmaicha to be, but am always disappointed.
I inhaled, inhaled again, and relaxed. Recalling hot summer days, sweat dripping down, lifting hay onto the bed of the truck. And suddenly I remembered how itchy and non-romantic all of that was. Oops.
I added the water, let it steep, and started to drool eagerly anticipating the flavor of this tea as my office filled with the nutty smell of summer grass. I poured, waiting and took a sip. The taste was the end of summer, the smell was the start of autumn. I opened the pot, the leaves and stems had greened in the water. Rich, warm, nutty, dry flavors washed around my mouth. Slightly sweet, toasted, with light bitter notes.
This is the tea for a country child now in the city when the man is feeling nostalgic. I will be drinking this a lot more often.
Flavors: Grass, Nuts
