136 Tasting Notes
I judged this one incorrectly before I drank it…I read the descriptions on here and figured I wouldn’t like it, as smoky doesn’t really seem to be my thing. I was wrong, as I really enjoyed the smokiness, and I didn’t find it overwhelming at all. It’s a thick tea, with decent strength…nice for the morning, as the name indicates. Thanks for this sample, Nicole…great to broaden my horizons!
I probably drink this tea more than any other tea. Is it the best tea you’ll ever drink? No, of course not. But, it’s good, inexpensive, and widely available. It’s grassy and pleasantly bitter, with a nice bite to it. I usually steep it for about 2 minutes, and it can handle quite a few resteeps. This tea served as my introduction to Japanese green tea. I’ve since had sweeter senchas that were nice, and gyokuro, which is, of course, amazing. However, for an everyday tea, I’m always happy to grab this one. That being said, I’m going for the gyokuro tomorrow. :P
This tea was okay, mostly a nutty flavor, and fairly mild. I steeped it for 2 minutes the first time and 3 minutes the second time. It wasn’t that the flavor of the tea wasn’t good, it’s a pretty decent balance, not bitter or overwhelming at all, I just don’t think it’s my thing. I’d say it’s worth a try, but I won’t buy it again.
This is a very interesting tea, very light and sweet for a black tea. I did two steeps of 16 ounces each, 2 minutes and 15 seconds the first time, and 10 minutes the second time. It was so light the first time that I wanted to see what happened with a longer steep…it was still nice and sweet, no bitterness or astringency whatsoever. For whatever reason, I drank both cups in approximately 3 minutes, haha. I’m a fast drinker, but never that fast…I guess it was the mildness of the tea. Very enjoyable! Thank you for the sample, Nicole!
I bought a lot of this a couple months ago, and kind of forgot that I had it. It’s not super strong, but strong enough. It’s so smooth and enjoyable to drink. Now that I’ve had straight Nilgiri tea, I can taste the Nilgiri in this one…mixes nicely with the Assam to create a balanced full-bodied tea that is not bitter at all. This is a good one for days like today when I get to sleep late…I’ll still rely on the Assam teas for all the early days. :P Happy Saturday, everyone!
I’ve already written two notes for this tea, but I wanted to write another one after drinking it today because my love and appreciation for this tea continue to grow. It’s so good, sweet for a Darjeeling green, but not overly sweet. I did 3 steeps of 3, 3.5 and 4 minutes, and it actually seemed to get a little sweeter with each steep. The tea is exceptionally smooth for a green tea. I’m so glad I ordered a lot of it…I have to make it last!
I was in the mood for some genmaicha today. This really hit the spot. I went through a genmaicha phase last year and probably had this tea 5 days a week for about 6 weeks. I don’t feel like I can drink this every day, as I kind of do get tired of it now, but it’s nice to add variety every once in a while. The roasted flavor from the brown rice really transforms the tea…pretty much completely masks the grassiness of the sencha. I steeped it for 3 minutes the first time, and 6 minutes the second time…no bitterness, it seems like it would be very difficult to oversteep this tea. Very inexpensive tea…I’m sure there are many better genmaichas out there, but this is easily obtained and worth drinking.
This tea isn’t horrible, but, like other Trader Joe’s teas, I wouldn’t say it’s good. It’ll do if you don’t have anything else around, but there are many other cheap English Breakfast teas out there that are significantly better. I like a lot of Trader Joe’s products, but I’m done buying their teas…not a strong area for them.
This is a pretty decent tea. I don’t have the proper kettle to make it the Turkish way, and I’m guessing that it would probably be better made that way. I was able to get two good steeps out of it, 3 minutes the first time, and 5 minutes the second time. It’s strong, but not as strong as I expected beforehand…I would have liked stronger first thing this morning. It’s nice and smooth, but kind of lacks flavor in my opinion…kind of plain…not bad, just not exceptional. I have a lot of it because it’s remarkably cheap, so I’ll definitely try it a few more times to see if it ends up growing on me. Overall, a good tea…one I wouldn’t mind drinking every once in a while, but not an everyday tea.
