Bancha

Bancha is used as a base for so many different teas. We see it in stuff Frank over at 52teas makes. We see it in most bagged green teas. We even see it in iced green teas and as a base for blended greens like Genmaicha. This Bancha from Harney & Sons is a nice quality brew.

The thick gritty looking green leaves put off a nice grassy smell. The flavor is a bit more astringent than I expected, but contains notes of collard greens, steamed brussels sprouts and a vegetal smoothness similar to artichoke.

I recommend this tea to fans of any Japanese green tea, be it Genmaicha, Hojicha or Spring Rose tea. Fans of the more shade grown teas from Japan such as Gyokuro or other Fukamushi style teas may find this tea hit or miss.

As employees here at the store we are so spoiled by the ability to drink any tea at our fingertips, that most of the time those fingers reach for those high end exclusive teas. We forget that something so simple as Bancha, a Japanese green tea whose leaves are a bit larger and rougher than that of Sencha, can be equally as enjoyable as something twice its price.

Bancha has a much nuttier flavor than that of Sencha, but it is easy to drink and compliments meals well.

I just finished my sample of this, and I should note that I used all of my sample at work where the water and/or electric kettle somehow makes tea taste a bit different than (not as good as) the tea I make at home. In any case, this was a perfectly pleasant green tea. It’s not my top-favorite green tea (although most plain green teas I’ve had have tasted very similar), but it’s certainly a good tea and I enjoyed every cup of it.

(Sample from silentrequiem. Thanks!)

This tea has the usual grassy flavors of green tea, but they flavors aren’t so multifaceted or distinct as Harney’s senchas; as it’s sat opened in my cabinet, it’s gone from more lemony to tasting like steamed or roasted pumpkin.

I am attempting to keep the amount of tea I purchase this year to a minimum. It might mean paying more shipping cost to only order what I want or “need”. In the H&S department I have two friends who also like H&S who I have conned into helping me get the mint verbena that I have my eye one without paying shipping. One friend is exploring greens so I busted out all the greens I have and gave him samples before he puts in his part of the order. This is a sample I received a while back in a mystery swap and I am not so sure it hasn’t been tainted by being stored among other samples. I am getting a sweet green with a nutty after taste. I am not getting the grassy, spinach that several have mentioned. I might have to order a small sample from H&S to satisfy my curiosity. The tea that I am currently drinking is really good even if it has been affected by the lack of poor storage.

When I sniffed the packet, to me it was more nori than grassy. I’m ok with that. Nori = good, in my books. I started off with a one minute steep, I find 30 s too light in flavour.

Taste, I get the grassy notes that other people found, but I also found a touch of nori and brussel sprouts at the end of the sip.

Second steep I let go for about 2 minutes and I found more bitter vegetables with some hay notes thrown in.

I like this quite a bit and will probably order bancha in the future. Thanks to Cameron B. for providing the delicious sample.

This was the last sample from Harney & Sons that I hadn’t tried. Eleven samples in about a week or so, not too bad! This is my first straight bancha, but I’ve had it in genmaicha before so I kind of knew what to expect. The leaves are flat and similar to sencha, but rougher and more broken. Smells like grass, grass, grass with some hay and dry leaves. At first I steeped for a minute, but did a quick taste and then let it go another 30 seconds.

Brewed, it smells similar to the dry but with the addition of a little spinach. Wow, the taste! It’s extremely bright and grassy in the beginning. Almost sharp, but not unpleasantly. It’s like spring! The back half of the sip is more vegetal and I get that autumn leaf taste. Overall, not bitter and not as “rough” as I might have expected. I can see this being good with a meal, though it’s not something I’d drink daily.

Great value tea, $20/lb.

Nice grassy flavor without too much bitterness, hints of hay and a sandy beach in autumn. Steeps are good up until the 3rd, maybe even the 4th brew. Watch out for water temp and over brewing.

I agree with the artichoke and hints of brussle sprout flavors suggested by “Tea-Guy”, I find these nice. There is also a distinct nut aftertaste, somewhat like walnuts. The tea also provides a great psychological buzz and concentration not unlike that of a Sencha.

I like to use a lot of this tea and reduce the steep time by half. This creates a nice progression of brews. First brew maybe only 30 seconds, subsequent brews add 30s to the previous brew time.

Overall, fantastic everyday green japanese tea.