Karigane #22

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 samples
Water: 1000ml at 175°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 1 minute 30 seconds
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: fresh, vegetal, sweet, even a hint floral
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, vegetal, hint fresh grass
Flavor: floral, sweet, vegetal
Body: Light
Aftertaste: thick, slightly gritty, mint
Liquor: translucent light yellow green

I like this, it is a very refreshing green

This was from me free Steepster Select box

Resteep:
750ml at 175°F for 2 minutes
very watery, minty, slightly nutty

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2014/01/tea-wing-loose-leaf-green-tea-karigane.html

I didn’t realize until yesterday that I still had one tea to try from the Steepster Select December box! A lot of my issues with karigane, kukicha, sencha, etc. is that they are either too grassy or too savory. I think that this tea really hits the right combination of the two that makes it a very comforting tea to me. I will say, though, that I had a lot of sediment in my tea because it was so fine, and it does make for a bitter cup toward the bottom. That’s not too much of a problem for me, though, because I drank it pretty quickly before the bottom could get too bitter.

EDIT: I resteeped and I actually think I may prefer it this way. There is less sediment (I rinsed out the bottom from the first cup), which I forgot to mention before made the texture kind of thick. This cup just tastes a bit cleaner and less bitter to me. Of course, the tradeoff is that the flavor is a bit weaker, but I tend to like my tea on the weaker side anyway, so it’s working out for me!

The first of my Steepster Select teas! I got these like a month ago but I didn’t have a teapot for the longest time BUT NOW I DO.

First off, I’d like to point out that Steepster Select packages their teas in the cutest way possible and I love it SO much.

I wanted to drink a tea from the package so I just stuck my hand into the bag and decided to drink the first one I touched! So Karigane #22 it is :)

Opening the pack, yep. Smells like seaweed and smells very much like sushi!! Smells like roasted nori which I LOVE so much! But in tea? Huh. Let’s see :)
Brewing… still smells like nori. I kinda want some now. Light green in colour.
Tasting… oh. Tastes just like it smells. Like liquified nori. I actually really like it! But that’s just my love for sushi talking :)

Had this late afternoon on Saturday after a snowy day of shopping. Going to the symphony that night so I wanted a pick me up. Followed the directions to brew and loved the soft creamy green goodness put forth. I made three steeps without a noticeable drop in flavor or aroma. Then it was off to the music of Beethoven with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and pianist Noboyuki Tsujii playing Concerto no. 5. Had a Makers Mark Manhattan with some Mast Bros dark chocolate pre-concert and the tone was set; tea, cocktail, nibbly bit and virtuosity. If you have never heard Mr. Tsujii play, you’re in for a treat. All in all a great day in the big apple. Some extra notes about the Karigane is that I am not that keen on the cloudiness the tea exhibits but I will get over it for the taste, but the tea blew my socks off in the awake category. Didn’t get to sleep till 4 in the morning.

My favorite of the bunch from the 1st Steepster Select offering. As Japanese greens go, this really epitomizes the wonderful vegetal flavors and thick mouthfeel of shade grown teas. Not familiar with a Kabuse tea, front the Tea Wing site, this appears to be a type of less refined Gyokuro (including some stem pieces). I like me some Gyokuro and I like this. As per the directions on the sample, I’d a say a minute and a half is a long first steep for my 5oz Finum. Maybe that’d work with an 8-10oz glass? Sticking with a smaller more traditional glass, one could get away with 30 secs to a min, which is how I brewed it the first time and it was exquisite, later steeps were extended by 30-45 seconds. The next sample pack I followed the directions, and though it was still good, I think it condensed the delicate flavors too much. I’ll be surprised to get a reasonable 3rd steep this time around. The first time I tried it, the leaf yielded 3 solid infusions. The colors is lovely and looks alive, with a clearly green hue. I’d say it’s fairly true to the packages description of Nori and cut grass, though I didn’t get the hazelnut. I picked up on spinach and some edamame. I put off embarking on my second sample, as I so enjoyed the first one. If I didn’t have such a huge backlog of tea, I’d purchase some of this. The price is really reasonable at $22/100g.

The first cup of this is very smooth with a slight grain tang that is really appealing and warm. It’s very springy and lush with a complex liquorish feel. This cup really mellows as it cools.

The second cup was even better. I think the leaves opened up and have had time to expand the palette of this tea. It’s very buttery and nutty with a nice smooth end to each sip. The flavors are very deep and like others have said it does have a “chewy” feel to it. As it cooled this tea became really citrusy.

The flavors that explain tea are nutty, citrusy, spring, and grassy.

Overall this is a wonderful and yummy cup. It’s clean, palatable and very fresh.

This is the first tea I’m trying from my first Steepster Select box. Exciting! I’m not a huge green tea fan, but I was intrigued by the description: “Deep savory notes of nori and cut grass balanced by a hazelnut finish.” And I can definitely taste nori, but I can’t taste the hazelnut finish.

But I like this. It’s more robust than other green teas I’ve had. The flavor is definitely “chewy” as noted in the steepster description. Which is a weird way to describe a tea, but the flavor definitely lingers in my mouth and gives my mouth a full feeling.

I can definitely see this being easily oversteeped. I oversteeped it by about 10 seconds as I was fumbling with the microwave timer, and I’m tasting a little bitterness in the tea. It’s not unpleasant, but it can easily become so.

Hmmm smell is nice and grassy in the packet. I made the mistake of brewing it in a gaiwan first..which I do not recommend. Afterwards I switched it to my little tea pot that has a fine mesh inside of it. A lot better experience.

The taste is sweet and grassy. A little creamy and finishes with the hazelnut note. I like it.

I bought quite a bit of this tea without having tried it before – only going by the reviews here and what I like. I was not disappointed. This tea is amazing!

When I opened the bag it smelled so fresh and of seaweed. It’s a beautiful dark green. Looking like a gyokuro.

I just brewed it in a mug with a stainless steel infuser. I like those stainless steel infusers for tiny leaf leaf. It was a beautiful bright green. Looked almost like a matcha. Taste was sweet, seaweed, grassy & a bit nutty. Loved it!

Additional notes: I just wanted to say I’ve had this before but just finished a sample from StarFevre (thank you!), and since it was from a generous lovely tea package, needed to write a note! Though ancient and the most delicate of greens, the flavor is still AMAZING. I love the nuclear green on a winter day. Very surprising it’s still great and very enjoyable.
2021 Sipdowns: 12 (This + one sample of David’s Checkmate)