Thread: Tea anyone ??!!

I generally split my packets in half, so I can mix things up a bit. First half of the houjicha is gone, so...
I've just got so much tea...I need to use it! I've still got two sencha from back in May, a kamairicha from yuuki-cha, the gyokuro and konacha from ippodo all in the fridge; genmaicha ready to open; two sencha, houjicha, mugicha, a japanese oolong and koucha all being worked through!

You've got a lot more going on than I do. The haul I had from Ippodo was basically ALL of the tea I had because the other teas I was drinking were gone. I had one bad of Sencha from Adagio that I'm still working through. Its seems ok. But its only good for one steeping. The second steeping, no matter how short is terribly astringent. But the first is good, very rich flavor. Since my last post, I opened the Genmaicha. Again, I can see how this is a daily sipper. Its nice. The grain gives it a little more interest than it might otherwise have. Its lighter in flavor, less complex than sencha, lighter in body, and has less of that umami depth. It would be a good intro if you were normally a herbal tea drinker interested in trying green. Its a bridge between them. There's very little astringency and a mild seaweed flavor that's backed up by the nutty grain taste. This is the first Genmaicha I've tried so I can't compare it to any others. But you can really taste the difference between Bancha and Sencha. The later picking just doesn't have the same punch as the early picking. And any attempt to short change the quantity results in a very disappointing cup.

A Japanese friend gave me a tin of Genmaicha once. It spoiled me.
This morning I am drinking Assam. I have cut my coffee consumption from three large cups per day to one, replacing the coffee with tea.

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

A Japanese friend gave me a tin of Genmaicha once. It spoiled me.
This morning I am drinking Assam. I have cut my coffee consumption from three large cups per day to one, replacing the coffee with tea.

The next go around I will try this one. Den's claims that their Genmaicha is made with first flush tea, not later picking. The price is agreeable too. Genmaicha Satsuki ($5.25) : Den's Tea, Den's Tea shopping

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

A Japanese friend gave me a tin of Genmaicha once. It spoiled me.
This morning I am drinking Assam. I have cut my coffee consumption from three large cups per day to one, replacing the coffee with tea.

BTW, I love my coffee too. But since the first of the year, I've been trying to slim down some and get my blood pressure into healthy numbers. I usually have sugar in my coffee and the caffeine isn't too good. So I've been enjoying tea. Its not a substitute really but a very enjoyable alternative option.

Same here. Like them both but trying to drink less coffee.

Ippodo's gokujou genmaicha. It's a pleasant tea. Nice but not the best genmaicha I've tried. There seems not to actually be a lot of genmai included...

@OCD I would recommend buying a similar selection from yuuki-cha to compare.

Pick up a mid-range sencha, maybe the kagoshima houjicha and one of the genmaicha variants.

Yuuki-cha's genmaicha is nicer in my opinion -- more rice. Sencha leaves. A Little more expensive than ippodo's but worth the few extra pounds/dollars and they're 200g packets.

Originally Posted by PigHog

Ippodo's gokujou genmaicha. It's a pleasant tea. Nice but not the best genmaicha I've tried. There seems not to actually be a lot of genmai included...

@OCD I would recommend buying a similar selection from yuuki-cha to compare.

Pick up a mid-range sencha, maybe the kagoshima houjicha and one of the genmaicha variants.

Yuuki-cha's genmaicha is nicer in my opinion -- more rice. Sencha leaves. A Little more expensive than ippodo's but worth the few extra pounds/dollars and they're 200g packets.

From what I've read online Ippodo is kind of like that, pleasant but not outstanding. I've heard others describe it as the Starbucks of Japanese tea. Decent quality but not exactly the upper echelon either. I have no other points of reference though. Again, it good that I didn't buy large quantities of anything so I can try others soon. But I still haven't tried the Ippodo sencha. I have a little of my Adagio sencha to finish up. I suspect the Ippodo will be a step up in quality.

It's Lapsang Souchong this morning. It's a really good match for today's cool, wet weather.

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

It's Lapsang Souchong this morning. It's a really good match for today's cool, wet weather.

I have some Lapsang coming from Verdant when it arrives from China. Looking forward to them.