Tasting: Kumagawa from Mellow Monk

In NYC the season changes from spring, to sweltering hot and humid. There isn't much of a ramp up to summer; damp and unbearably hot seems to happen overnight. I like to drink hot tea year round, even on the hottest days but when that humidity gets unbearable, only a cold tea will do. I like to cold brew most of my teas. It's super easy to do and imparts a very smooth flavor. Jee of Oh How Civilized recently published a great how-to on cold brew, check it out here if you need a tutorial.

When I was recently given the choice of samples to review from Mellow Monk tea, Kumagawa caught my eye. This lightly roasted green tea comes in cold-brewable sachets, made for the fridge. I don't normally go for bagged teas but I love cold-brewed hojicha and Paul from Mellow Monk said it was a bit lighter than hojicha, but very refreshing. How could I say no to that? 

This green tea comes from tea maker Kazuo Watanabe, a grower and artisan in Kumamoto. The dry leaf is nutty and roasty, very similar to hojicha. It has a slight something different, something a bit more pungent, but it's difficult to describe. The Mellow Monk site describes a 'hickory' note, so that's what I'll say it is. It's a bit woody but something more savory. Actually the aroma is a bit smoky too, which leads me to think this tea would be good in a barbecue sauce. I'll have to think about that a bit...

I added 3 sachets for a 2 quart pitcher. This is a little more than suggested but I like my iced tea super strong. I popped it in the fridge for about 5-6 hours, and ended up with an extremely refreshing tea. I accidentally left the bags in the pitcher overnight and it was just as good after about 9 more hours of steeping. The brew never got bitter or overpowering. It's nutty, slightly grassy, has a little hint of what I imagine is 'hickory' and smoke, and is extremely refreshing. My family and I have been drinking this tea all week, and I took it on a walk through the park on a typical disgustingly hot, soupy day. It takes a powerful tea to cut through the NYC haze, and this one did the trick. 

This tea is light enough to reach for throughout the day. I don't think I'd start my day with it as I like something with a bit more body and heft, but this is a great choice for mid-morning, through to the evening. It can also be brewed hot, which I haven't tried yet since I love it so much out of the fridge.

To learn more about this tea you can visit the Mellow Monk website here. Thank you to Paul for the sample! I have a few more to review, can't wait to try them.

Tasting: A Tale of Two Ippodo Senchas

Photo provided by Ippodo. Such pretty packaging!

It was the best of teas, it was the worst of days. It was the age of rain, it was the age of chillyness...a murky day ended in tea happiness in A Tale of Two Senchas. Two teas. One aristocratic, one perhaps more bourgeois, but both equally satisfying.

Photo provided by Ippodo. Hosen on the left, Unro on the right

On a wet, bone-chilling day I  had the pleasure of tasting these two fresh, vibrant senchas from Ippodo. They kindly sent me the sencha set, which contains the Unro and Hosen teas. My tasting session created a sunny paradise within the gloomy afternoon. I started with the Hosen tea, which is billed as a great tea for sencha beginners. The brew is light and fragrant, with a mellow flavor of cooked green vegetables. It's a good basic sencha to drink every day. Shall we say...a more bourgeois tea? It is bright with a vibrant balance of sweet and bitter vegetal flavors. The tea has a lovely soothing richness that melted away the chilly December day.

Ippodo labels the Unro sencha as 'a favorite among seasoned Sencha drinkers seeking that unique astringency'. I felt full of suspense after reading that description. Would it live up to the hype? Is it truly an aristocratic tea? The brew blew me away with the strength of an umami tidal wave (strength enough to act as a guillotine?). This tea is strong, with savory, mushroomy umami flavor waltzing along with astringency. I usually prepare my senchas without boiling water, and that's how I first tasted the unro. Later I noticed the directions called for the water to be 212 degrees. After brewing up a batch this way, I was amazed that even more umami flavor was extracted from the leaves. It was a dyamic, zingy brew. Delicious! A tea I am grateful to have in my cabinet.

This was a tale of two senchas from different classes, creating joy in a murky world. A bit more peaceful than reading Dickens, don't you think? Also. much more instantly gratifying.

For more about Ippodo you can visit their website, or read my post about a fabulous tasting I had at the NY store. This tea gift would make a good addendum to my holiday gift guide! It is a thoughtful gift for the sencha lover in your life. Thank you to Ippodo for the samples of Dickensian proportions.

Japanese Shade-grown Black Tea "Ise" from Lupicia

 

I am lucky to have well traveled friends who bring back tea souvenirs from their journeys. I've been given tea gifts from  London, Scotland, Paris, India, China, Australia, Hawaii, and Japan. A very generous friend asked what she could bring back from her recent trip to Osaka and I mentioned Japanese black tea, since I haven't had much experience with it.

Japanese black teas are harder to find, so I was thrilled to receive the black tea from Lupicia. Lupicia is based in Japan but they have stores all over the world. I didn't see this tea on their US website which made me even happier to try it. Japanese black teas are supposed to be more delicate, and I was eager to experience it.

The dry leaves are flat with a texture similar to Sencha. They are soft and fragile. As soon as I opened the package I was greeted with the scent of chocolate covered raisins. Sweet, fruity, with cocoa and a bit of toasted earthiness. The brewed tea is delicate and subtle. Reminds me a bit of Kukicha because of the dominant roasty-toasty notes. This tea doesn't have any astringency, just mellow smoothness. The color is a muted golden yellow, different from most other black teas. Everything about this tea is subtle and gentle compared to the usual expectations of black tea. It is a lovely tea to drink in the afternoon, to relax and take a breath away from the day. 

Because this tea is so delicate I wouldn't recommend adding milk as you could with other types of black tea. It is a perfect tea to unwind with. I enjoyed this tea very much, and will be on the lookout for other Japanese black teas in the future.