87
drank Sencha Superior by Tazo
1737 tasting notes

Starbucks appears to be phasing out Tazo, to my disappointment, in favor of its Teavana acquisition. That explains why the remaining Tazo looseleaf, whole leaf teas from the Collection series have been slashed to a fraction of their original price. I decided to pick up a few to see how they measure up. I have been very happy with other members of the Collection series, above all, Golden Monkey, so I was curious to know how they were at “curating” Japanese and some of the more sophisticated China greens. First up: Tazo Sencha Superior.

I am fairly sure that I have imbibed this delightful tea before. It meets the strict qualifications for “ichiban” and “superior” sencha, and I have consumed a few of examples of that grade in the not-too-distant past. The characteristic shimmering viridescence of the liquor, a slight cloudiness and some small particulate matter in the bottom of the glass, along with the strong roasted spinach scent in the very dark green dried leaves all led me to predict that i would enjoy this brew. And I do! It’s very good.

it is entirely possible that Tazo and some of the other tea emporia buy their Japanese first-flush sencha from the same producers. That would explain why this seems so familiar to me. Brands are not tea producers, so happily I’ll be able to enjoy this tea in the future by looking out for other ichiban senchas…

(Blazing New Rating #45)

Flavors: Spinach

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 2 min, 0 sec 3 g 17 OZ / 502 ML

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I have fallen off the “tea log boat”, as I am now in New Zealand and was really flailing about for a while, having depleted all of my Chinese and Japanese green tea supply! Fortunately, my first order of 2015 has now arrived! I should begin writing very soon about tea at my new blog, sherapop’s tea leaves. Please stop by and contribute your ideas—all viewpoints are welcome!

A long-time tea and perfume lover, I have recently begun to explore the intersections between the two at my blog: http://salondeparfum-sherapop.blogspot.com//

The scent of tea can be just as appealing as—sometimes more than—its taste! Tea also offers boundless visual beauty in its various forms and states of preparation.

A few words about my ratings. In assessing both teas and perfumes, my evaluation is “all things considered.” Teas do not differ very much in price (relative to perfumes or any luxury items), so I do not usually consider the price when rating a tea.

What I do consider is how the particular tea compares to teas of its own type. So I might give a high rating to a fine herbal infusion even though I would never say that it is my favorite TEA. But if it’s good for what it is, then it deserves a high rating. There is no point in wishing that a chamomile blend was an Assam or a sencha tea!

Any rating below 50 means that I find the liquid less desirable to drink than plain water. I may or may not finish the cup, depending upon how thirsty I am and whether there is another hot beverage or (in summertime) a source of fresh water available.

From 50 to 60 indicates that, while potable, the tea is not one which I would buy or repurchase, if I already made the mistake (I have learned) of purchasing it.

From 60 to 70 means that the tea is drinkable but I have criticisms of some sort, and I probably would not purchase or repurchase the tea as I can think of obvious alternatives which would be better.

From 70 to 80 is a solid brew which I would purchase again.

From 80 to 90 is good stuff, and I probably need to have some ready at hand in my humble abode.

From 90 to 100 is a tea (or infusion) which I have come to depend on and look forward to imbibing again and again—if possible!

If you are interested in perfume, you might like my 2400+ perfume reviews, most of which have been archived at sherapop’s sillage (essentially my perfumelog):

http://sherapop.blogspot.com/

Finally, please note that after a great deal of debate with myself, I have decided to use the cupboard here at Steepster as a “museum” of sorts—to commemorate all of the various teas which I have purchased and truly enjoyed since December 2013.

I do not currently possess all of the teas listed in this cupboard, but am using the function as a way of recording how many times I drank every tea which I did own at some point and wish not to forget. Teas found both in my “cupboard” and on my “wishlist” are those which I did own and intend to restock. Teas best forgotten have been removed from the cupboard once depleted (in some cases tossed…).

I have also decided (beginning in 2015) to use the tasting note function to maintain a chronological record of the teas I’ve consumed since December 15, 2013. Most new reviews will now be posted directly at my blog, sherapop’s tea leaves.

Location

Curio Bay, South Island, New Zealand

Website

http://salondeparfum-sherapop...

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