Sipdown! (1 | 190)
Hi friends! Sorry it’s been a little while. I haven’t been drinking tea much (too much Diablo IV LOL) and now I’m trying to get back on the wagon. Starting off strong with my first sipdown for June!
This poor tea is from 2019, and yet I never opened it until last month. I actually bought this at the Ippodo storefront in Kyoto, while on my honeymoon. What a beautiful store, with kind and helpful staff and a cute little café to boot! Anyway, I digress. I don’t know much about this tea, it’s not offered on their website and the package doesn’t give much information. I assume from the flavor that it’s a kabuse sencha, as it has an almost gyokuro-like intensity and powerful umami. The leaves are a beautifully deep green color and have a lovely sheen.
Very delicious tea, you would never know it was four years old from the fresh and sweet vegetal flavor. Smooth, thick on the tongue with a creaminess that reminds me of kabocha, and an intense steamed spinach note. It does remind me quite a bit of gyokuro, it has that powerful “green” sort of flavor that makes you feel like you’re really absorbing all of the stored up energy from the tea plants it was harvested from. And then the finish has some nice lingering crisp grass and apple notes that are very refreshing.
Flavors: Apple, Crisp, Freshly Cut Grass, Grassy, Green, Kabocha, Mineral, Smooth, Spinach, Squash, Sweet, Thick, Umami, Vegetal, Wheatgrass