Jekyll2020-01-09T04:04:22-08:00https://nomcha.com/feed.xmlnomchaa concise blog of tasty teas.
Song Tea: Frangrant Leaf Green -> Lishan Orchid -> Red Water Tieguanyin2016-08-06T00:00:00-07:002016-08-06T00:00:00-07:00https://nomcha.com/first_tastes/song-tea<p>I had a great tea tasting session in person with Amanda at Song Tea in San Francisco today. It’s my last week here and I wanted to take advantage of the ability to meet in person. For $10, I got to experience three interesting teas.</p>
<div class="image-wrapper">
<img src="https://nomcha.com/images/song-tea/song_tea_three.jpg" alt="Song Tea's Fragrant Leaf Green Tea, Lishan Orchid oolong, and Red Water Tieguanyin oolong" />
<p class="image-caption">The three teas.</p>
</div>
<h1 id="fragrant-leaf-green-tea">Fragrant Leaf Green Tea</h1>
<p>This tea inspired my choice because it smelled deliciously sweet. It turned out to be more on the astringent side. Amanda pointed out that this tea is intended as a daily drinking Chinese tea and has a pretty typical profile, so I think I’m gradually confirming that I have a large Japanese green tea bias. I like my green tea brothy. It was interesting to try nonetheless.</p>
<h1 id="lishan-orchid">Lishan Orchid</h1>
<p>Amanda praised this tea as an epitome of Taiwanese oolongs and mentioned its perfect balance between fruity, floral, and buttery. These flavors really did come out beautifully, and I am realizing that I prefer “unbalanced” Lishans or other Taiwanese oolongs that lean heavily towards the fruity side, because although I love the floral smell, I don’t care much for the taste and texture of a heavily floral oolong.</p>
<h1 id="red-water-tieguanyin">Red Water Tieguanyin</h1>
<p>A Tieguanyin grown on Lishan (the mountain) and charcoal roasted. Unlike many charcoal roasted Tieguanyins I’ve had, which seem to aim for a heavy charcoal or even coffee flavor, this tea was slowly roasted in order to accent its natural flavor. As a result, it smelled extraordinarily caramelly and had a fantastic sweetness.</p>
<p>After learning a bit more about my own tastes, I purchased a winter Shan Lin Xi (recommended by Amanda for its particularly fruity characteristics) and received a bonus sampling of a Lu’an Gua Pian (melon seed) green tea to challenge my notion that Chinese green tea can’t be sweet. I can stock up more online in the future at the same price as at their San Francisco storefront.</p>I had a great tea tasting session in person with Amanda at Song Tea in San Francisco today. It’s my last week here and I wanted to take advantage of the ability to meet in person. For $10, I got to experience three interesting teas.Oriental Beauty from Sanne Tea2015-10-24T00:00:00-07:002015-10-24T00:00:00-07:00https://nomcha.com/first_tastes/oriental-beauty<p>Oriental Beauty is as close to a black tea as I typically like to drink regularly. Despite its heavy oxidation, a good Asian Beauty infused gently can have a surprisingly fruity taste that’s just my style.</p>
<p>This one from Sanne Tea is definitely one of the good ones. The smell of the freshly infused leaves flirts with bitter, but with a delicious orange smell. The taste follows the smell closely - just tannic enough to have an orange, citrusy taste without being astringent or bitter - but the liquor is even sweeter than I anticipated. Definitely a tea I could keep around for a different kind of sweetness than other Taiwanese oolongs.</p>
<p>Lulu from Sanne Tea kindly sent me this sample. Sanne Tea is fairly new; they kicked off last year by sending Steepster users free samples, of which I got an incredibly buttery Dong Ding I wish I took notes on. They have an awesome transparency all the way to the farmer, similar to Beautiful Taiwan Tea, that I really admire. You can read about the farmers <a href="https://www.sannetea.com/about-our-partners/">here</a>.</p>
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<img src="https://nomcha.com/images/oriental-beauty/oriental-beauty-before.jpg" alt="oriental beauty before brewing" />
<p class="image-caption">Waiting to be infused.</p>
</div>
<div class="image-wrapper">
<img src="https://nomcha.com/images/oriental-beauty/oriental-beauty-after.jpg" alt="oriental beauty after brewing" />
<p class="image-caption">The tasty, citrusy liquor.</p>
</div>Oriental Beauty is as close to a black tea as I typically like to drink regularly. Despite its heavy oxidation, a good Asian Beauty infused gently can have a surprisingly fruity taste that’s just my style. This one from Sanne Tea is definitely one of the good ones. The smell of the freshly infused leaves flirts with bitter, but with a delicious orange smell. The taste follows the smell closely - just tannic enough to have an orange, citrusy taste without being astringent or bitter - but the liquor is even sweeter than I anticipated. Definitely a tea I could keep around for a different kind of sweetness than other Taiwanese oolongs. Lulu from Sanne Tea kindly sent me this sample. Sanne Tea is fairly new; they kicked off last year by sending Steepster users free samples, of which I got an incredibly buttery Dong Ding I wish I took notes on. They have an awesome transparency all the way to the farmer, similar to Beautiful Taiwan Tea, that I really admire. You can read about the farmers here. Waiting to be infused. The tasty, citrusy liquor.Hojicha from Yunomi2015-10-08T00:00:00-07:002015-10-08T00:00:00-07:00https://nomcha.com/showdowns/hojicha<p>Ahh, hojicha, the wonderful Japanese roasted green tea that can be either absolutely incredible, or incredibly bitter. Because of the site’s good reputation, low prices, and convenient 10g sample sizes, I decided to accumulate samples from many different vendors through Yunomi to decide on my main hojicha. Other often-recommended vendors for hojicha include Den’s Tea, Harney & Sons, and various eBay sellers.</p>
<p>I ordered the following teas, available in <a href="https://yunomi.us/shelf/green-tea/hojicha/">the hojicha section of Yunomi.us</a>:</p>
<p><strong>1. Yokota’s kuki hojicha</strong></p>
<p><strong>2. NaturaliTea’s superior hojicha</strong></p>
<p><strong>3. Obubu’s hojicha dark roast</strong></p>
<p><strong>4. Takeo Tea Farm’s autumn hojicha</strong></p>
<p>Not in the ranking:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Obubu’s kyobancha</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Dobashien’s wa hojicha</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Yamane-en’s sugabou gyokuro karigane hojicha</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>The Yokota hojicha holds my favorite because of its perfect, sweet roast. NaturaliTea’s hojicha has no sweetness and a slight bitterness, but still a delicious taste with a pleasant aroma. Obubu’s dark roast hojicha is close to perfect in taste and smell, but unfortunately only holds out for one good infusion (unlike the generous 4-5 the other teas provide). Finally, Takeo Tea Farm’s autumn hojicha starts pushing the boundaries of bitterness while still retaining a great smell and enjoyable taste.</p>
<p>The unranked kyobancha brews into an off-tasting, sour liquor, while the wa hojicha is far too bitter to remain enjoyable. The karigane hojicha is too different to be compared to the other hojichas, as it far more resembles a green tea in looks, brewing methods, and taste, while having a pleasant roasted smell.</p>
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<img src="https://nomcha.com/images/hojicha/yokota%20kukicha.jpg" alt="yokota kukicha brewing" />
<p class="image-caption">Kuki hojicha frothing pleasantly while infusing</p>
</div>
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<img src="https://nomcha.com/images/hojicha/naturalitea%20hojicha%20in%20teacup.jpg" alt="naturalitea hojicha brewing" />
<p class="image-caption">The NaturaliTea runner-up</p>
</div>Ahh, hojicha, the wonderful Japanese roasted green tea that can be either absolutely incredible, or incredibly bitter. Because of the site’s good reputation, low prices, and convenient 10g sample sizes, I decided to accumulate samples from many different vendors through Yunomi to decide on my main hojicha. Other often-recommended vendors for hojicha include Den’s Tea, Harney & Sons, and various eBay sellers.Lishan by Beautiful Taiwan Tea2015-10-01T00:00:00-07:002015-10-01T00:00:00-07:00https://nomcha.com/first_tastes/lishan<p>I hold other floral oolongs to the standard set by this “pear mountain” tea. After the first infusion, the leaves smell floral with hints of fruity sweetness. Unlike some other floral oolongs, the tea itself holds true to its smell, tasting like a garden of deliciously smelling flowers with traces of sweet melons.</p>
<div class="image-wrapper">
<img src="https://nomcha.com/images/lishan/lishan%20leaves.jpg" alt="lishan tea leaves" />
<p class="image-caption">Lishan leaves</p>
</div>
<div class="image-wrapper">
<img src="https://nomcha.com/images/lishan/lishan%20tea.jpg" alt="lishan tea" />
<p class="image-caption">Floral, fruity, and light</p>
</div>I hold other floral oolongs to the standard set by this “pear mountain” tea. After the first infusion, the leaves smell floral with hints of fruity sweetness. Unlike some other floral oolongs, the tea itself holds true to its smell, tasting like a garden of deliciously smelling flowers with traces of sweet melons.