Organic Japanese Sencha - First Harvest Saemidori Cultivar 100g (3.5oz) bag - Loose Leaf Green Tea

I bought two green teas this week. One is a more basic sencha that has noticeable astringency and more of a swampy flavor (not necessarily in a bad way, but hopefully you know what i mean). I was a bit disappointed in that tea, but it's still a decent option that i will continue to drink until I'm out of it. When i got this tea, i was a little nervous that it would be similar to the first, since the first tea wasn't much less expensive than this option. But WOW was i impressed with this tea. I opened the bag and could immediately see a difference - gorgeous, vibrant, emerald tea leaves. Even unbrewed, i could smell the sweetness of the leaves and depth of complexity. My partner is inexperienced in green tea, but i had him smell the difference between the first and second tea (just by sticking his nose in the bag), and even he could tell a major difference. He went back for a second sniff of this tea... it smells so sweet and lovely! I brewed it with barely hot water... probably around 170 degrees F. I didn't want to burn these delicate leaves! The tea brews beautifully. I didn't micromanage the brewing process... let it steep for a minute or two. I don't love having teas around that require extreme precision to brew nicely, as it starts to feel like a project rather than a pleasant experience. That said, you should always err on the side of underextracting and using water on the cool side when brewing Japanese green teas... even the most incredible teas will taste like bitter, dry hay if you use water that burns the leaves and let it brew for too long! While brewing, the leaves turned bright, deep green and did not turn brown or sad-looking after i removed the brewing basket. In the cup, the tea is bright yellow-green, clear, not opaque. The flavor is sweet, gentle, green, seaweedy (in a great way, not even a little bit swampy), clean, and has no astringency. I'm very sensitive to bitterness, and this has to be one of my favorite green teas I've ever had. You can brew second and third cups from the same leaves, and still get great color (bright yellow-green), though i find the first brewing to be significantly sweeter and more complex than subsequent cups (that is to be expected). I had a pricier gyokuro on my wish list that i was planning on buying after i tried the first slightly disappointing sencha, but i will hold off on buying that, now that I've found this delightful sencha! I feel the price of this tea is extremely fair, especially considering the amount and quality of the tea, plus organic certification. Delightful!!!

I've recently switched over to green tea for my caffeine fix. I've tried a few loose leaf green tea options so far. This tea has been my favorite by far. The tea has the bold flavor of a high quality leaf, but it is fantastically smooth. The color is absolutely beautiful and characteristic of a high quality green tea. The few high quality leafs I've tried require a focused stepping process to avoid bitterness from the tea tannins. This tea has been fantastically smooth regardless of how long I've stepped it. The great part of a good green tea is the balance of caffeine and l-theanine. This product gives me a long lasting mental and physical edge with no crash. It's a prefect partner to help me power through my office job, and I still have energy to crush my evening weight lifting season. Lastly, the volume of tea offered from this product is unparalleled by any similar quality competitors I've tried. This tea will be a reoccurring purchase for me and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to get into tea.

This is very mild, depending on the amount you use and how long it steeps for. This is not bitter and has a very subtle flavor I definitely appreciate. I do not like the bitterness of green tea and this definitely doesn't have any bitterness. It smells like fresh cut grass or alfalfa. I steep mine in room temperature water for 8 hrs or more. I find after drinking it I have a bit more energy, clarity and just an overall better feeling for lack of a better description. But that's just how it affects me personally, in my opinion. I know some complain about it being swampy. And that can happen if some of the leaves seep into the water, but that can be fixed if you just strain it out. Some also complain that it lacks flavor. I think this can be fixed by using more leaves and/or letting it steep for a longer period of time. I cannot prove the quality of this product, but it definitely seems to be of high quality in my opinion and I will definitely continue to purchase this again and again.

Although it's not the best sencha I've ever had, this sencha is clearly much higher quality than what you will pick up at a typical grocery store here in the U.S. As promised, the leaves are a deep green, indicating their freshness. There is no astringent aftertaste when steeped according to the instructions on the package. I use 1.5 tsp leaves for 1 U.S. cup water. As another purchaser mentioned, there are some fine particles that end up at the bottom of your cup. So before steeping, I sift the leaves in a fine mesh strainer (pictured) - this mostly solves that problem. I would order this tea again.

I have been purchasing this sencha for years and it is always perfect. Delicious, not grassy at all, with a bright flavor. The seller is consistent and always sends a lovely piece of origami paper with your tea. It’s evident that they really care. You can see in my strainer, such deep green tea leaves!

Great quality Japanese green tea. Keep the quality!!!

The tea is absolutely spectacular. I am by no means a tea expert but I’ve been trying many different organic loose leaf teas and this Sencha is far and away the best I have found, and now my search is over! It is more expensive but the quality difference is night and day. It provides a wonderful calm energy boost through the day and has such a clean, fresh flavor. I use a Norpro 2” mesh tea ball to steep 2 tsp in 30 oz 175 degree water (to not burn the delicate leaves, they say). Then I put that ball in a 30oz mason jar and cold water and steep 12-24 hours in the fridge. Sometimes I do a third steep in the fridge with the same leaves- but that last steep is very mild. Still wonderful tho :) Lots of tea. The quality is incredible.

I love this tea. Great quality pleasant taste.