Avery is the owner and founder of The Green Tea Shop, originally from Fukuoka, Japan. When they moved to Toronto, Canada they saw that Sencha was one of the least consumed teas, but it was due to a common theory that Sencha could be bitter. So they set out to change that by aiming to:
1. Show that green tea properly brewed can be easy!
2. Introduce high-quality teas from Kyushu, renowned for their naturally sweet flavors.
Avery felt that they could make Sencha be more approachable for consumers and help people appreciate its own intricacies. The Green Tea Shop sent me their Genmaicha and Kamairicha to review, here are my thoughts:
Genmaicha: This tea is such a warming one, as genmaicha always brings me peace and warmth. Looking at the leaves, I saw that the green tea leaves were smaller mixed with brown rice and a few half-popped pieces. As I brewed the tea, I did not notice the rush of aroma that normally fills the room right away. But I had gone to the kitchen and back after brewing, and my room definitely had that nutty, roasted aroma going on from the tea. It just felt incredibly warming to me even from just the aroma. The taste was typical of a high-quality genmaicha, with some subtle nuttiness that wove itself with the green tea astringency. This tea always reminds me of a rice cake, but this one had a hint of natural honey sweetness, extremely subtle. I tried to do a second steeping, and almost thought I completely messed it up when I let it sit for too long in the water. However, it did not taste oversteeped or anything, instead, the rice continued to cover any astringency that the green tea might have had.
Ingredients: Tamaryokucha (玉緑茶), Roasted Brown Tea
Origin: Ureshino, Saga Prefecture, Japan
Cultivar: Yabukita (やぶきた)
Kamairicha: I was so angry when I lost my comprehensive notes on this tea, but looked on the bright side and just took it as a sign that I needed to sit down on it one-on-one again. The green tea leaves were smaller, twisty, and had a medium green appearance.I nibbled on a few of the leaves and it reminded me of spinach, but like sweet and concentrated green matter. Also some creamy element to it, like a mellow characteristic to it. The color is a green-yellow coloring and quite clear. The aroma is grassy sweet. this thought accured to me that it literally smells steamed. In the brewed tea, there is like a slightly roasted element to it from it being pan fried. It was naturally sweet with vegetal notes, almost seaweed-like. minimal astringency. it is a warmer green tea, but has a nice almost sweet aftertaste to it.
Ingredients: Kamairicha (釜炒り茶)
Origin: Ureshino, Saga Prefecture, Japan
Cultivar: Yabukita (やぶきた)
Pricing: The Genmaicha sells for $20 for 100 grams of loose leaf tea. The Kamairicha sells for $33 for 100 grams of loose leaf tea.
Packaging: The loose leaf tea was in a white tea pouch. It did extremely well at keeping any aroma in the bag through the zip close.
Sourcing: This company is extremely transparent about the origin, cultivar, type of tea involved, and tea process. 10 out of 10 from me!
I have found myself getting a deeper appreciation for Japanese Green Teas. At first, I brewed them completely wrong and fell into the trap of categorizing all Japanese Green Teas as bitter and astringent! However, I have found myself in the wrong. What are your thoughts about green tea from Japan? Let me know! Happy Brewing!
-Danielle