Georgian Tea

Yes, Georgia, the country that's all over the headlines. Who knew they grew tea... until now.


The smell of the dry leaf is nice, fruity and dark. 3 minutes, the liquor comes out a deep red-brown. The smell had that fruitiness and dryness that reminds me of an assam or ceylon.


Having just ate sour rasberries, the tea seems very light in taste. There's the fruity flavor, and some soil but different from the pu-erh dirt taste. 5 minutes for another steep, similar in character.


So, it's not amazing, but I really didn't have high hopes. I would say, "surprisingly mediocre," not bad, as I expected to be. It's not a tea I would rush out to buy, but if I was offered it, I would enjoy it with a warm heart. [insert sentimental political statement here]

Chiran Kanayamidori Itoen

The second of three teas I just ordered from Itoen. I chose this over the others on the Itoen website without much basis. It seemed less steamed, like an asamushi, which would be nice to have around so I don't get overloaded on fukamushi. I was also drawn in by their description, verdant with succulent notes of leafy greens.


The leaf is a good deep-green. It's fairly broken up, which doesn't say anything about the tea by itself, but is a sign that pushes towards the side of a deeper steamed sencha.


176°f - 1.5 minutes. The tea presents itself in a color that is not entirely green. I would definitely say it's green, but more of a yellowish green. The aroma doesn't have much to offer other than leafy greens and an inkling of tang. The taste is delicate, light, and delicious. Its sweet on contact, then opens up with a very very slight floral, dominated by spinach-like greens, and a slight accommodating tang.


This is actually a quite good tea. It's delicate enough to be enjoyed anytime, but provides more for those who wish to pursue it. At $16.50/3oz, it's neither cheap nor expensive, and I say a good deal. Although I'm not usually fond of lighter-steamed senchas, this one accommodates my need for a smooth, luscious, and succulent drink. Some might say it is chumushi (medium-steamed), and I may also say this at a later date, but right now it provides a contrast to the fukamushi Megami, and adds to my cupboards healthy selection of senchas.

Jin Fo Golden Buddha Yancha

"Golden Buddha is a new Wuyi oolong cultivar developed only ten years ago." -Red Blossom


The smell of the dry leaf is already enticing: sweet graham, which passes over into the aroma of the tea. Also noted is an aroma difficult to pin down: a dry to bitter caramel aroma. The taste is new for me, being quite different from all yanchas I've had. At first I notice a delicate, yet dominant sweetness like caramel accompanied in the mouth by more than a share of floral complexity. Followed afterwards by the sweet graham. There's a lingering aftertaste. In fact, I can still taste it after 2 minutes.


The roast must have been a very light one. Most of the yanchas I've had have been medium-fired and carry a heavy roast flavor throughout the first few steeps. This tea must have had a lighter roast because of the floral's ability to come out early, and the relative lack of a heavy roast character.


The florals come out more, and the sweet graham dissipates as the steeps go on. 3rd is well-balanced, but the flavors mesh and mellow out. By the 4th, they've started to dissipate. The tea dies around the 6th.


When I first sipped, I thought I loved this tea very much. But as the session wore on, the floral became more than I like to have in tea. Then, it started dying by the 4th infusion. Not long enough for me I'm afraid.