2010 Wild Orchid Fairy Twig (Lan Xiang Xian Zhi)

First off I would like to thank Gingko from Life in Teacup for this absolutely amazing tea!

Opening the package led to a smell of damp forest ground and a flowery sweetness that takes over the air. I could not wait to try this tea!
Waiting for the water to cool was just terrible. At 180 degrees I decided that I couldn't wait anymore. The brewing leaves were even more enticing then the dry leaves.
The first brew led to an amazing greenish yellow soup that had a rather fruity sweetness to it and yet still had a woody taste which created a perfect harmony of tastes. Also a very floral taste came out, an orchid like floral taste. I continued brewing this tea four more times and the flavor never really diminished.
This tea is truly a magical experience! I strongly suggest you try this tea.

2010 Kim Shin Ho Sejak

Another wonderful sample from Dao Tea!
I would like to start out by saying I do not drink a lot of green tea, but I have been inspired to try and drink more now thanks to this tea.

The smell coming from the broken package was that of wet freshly cut grass. It had a pleasant sweetness about it as well. The color of the leaves were that of a dark forest moss.
While brewing more and more smells came out. The sweetness was more apparent and the grass smell left.The soup was a yellow-orange color. Each brew had an unique bitterness to it. I got three infusions out of it. The first two were the same vegatal taste with the bitterness and a hint of sweet grass. The third infusion however was very different tasting. There was a different bitter that overpowered me at first but then as the soup sat in your mouth it became the vegatal taste.
All and all a great refreshing tea!

2009 Kim Shin Ho Jungjak

First off I would like to thank Pedro of Dao Tea and Matt from MattCha's blog.
This tea is the first Korean tea I have ever gotten the opportunity to drink. So thank you for sharing.

After weeks of anticipation and waiting, mainly because the post office workers lost the package, I finally received the package. I opened it up and this tea was the first one to come out so I decided to try it first.
The smell that came out of the little silver sample package was so sweet and fruity with a hint of fresh cut grass. If only this is what the brew actually tasted like. Even while brewing this smell was all around. I thought I was about to experience a new kind of sweetness.
Needless to say my hypothesis was incorrect. The neon yellow brew was extremely bitter. Not just bitter but oleaginous as well. This is definitely not my cup of tea. The only positive I got out of this tea was the caffeine which I actually could notice unlike most teas I drink.

I can't wait to try the others though! I have already tried the 2010 Sejak and really enjoyed it.

Sen-cha tea

Today was a great day in the world of tea. With my new teacup, I tried sen-cha from maeda-en for the first time. I never had any form of green tea until now.

My new teacup

As the aroma from the bag wafted to me, I smelt hay. I really did not know if this was what I was supposed to be smelling or not, but I was intrigued. Also reading the package it came in, it read "sen-cha is the most popular tea in Japan", I could not wait to try it!

Sorry the picture is so dark there I can't find any decent lighting at night.

As I was steeping the tea a sweet aroma came from the pot. The golden yellow soup was a bittersweet masterpiece. At first you would taste the bitterness, and as you drunk more the subtle sweetness would arise and never leave. Though it did leave a strange after taste, a kind of hay like taste except it was more bitter. For some reason I think it would taste a lot better if steeped in a clay pot instead of my ceramic one. I am glad I tried this green tea even though I still prefer black and puer over this new found green, but I will still sample others if I have a chance.

Don't forget to watch the leonid meteor shower tonight it is still going on, cuddle up with your loved ones and have a warm cup of tea as you watch this noctural event.