The aroma of the dry tea is straw-like, but the brewed tea is a lot more like sencha, including a hint of the characteristic seaweed-like quality. In many ways it's typical for a Japanese green tea. There are a few woody tones in the aroma but they have a very different character from the woody qualities present in some oolongs. The brewed tea is golden-green and rather cloudy. Surprisingly bitter and astringent, even when brewed at a low temperature, but this gives the tea a crisp and refreshing quality.

Brewing at a high temperature makes this tea much more bitter and significantly more astringent, but, unlike many green teas, leaves the aroma relatively intact. Although I like bitterness, I prefer brewing this tea at a lower temperature, as this one is bitter enough on its own.

I haven't had much luck making multiple infusions. If you're going to do it, make the first one briefer than 3 minutes--after 3 minutes little aroma is left and the second cup is mostly just bitter and astringent.

This tea seems a bit pricey, especially since it's not great for multiple infusions, but I have found that very little leaf (or should I say twig) is needed to brew a flavorful cup. Unless you like really strong green tea, a little of this stuff will go a long way!

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