Tea: Tomo Sencha
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1448 teas reviewed
✓ 26 of Sencha
✓ 219 of Green Tea
✓ 32 of Wegmans
✓ 65 from Japan
Review of Tomo Sencha
February 2nd, 2011
| Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
| 6 of 10 | 3 of 5 | 4 of 5 | 60 of 100 |
| Good | Fair | Good Value |
Even with a small quantity of leaf, this turned out nice and rich.
Aroma is typical for a sencha: grassy, and somewhat vegetal, with some mild toasty tones. The cup is a rich golden color. There's a fair amount of sweetness, and some pleasant bitterness and astringency. An above-average sencha with a classic character. My only complaint is a slight fishy aftertaste. I've brewed this tea several times and sometimes it tastes more fishy than others: this taste honestly came out most when I used the lowest water temperature, which surprised me somewhat. I suspect that what's going on is that brewing with a higher water temperature brings out more bitterness and astringency, masking the fishy taste.
This tea is very usable for multiple infusions, even with a sparse quantity of leaf. Brewing western style, with a 3 minute infusion and then a 5 minute one, the second infusion is more earthy and herbaceous, less toasty and grassy.
Bottom line though? Very reasonable price for a sencha of this quality. While I've had better sencha, I'd be hard pressed to find some at this price. On the other hand, I've had much better Chinese green teas for a lower price, and it would be hard for me to imagine buying this one regularly. I also prefer Wegman's kukicha.
