I was very disappointed by this tea. It was the only tea so far to disappoint me, from Simply Good Tea; their other teas have been consistently good.

Dry leaf is relatively dark and vibrant green in color, and has a mild but pleasing aroma, toasty, slightly vegetal, and with a unique minty note.

Upon brewing, gets slightly foamy, and aroma becomes much more vegetal. Strongly seaweedy and fishy, also suggestive of celery, and with a fairly strong fruity quality that suggests cherry. The fishy quality is unpleasant.

Flavor is considerably bitter though, even if I'm careful to keep the brewing temperature low. I normally like bitterness, but I'm not crazy about the bitterness in this tea...it's less of a crisp, up-front bite, and more of a deep, muted bitterness that arises mid-sip and lingers a bit on the palate. The finish is also astringent, leaving a dusty feeling in the mouth. I tried brewing more weakly to see if I could get a better tasting cup, and then it was just thin and there wasn't much to enjoy.

This tea is priced the same as Simply Good Tea's other teas, including their dragonwell, which I thought was a much better green tea. I think this is overpriced; it tastes like a relatively low-grade tea; I've had better Japanese styles of green tea cheaper, including both ones grown in Japan and China. I would prefer a typical bancha, which is cheaper, than this sencha.

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