A colleague left this on the "freebie" table at work, so naturally I indulged some. One of the best green teas I've had so far, this offering competes well with a couple of bagged generic (unbranded) green-tea specimens containing a little matcha powder that my daughter brought back from her honeymoon in Japan.

Dry-bag aroma was rich, faintly toasty, as if some dry rice were in there (of course there isn't any). The cup brewed up a bright, clear lime green at first, gradating to murky olive-green over time, with a mildly buttery, toasty, and fishy or oceanic smell, but not enough of either to elicit displeasure. That marine element to the aroma gets a little stronger in the wet bag, even after pressing out the excess liquid into the cup (as I commonly do). Speaking of which, the wet leaves fill out the sachet nicely and turn a rich medium-green color; they act very sponge-like, soaking up a lot of water. I can't recall being able to squeeze this much liquid out of any sachet tea before. In about 5-10 minutes after that, a good deal of powdery sediment settles to the bottom of the cup, after which the brew clears up again.

The flavor was rich, strong, a little toasty, a little bitter, a little "oceanic" also, but very well-rounded and robust overall. It has a good kick, which I like...not a delicate or subtle green tea at all. This tea announces itself with drums and trumpets, not whispers. It is a certifiable waker-upper. I noticed a distinct metallic element to the aftertaste, much more than the flavor itself, and it lingered for a long time unless I took another sip or ate something. That was the only somewhat unpleasant aspect of this tea experience; otherwise I found it to be quite good.

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