This was a very interesting tea. If you don't know what kona-cha is, it is the dust and tea leaf pieces from tea processing. It is technically a byproduct, but the tea industry has repurposed it as a tea product. It's better quality than the pieces of leaves one might encounter in a tea bag, because the tea leaves used to create this aren't terribly low in quality. There is enough variance in terms of which tea leaves go into this that you might get a mixture of sencha, gyokuro, and others, resulting in a variety of flavors when drinking it. The most noteworthy part of this tea is how soupy it is. There are so many leaf pieces and so much dust that it makes it through the strainer to create a rich, thick brew. It's thicker than if you made tea with matcha. It also has a different flavor profile.

This tea had a grainy note that was prominent. The other notes were green and vegetal. The grainy note diminished over the course of brews. I got it to brew three times without much of any bitterness or astringency. I used 80ºC water, 110ml water, 1 1/2 tsp of tea, and I brewed it for 10s for the first cup, 10s for the second, and approximately 10s for the third. It's very important to not give it much more time, because due to the small leaf pieces, it becomes bitter and astringent very easily. As I listed, I got a great result. It's a unique, fortifying tea. I'd drink it as a meal, when I'm not feeling well, or as a breakfast tea with some tea cookies on the side. It's very nourishing and very inexpensive. It's worth a try. It's an interesting tea experience.

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