Pique, Sencha Organic Green Tea

Picture Credit: piquetea.com

Pique Description:
The quintessential Japanese green tea. Our sencha tea leaves are grown in a tea garden in a mountain valley near the West Lake in Zhejiang, China. Bright sunshine during the day combined with cool temperatures in the evening create the ideal environment for growing really great green tea. Unlike other teas, our tea trees are shaded for the last 10 days of their growth to stop the growth of leaves while roots continue to draw nutrients from the ground. That means that all those nutrients are packed into the leaves to create a tea richer in both flavor and antioxidants.

Sample provided by Pique Tea

My Review:
My intention was to start this month with a pot of loose leaf. I just wanted to sit and vegetate while meditating on the cup. The however is the world keeps getting in the way. Fortunately, I still have some teas from Pique to enjoy and review.

Pique has a subscription plan, but they also have individual boxes of tea listed for sale on their website. In addition, at the time of this writing, you can try them for free (there may be a small shipping fee. I did not check).

Pique teas are brewed perfectly in their facilities then crystallized and wrapped in individual single serve packs.

Preparing a cup at home, or on the go, could not be easier. Simply open the pack, pour the crystals into your cup, and add hot water. Now drink. I have even used icy cold water in a bottle added the crystals and shook it. Works great.

When you pour the crystals into the cup the first time, you will probably be like me and feel pretty skeptical. The crystals look a lot more like cocoa mix than tea. Then something magical happens. The water releases all the good tea aroma you expect to catch.

Without stirring, the crystals completely dissolved in my cup with 175 F filtered water added.   As you can see the liquor is a light honey color. What you can't see is the scent. It is very vegative. I thought to myself that it smells more like the tiny spring Chinese greens that I love. As it turns out this tea is grown in China.

I find the origin does make a difference. Japanese Sencha has a much grassier and often marine taste, while the Chinese type is more green vegetation in taste. I personally prefer the Chinese version.

This has all the characteristics I associate with this type tea (Chinese Sencha). In addition there is an almost sharp clean bite. It is almost a citrus tartness. Again, I like this in a tea. Just want you to be aware. If you don't like the bite, it will tone down some with the addition of a little sweetener.

The aftertaste lingers long, slightly sweet, and green.

On yet another day when I don't seem to have the time for slowing down, I really appreciate these Pique teas. I was highly skeptical but have come to appreciate just how good they taste. Add to the taste how convenient these packets really are, and you have a winner.

You can find Pique Sencha Organic Green Tea here.