Curious Tea, Sencha Fukujyu

Curious Tea Description:
Sencha is the most popular tea in Japan. Unlike the Chinese green tea counterparts, which are pan fried after plucking, Japanese Sencha is steamed to prevent the oxidisation of the tea. Only after the oxidisation process has been stopped by steaming are the leaves rolled, shaped and dried. This steaming process gives Japanese green tea its unique flavour that is so different from other non-steamed green teas.

We sourced this Sencha Fukujyu for our January 2015 Light and Mixed boxes. It is a later harvest Sencha, the flavour of which is enhanced by partially covering the tea bushes with blankets as they are grown. This slows the growing process, allowing the bushes to draw more nutrients from the soil, thus producing a tea with a stronger flavour.

Sample provided by Curious Tea

My Review:
This is the second of two teas included in a monthly subscription box sent to me by Curious Tea for review. The sample contains 50 g of leaf. It is packaged in a resealable zip lock pouch. The label is attractive yet simple and uncluttered in design. It features a brief description of the tea and recommended brewing parameters.

I catch a slightly sweet and sour grassiness upon opening the bag. Removing a scoop of leaf reveals the flat pressed leaf that resembles dried blades of grass. As I add the leaf to my clear glass teapot, I am noticing a lot of very tiny particles. I have only seen this type tea one other time so I do not know if that is the nature of this tea or if it is the result of settling. Either, way I might have been better served to have prepared this in a Finum basket - we'll see.

The water was heated to 158 F (70 C) and poured over the leaf. The lowest setting on my kettle is 175 F, so I had to stand guard over the water to catch it at the proper moment. The steep time was 1 1/2 minutes.

The liquor is a little cloudy from the small particles that my poor quality filter could not strain out. No real harm except a slight aesthetic blip. The liquor is very yellow green, to the point of an almost fluorescent hue. I find that pretty cool. It is like lemonhead candy colored.

The wet leaf is pretty chopped but very fresh and green. It looks like herbs and has a steamed spinach scent. It's not even suppertime so it isn't the belly speaking.

I think Curious Tea nails the taste profile on their webpage by saying this "has a full vegetal and slightly toasty flavour. It strongly evokes green vegetables, such as spinach or greens with a nori undertone and a distinct dryness in the aftertaste."

I am not sure what more I could add to this description except to say using such a low temperature has made for a very mild cup. Apparently, I have always used a much higher temperature in the past as my sencha has always had a strong bitter note. This really is devoid of bitterness and rough edges. The dryness gives it just a touch of texture but no sense of astringency. Though the dry leaf had a slight sweetness in its scent, the brew does not.

This tea was part of a monthly subscription box. Based on what I have seen so far, this tea was well worth over half the monthly price. If you are outside the UK you will have to add in some shipping costs before deciding. You can learn more here.

Curious Tea, Snow Bud (Xue Ya)

Curious Tea Description:
Snow Bud (Xue Ya) is a very delicate white tea that is plucked over a few days of spring every year. The name is said to originate from the appearance of the silvery buds when plucked – they look as if covered by snow. This is also reflected in the dry leaf appearance of this tea, with the leaves displaying plenty of the silvery down.

Sample provided by Curious Tea

My Review:
I knew I missed a tea during my recent world wide white tea extravaganza. I had it in my head Curious Tea had this listed as a green tea as some companies have done. Nope, they have labeled it as a white, which it is, since the leaves have not been pan fried or steamed, as in a green tea.

The resealable bag contains 50 grams of this leaf. The label is simple. The font is large (thank you Curious Tea!) and contains a brief description and brewing instructions.

Upon opening the bag, I catch sweet fresh hay. It is a very fresh and clean fragrance.

I removed about 3 grams for this session. The leaf has two noticeable characteristics. First is the plump white down covered buds that say white tea. Second is the dark leaves. They are green but against the white buds they look darker. The leaf is withered and slightly twisted.

Today I once again used my clear glass teapot. Along with the leaf, I used 6 ounces of filtered water heated to 175 F (80 C). The steep was four minutes. That is a lot longer than the last Snow Bud I tested.

The result is a very golden liquor. I was kind of hoping for the pale pinkish liquor mentioned on Curious Teas label. The wet leaf is quite nicely pea green, plump, and fresh. It has a nutty or stewed meat aroma.

The is incredibly smooth. The previous review of a Snow Bud was prepared with short steeps in a gaiwan and it was intense with a good bitter. This is mellow without the intense notes. I find the difference fascinating. The two teas look pretty much identical. It goes to show what a difference a change in time, temperature, and brewing vessel can make.

What I am getting is lightly sweet field grass, along with hints of nuts and floral. The aftertaste is lingering and has the good bite I expected up front but here it is lighter and not at all scary. Although I taste the fresh spring water and floral notes I associate with good white tea, it is the ending that drifts towards Chinese green tea that sells this to me.

This is a very nice white tea. I really enjoyed Curious Tea's brewing parameters. It made for a complex, deep, but gentle cup. If you prefer a wilder ride, crank the water temperature up to 195 F and steep for 30 seconds. It is like two different teas.

This tea was part of a monthly subscription box. Based on what I have seen so far, this tea was well worth over half the monthly price. If you are outside the UK you will have to add in some shipping costs before deciding. You can learn more here.

Curious Tea, Subscription Plan

Curious Tea Description:
Choose between light, dark or a mixture of tea types and receive two different 50g pouches of premium loose-leaf tea every month. The tea comes in resealable zip pouches to stay fresher for longer. We also include detailed information about each tea and how best to enjoy it. It is all delivered in our customised packaging that is designed to fit through most letterboxes.

Our website features a blog that will have detailed information about our teas, tea recipes and other tea related articles.

Sample provided by Curious Tea

My Review:
Later we will taste some tea. At the moment I want to discuss a subscription plan offered by Curious Tea. This is a UK based company. They offer a monthly plan and a discounted quarterly plan. Shipping is free with paid subscription within the UK. Outside the UK additional shipping fees apply.

The plans are further divided between light (green, white, yellow, lightly oxidised oolong and other similar types), dark (black, red, pu-erh, heavily oxidised oolong and other similar types) and mixed (1 tea from the light box and 1 from the dark box).

Each box contains two 50 gram resealable pouches of your chosen type teas.

This is an opportunity for those who are new to higher grade loose leaf to explore new varieties of tea.

Especially if you are in the UK and a subscription plan appeals to you, look up Curious Tea.