This is the final tea in the three part series on premium Japanese green tea from Hibiki-An. You can read the first review of the Gyokuro here and the second of the Sencha Fukamushi here. I left this tea for last because frankly I’ve had my share of sencha and wanted to dive right into newer territory with the fukamushi and the gyokuro. So I let this bad boy stay in my refrigerator for about a week before giving into temptation and opening it up. Opening up a tea for the firs time is always such a wonderful experience, I find the aroma of fresh tea to be just as luxurious and inspiring as the taste of the infusion its self. The smell that met my nose upon opening this package was the most profound of the three teas in the taster set. Maybe it was the fact that it was chilled but I immediatly thought of cucumber and pickling brine. That sounds like a long way of saying it smelled like pickles but no, this was a one-two punch to my nose with each scent overlapping the last in quick succession. Unlike the smell of the fukamushi was was meaty and the gyokuro which was mellow this sencha was strong and profound.

As I’ve mentioned in the past I love pouring the dry leaves into a pot that has been preheated with warm water and giving the tea a second smell. Much like the fukamushi this wet aroma has a buttery profile, but much more mild and reminded me of salted popcorn butter

On to the main event. I steeped this tea according to the package directions; seven grams with eight ounces of water at 175 F for one minute. Once the tea met my lips I was in for quite a surprise, this pickling spice and buttery smelling tea had a a strong meaty umami flavor right of the bat. With a nice full body the profile was one of tuna sashimi and red unseasoned red meat. In between infusions the soaked leaves had a strong spinach smell, not uncommon for wet Japanese leaves. The second infusion would muddle these flavors a bit while strengthening the body and would add a hint of red and yellow bell pepper and like the wet leaves would include the meaty taste of cooked spinach.

When it was all said and done the very best this tea has to offer is its superior smell. On the tounge this sencha excels at offering a full body and umami flavor, that while good for what it is, lacks the complexity of the competing gyokuro and fukamushi sencha in the same taster pack.

With the series on Hibiki-An’s superior tasting set I’m left very satisfied with not only the quality of each of these teas but also of the value offered in the set. Each tea is 100 grams which works out to 3.53 ounces, quite a bit of tea for one person. For myself I was so impressed with the Sencha Fukamushi that I will certainly be purchasing a refill soon after I run out.

I give Sencha Superior one Jim Carrey

Currently listening to: Purity ring – Fineshrine