Tea Review: Cacao Wood Smoked Black Tea (Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden/Yunomi)

Cacao Wood Smoked Black Tea/燻製紅茶 カカオ

Yunomi/Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden
Type: Flavored Black
Origin: Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shimada
Product Description:

The Japanese cacao wood smoked black tea is just one of Matsumoto-san’s innovative smoked black teas. In fact, because at Yunomi, we have a wide selection of his smoked black teas, you may want to try a few flavors to compare across his tea selection! Matsumoto-san even smokes his black teas using the wood from Japanese whisky barrels and utilises wood that comes from the award winning Ichiro Distillery in Chichibu.

This smoked tea can be enjoyed cold or hot and can be a great compliment to nuts and/or chocolate. One could also use the tea leaves and their strong flavor as condiment or seasoning. Please enjoy in many creative ways!

Temperature: 194° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3-4 minutes

The dry leaves have a heavy aroma of smoke with hints of cocoa.

The liquor is copper red with deep smoky aroma and flavor notes at the front, followed by cocoa.  

The fullest flavor is in the first infusion with cocoa notes fading by the second.  I was pleasantly reminded of the smoky tea-infused hot chocolate I enjoy during the cooler seasons.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Ginger Rising (Smith Teamaker)

Ginger Rising

Smith Teamaker
Type: Herbal
Origin: Not provided
Product Description:

Big, bold, organic ginger jamming with honeybush, lemon myrtle, lavender, Italian bergamot oil and black pepper. Meet the perfect blend of spicy, citrus and floral. Your go-to ginger, going forward.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 5 minutes

The dry leaf blend includes ginger, honeybush, lemon myrtle, lemon peel, mace, lavender, bergamot oil, and black pepper oil.

The amber infusion has a spicy aroma with ginger, lavender, lemon, honey, and herbaceous notes.  The taste is sweet and boldly spicy with ginger, lavender, pepper, and honey-like notes at the front.    

The tisane remained bold and spicy throughout three infusions with the most complexity in the first, sweetness moving to the front of the second, and ginger at the center of the third.  This was refreshing and warming, perfect for cooler autumn days.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Doke Black Fusion 1st Flush 2025 (Tea For All/Doke Tea Estate)

Doke Black Fusion 1st Flush (2025)

Doke Tea Estate/Tea For All
Type: Black
Origin: India, Bihar
Product Description:

Doke is an organic tea estate in Bihar, India. It is well known for its small batches of hand-processed, award-winning teas.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of berries, sweet oats, and a hint of grape.

The dark red liquor has an aroma of baked fruit and sweet brown bread..  The taste has notes of baked fruit, a hint of green vine, and moderate astringency.

While the fullest flavor was in the first infusion, the mellower second infusion was quite enjoyable.  The flavor and aroma were delicious and reminded me a little bit of a rich, dark fruit cake.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Tanegashima Island Asatsuyu Single Cultivar Sencha (Yunomi/Iba Takahiro Tea Garden)

Tanegashima Island Asatsuyu Single Cultivar Sencha
Iba Takahiro Tea Garden/Yunomi
Type: Green
Origin: Japan, Kagoshima Prefecture, Tanegashima Island
Product Description: Not provided.

Temperature: 140° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaves have a nutty and marine green aroma.

The light yellow-green infusion has a savory aroma of nuts, sesame seeds, and edamame.  The taste has notes of nuts, green beans, grass, and nori with a long green finish.

This sencha was refreshingly green throughout three infusions with the promise of more.  While the recommended 2-minute steeping was quite nice, I found that reducing the 2nd infusion to 1 minute resulted in lower astringency and more nutty notes which I tend to favor, while also retaining most of the other flavor notes.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Boseong Sejak Green (Cultivate Taste Tea)

Boseong Sejak Green

Cultivate Taste Tea
Type: Green
Origin: South Korea, South Jeolla Province, Boseong County, Unrim Village
Product Description: 

This is a first flush Boseong Sejak green tea that has a taste of early spring. Grown in Unrim Village in Boseong County, South Jeolla Province in South Korea. This tea has a fresh early spring taste to it and uses the Japanese method of steaming the green tea leaves to prevent oxidization. It has a unique flavor profile and aroma, with notes of watermelon seed, cucumber, almond, and floral grassy. Some say it has an umami taste with notes of stir-fried vegetables and roasted cashews. It is known as small beak or sparrow beak green tea.

Temperature: 180° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minute

The dry leaves have a nutty and sharp green aroma.

The golden liquor has an aroma of sweet grass, green beans, nuts, and edamame.  The taste is grassy green with mild astringency and a long green finish.  

This tea was refreshingly green and full-flavored throughout three infusions with sweetness developing by the third.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Okumidori Roasted Spring Tencha Amehojicha (Yunomi/Kiroku Tea Garden)

Okumidori Roasted Spring Tencha Amehojicha
Kiroku Tea Garden/Yunomi
Type: Green
Origin: Japan, Kyoto Prefecture, Wazuka
Product Description: Not provided.

Temperature: 194° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 1 minute

The dry leaves have an aroma of roasted nut shells.

The reddish-brown liquor has an aroma of heavily roasted nut shells, nuts, and seared wood.  The taste is rich with notes of roasted nuts and a long, rich, roasty finish.

This tea was delicious with rich, roasty notes throughout three infusions.  Note that tencha is much lighter in weight than regular tea leaves so using more leaf when brewing will bring out the best flavor.  At the time of this review, this tea was not in stock, so be sure to check the official Yunomi website for when they restock.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Tanegashima Island Shimamidori Single Cultivar Sencha (Yunomi/Iba Takahiro Tea Garden)

Tanegashima Island Shimamidori Single Cultivar Sencha

Iba Takahiro Tea Garden/Yunomi
Type: Green
Origin: Japan, Kagoshima Prefecture, Tanegashima Island
Product Description: Not provided.

Temperature: 140° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of nuts and wheat bran.

The liquor is light yellow with savory, nutty, and edamame-like notes.  The taste has notes of nuts, edamame, and green vegetables with a green finish.

After the initial infusion the savory notes made way for mild astringency and fresh green notes like spinach and grass.  Though I stopped at three, there were easily a couple more flavorful infusions to look forward to.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Tanegashima Island Meiryoku Single Cultivar Sencha (Yunomi/Iba Takahiro Tea Garden)

Tanegashima Island Meiryoku Single Cultivar Sencha
Iba Takahiro Tea Garden/Yunomi
Type: Green
Origin: Japan, Kagoshima Prefecture, Tanegashima Island
Product Description: Not provided.

Temperature: 140° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 1-1.5 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of nuts, rustic bread, and something that reminded me of kinako (roasted soybean powder).

The pale green liquor has a savory nutty aroma with edamame notes.  The taste is savory with umami as well as notes of nuts and a hint of edamame.  

The flavor profile of this sencha was lovely when prepared as suggested by steeping for 1 minute in 140° F water.  Steeping the tea for an additional 30 seconds brought out stronger notes of edamame in the aroma and green vine in the flavor which, while I preferred the umami notes of a shorter steep, was also quite pleasant.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Tosa Wakoucha (Charaku)

Tosa Wakoucha

Charaku
Type: Black
Origin: Japan, Kochi Prefecture, Nyugauchi
Product Description: Not provided.

Temperature: 205° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3-4 minutes

The dry leaf aroma has notes of nut shells, wood, salty nori, and sweet grains.

The liquor is dark red with an aroma of autumn leaves, green beans, nut shells, and a hint of fruit. The taste is nutty and woody with notes of green beans. 

For the purpose of this review, I following the recommended brewing instructions, steeping the first infusion for 4 minutes and the next two infusion for 3 minutes.  The fullest flavor was in the first two infusions, though the third was still enjoyable with woody notes moving to the front.  I was reminded of pleasant things like autumn leaves and forest trails.

This tea is not currently in stock at the time of this review, so be sure to check the official website for when it becomes available again.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Menehune Sansho Hojicha (Yunomi/Ohana Botanica)

Menehune Sansho Hojicha
Yunomi/Ohana Botanica
Type: Flavored Green
Origin: Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, Fujieda
Product Description:

Menehune are forest spirits in the mythology of Hawaii who come to help you with your work. I grew up looking for the menehune who helped clean my room when I was a child, looking into the forests as my family drove home in the evenings from our relative’s house in the mountains above Honolulu.

This hojicha flavored with Japanese pepper evokes the mystery of the forest with its unique spicy, woody flavor. Available as tea bags and leaf tea  

Temperature: 160° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 1 minute

The dry leaf blend includes hojicha and Japanese sancho peppers.

The copper-orange infusion has an aroma of spicy peppers and roasted nuts.  The taste has notes of peppers, roasted nuts, and a hint of cocoa.  

The aroma and taste of sansho peppers was up front and present throughout three infusions without any unpleasant burning sensation.   Cocoa notes became apparent in the second infusion and citrus-like notes took their place in the third.  

This tea was purchased by me.