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

Tanegashima Island Nanmei Single Cultivar Sencha

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

Temperature: 140°-176° F

Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 1-2 minutes

The dry leaf aroma is sweet, green, and nutty.

The pale green liquor has an aroma of nuts, green beans, and edamame.  The taste is nutty and almost sweet with fresh green vegetal and edamame notes.

I started out by following the preparation instructions on the package for the first two infusions, using 140° F water and steeping for 40 seconds.  For the third infusion, I steeped the tea for 1 minute using 176° F water.  The results at both temperatures were tasty with lighter flavor and slightly more nuance at the lower temperature and no astringency at either temperature.  The first infusion was nuttier with fresh green vegetable-like notes moving forward by the second and full flavor continuing into the third.

This tea was purchased by me.

Barnes & Morgan

Barnes & Morgan is a tea room and bespoke garment studio located in the historic Merchant Hotel building (1880) in Portland, Oregon's Old Town neighborhood.  

Owner Amir Morgan's parents encouraged his creative self-expression through fashion.  Tea was a part of his family's daily routine and he was inspired to bring these integral parts of his life together and create Barnes & Morgan, a combination of his parents' surnames, opening for business in February 2023.

The tea room at the front has good lighting and plentiful seating.  Here you can enjoy a cup or several of freshly brewed tea and shop for loose leaf tea, teaware, and fashion accessories.

Through the curtained archway is another room with ample seating, ideal for community events, surrounded by racks of Amir's ready-to-wear garments, all of which are available for purchase.  Barnes and Morgan also offers garment fittings and tailoring.  

The tea room currently offers bottomless self-serve tasting flights rather than individual tea service.  When we visited, the tea flight included Golden Snail, Ginger Tings, Sierra Blend, Rosella & Friends, Green Roselle, Blooming Dragon, Earl Grey Citrus, and Citrus Puerh.

For this visit, I started out with a cup of Golden Snail black tea paired with a Black Sesame Madeleine.  I eventually worked my way through each of the teas and brought home a few of my favorites.

On Saturdays Barnes & Morgan hosts R&B & Tea where the community is invited to drop in for tea, conversation, and music from a live DJ.  Follow Barnes & Morgan on Instagram and check out their reels for the latest events and updates!  

Address:
131 NW 2nd Ave, Portland, OR 97209

Hours:
Friday & Sunday 12:00pm - 5:00pm

Saturday 11:00am - 5:00pm
Closed Monday-Thursday

Tea Shout-Out: Roste Chocolate House

The Tea Shout-Out highlights restaurants and other businesses who go the extra mile to serve good quality tea.

 
This shout-out goes to Roste Chocolate House in Portland, Oregon. In addition to delicious serving single-origin chocolate beverages and pastries, they offer a nice selection of green, black, and herbal loose-leaf teas sourced from Portland-based Portal Tea, as well as chai and matcha lattes.

Tea Review: Yanaka Midori Kukicha (Chaho Kanekichi-en)

Yanaka Midori Kukicha/谷中みどり
Chaho Kanekichi-en/金吉園
Type: Green
Origin: Japan, Kyoto Prefecture, Uji
Product Description:

Yanaka's specialty, "Yanaka Midori," is a blend of high-quality stem tea and premium Uji matcha. Its unique flavor and the vibrant green color of the matcha have made it a very popular souvenir and gift item.

Temperature: 175° F

Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaf aroma has notes of freshly ground nuts with a hint of green grass.

The aroma of the bright green liquor has nutty, sweet, and cooked edamame notes.  The taste is nutty with notes of cooked edamame and a sweet green finish.

This kukicha was pleasantly savory with the fullest flavor in the first infusion.  While subsequent infusions were notably lighter in flavor, I had good results with a longer second steeping.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Fest PDX 2026

Tea Fest PDX 2026 was held on June 27th at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon. 

This was the festival's 10th anniversary and the second year since it's move to late June from mid-July. The weather was very on-brand for the Pacific Northwest with a relatively sunny start to the day, shifting to rain and even a brief thunderstorm in the afternoon.  Most of the outdoor spaces were covered so the festival was able to carry on without interruption.

Something I really appreciate that seems to be unique to outdoor/indoor festivals like Tea Fest PDX are the musical performances. This year's musical lineup was wonderful!

Heart Strings Mandarin Music Trio

Kayageum performed by Doyeon Lim

The festival program was filled with a wide variety of workshops, lectures, and tasting sessions, two of which I had the pleasure of attending.

Unusual and Rare Teas from Our Tea Explorations with Charles, Laurie, and Anais Dawson (Whatcom Tea)

It's always a treat to sit in on a tasting session with the Dawsons because I'm almost guaranteed to encounter something completely new.  For this session we enjoyed several unique teas from their extensive collection, learning about their provenance and how they were made.  The final tea was a bit of a wildcard; a teabag tea that tastes refreshingly like a loose leaf tea.

Left to Right: Anais Dawson, Laurie Dawson, Charles Dawson

Wuyi Hongcha from Tongmuan, Fujian Province (Chaliland)

Rosa roxburghii (Chestnut Rose) Stuffed Black Tea from Guixhou Province (iTeaworld)

2002 Huangpian Baozhong (wild harvest)

1990 Liu Bao (Three Cranes)

1980 Liu An from Anhui Province

Crown Melon flavored Oolong

Tea in Literature and Afternoon Tea with Marilyn Miller

We enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea prepared by Thistlewell Tea Room (formerly Sweet Peas Tea Room) accompanied by a reading of excerpts from the works of Earlene Grey, Nigel Slater, Patti Callahan, Rosamunde Pilcher, Lisa See, Julia Kelly, and Ethel Romig Fuller by Marilyn Miller.

Thanks to the volunteers, presenters, and vendors for making this festival possible!  I'm looking forward to Tea Fest PDX 2027!

Eugene Tea Festival 2026

A well-timed visit with family in Oregon gave me the opportunity to attend the Eugene Tea Festival for the first time.  The festival is in its fourth year, kicking off in 2023 and preceded by virtual tea tastings and local events.  This year's festival took place on on May 31st at the Farmer's Market Pavilion in Eugene, Oregon's downtown arts district.  The Pavilion and the adjoining plaza were lined with booths for tea, artisan, and food vendors.

The tea festival is free to attend, though donations are welcome and come with a tasting cup to enjoy all the tea samples available at the vendor booths.  

At a table inside the Pavilion, Josh Brock (The Empty Tea Cup) and Laurie Dawson (Whatcom Tea) prepared tea throughout the day, providing a welcoming space to decompress and meet new tea friends.

The vendor booths had an impressive range of teas and tisanes from around the world, as well as handcrafted teaware, art, and decor.

Thanks to everyone who worked to bring this festival to the local community.  It was a wonderful event!

The next Eugene Tea Festival will take place on May 30, 2027.