Tea Review: Premium Blend Gyokuro (Charaku)

Premium Blend Gyokuro

Charaku
Type: Green
Origin: Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, Okabe, Asahina Valley
Product Description: 

This special blend of cultivars infuses from a light green on the first infusion and opens up to deeper greens on latter infusions. Full mouthfeel and texture on multiple infusions. Initial aromas and tastes are mildly grassy with a hint of salinity. Plenty of amami (sweetness) as characteristic with most Gyokuro with just a hint of shibumi (astringency) at the finish. Later infusions continue smooth with umami richness and a fine balance of amami (sweetness) and shibumi (astringency). 

Good Gyokuro is often compared to a fine dashi (broth) and this tea is full in the mouth with an herbaceous, sweet, and slight marine flavors. A low temperature is needed to bring out the "amami," or sweetness, and low astringency for which gyokuro is known. 

Temperature: 160° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 30 seconds - 2 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of nuts, sweet oats, and a hint of marine green.

The aroma of the light jade green liquor is savory and sweet with buttery notes of nuts and cooked edamame.  The taste is savory, nutty and lightly buttery with edamame notes and a sweet green and nutty finish.

For the purpose of this review, I followed the brewing recommendations on the package, steeping the first infusion for 2 minutes, the second for 1 minute, and the third for 30 seconds.  The umami was most pronounced in the first infusion while the sweet green and nutty finish became notably lengthier by the second.  

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Uji Gyokuro Houjicha (Tsujiri Honten)

Uji Gyokuro Houjicha/宇治玉楼ほうじ茶
Tsujirihei Honten/辻利兵衛本店
Type: Green
Origin: Japan, Kyoto Prefecture, Uji
Product Description:  Not provided.

Temperature: 194° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 1-3 minutes

The dry leaf aroma is rich with notes of roasted chestnuts and a hint of smoke.

The dark reddish-brown infusion has an aroma and flavor reminiscent of roasted chestnuts and cocoa with a long, rich, roasty finish.

This is a particularly lovely version of karigane houjicha with the rich cocoa-like notes that I most look forward to.  I began by steeping the tea for 1 minute and found that the flavor carried forward by adding 1 minute to each subsequent infusion.  While the best flavor was in the first two infusions, the third was only slightly less nuanced and quite enjoyable.

This tea was purchased in-person at the main store in Uji.  It is sold online through Rakuten.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Ginger Tings (Barnes and Morgan)

Ginger Tings

Barnes and Morgan
Type: Herbal
Origin: Not provided
Product Description: Not provided.

Temperature: 205° F
Amount: 5 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaf blend includes ginger, dried apple, orange peel, and mint.

The pale yellow infusion has a bold aroma of ginger with lighter notes of mint and citrus.  The taste is bold with ginger at the front and light notes of citrus and mint followed by a sweet refreshing minty finish. 

This tea blend was invigoratingly spicy and refreshing throughout three infusions with no notable loss in flavor.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: 2024 Aged Shizuoka Black Tea (Yunomi/Tarui Tea Farm)

2024 Aged Shizuoka Black Tea
Tarui Tea Farm/Yunomi
Type: Black
Origin: Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, Nearaicho
Product Description: 

Artisanal tea farmer Takayuki Tarui's black tea is cultivated pesticide free and without synthetic fertilizers. It is harvested in the last two weeks of June and "fermented" with Tarui-san's own method to create a smooth flavor profile that doesn't need to be sweetened. 

Tarui-san ages this tea in his warehouse dedicated to aging tea leaves, allowing the leaf to develop into a black tea that will leave you in smiles!

Temperature: 185-194° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes

The dry leaf aroma has notes of aged wood, nut shell, and a hint of dried shiitake.

The copper red infusion has a rich aroma of roasted squash, snap peas, and a hint of chestnuts.  The taste is rich with note of snow peas, roasted vegetables, mild-to-moderate astringency, and a sweet roasted chestnut-like finish.

For the initial infusion of this black tea, I followed the recommendations on the package, steeping for 3 minutes at 194° F.  The results were bold with roasted vegetal notes and moderate astringency and a dry finish.  For my preference, I found the results most flavorful and delicious by steeping the tea for 2 minutes in 185° F water which resulted in no notable astringency with notes of cooked snow peas, lightly caramelized vegetables, and a sweet chestnut-like finish.   

This tea was purchased by me.

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!