Country of Origin: Vietnam
Leaf Appearance: dark green, mostly whole
Ingredients: green tea
Steep time: 2 minutes
Water Temperature: 180 degrees
Preparation Method: glass teapot
Liquor: deep gold
I’ve been meaning to get to some of the samples Sense Asia Tea Company sent me in their beautiful gift box but there were just so many of them. How do I choose? My answer was to stick my hand into my “to do” drawer with my eyes closed and drink the first little cube that I pulled out. The wrapper for each cube includes detailed brewing directions as well as some information about the tea. As the name suggests, this tea is from Tan Cuong village in Northeastern Vietnam. The dry leaves were dark green and mostly whole. I thought it was interesting that their brewing directions indicated a one-minute rinse before brewing for one to two minutes. The taste was vegetal and earthy with a somewhat floral lean. I was reminded of a typical gunpowder-style green tea. There was still quite a bit of astringency but not so much so as to be unpleasant. I’m sure that the lengthy rinse helped out a lot in that department. For those who drink mass quantities of tea, especially when iced, Vietnam offers some very cost effective options. This tea is $40 for just under 20lbs of tea. You aren’t likely to find something so drinkable for a price like that from other tea-producing countries.
Green Tea from Tan Cuong sample provided by Sense Asia.