Blind Assessment: Dark green, glossy needle-like leaves. A complex marine and grass aroma, with notes of honeysuckle and gardenia. Distinctive flavor, a good balance of sweetness and astringency throughout. Notes of tropical fruit, grass, overtones mostly floral in nature. Mild umami, but full and balanced body.

Notes: This Sencha tea was purchased from a well respected North American tea retailer.  Samples identified as Sencha Sample 403 were sent to Tea Review cupping panel members, who cupped the tea on blind basis in September, 2021.  The 91-point rating is the average score reported by the nine participating cuppers using the Tea Review cupping form and scoring system.  The blind assessment and bottom line were composed by Tony Gebely based on cuppers' sensory reporting, combined with his own sensory experience of the tea. Because the Tea Review cupping and scoring procedures are still being developed, we have not disclosed the name of the tea company.

The Bottom Line: A very good sencha, was expecting more of a umami punch, but the lack of umami was overshadowed by how well balanced this tea was between its sweetness and astringency.