How do you like my new tea set?

I celebrated my birthday last week and got three new tea brewing devices: a porcelain gaiwan, a yixing teapot and this one, a simple Japanese teapot with a large infuser basket.

It has been fun experimenting with the gaiwan over the past week, while I’ve been considering which type of tea my yixing should be devoted to (anyone have any thoughts?). I decided to use the teapot pictured above to make today’s tea, Monk’s Bliss by Mellow Monk.

Monk’s Bliss is a shiraore, which is a green tea with some leaf stems. The result is a mellow green tea that tastes remarkably like steamed vegetables.

As I drank this tea, I kept drawing comparisons to the shincha I tried earlier this year. That too I described as tasting liked steamed vegetables, though I found this tea a much milder beast. Where the shincha delivered three, sometimes four strong infusions, the shiraore gives just two. But there is a warm depth to it, a richness that reminds me of a forest floor. It’s mellow and calming, a perfect accompaniment to a sunny spring morning.

Monk’s Bliss is available from Mellow Monk.

© eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2009. | Monk's Bliss by Mellow Monk | 5 comments |
Post categories: Green tea
Post tags: Japan, Japanese green tea, Japanese teas, Mellow Monk