blech

[sampnik]

I ordered the Dens Sampler and tried two tonight. I thought they were just awful. I tossed both. In fact, they taste like fish to me. I'm sure that is totally uncool, but wondering if anyone else thinks this or if I just got a bad batch? I tried the Sencha Fuka-midori and the Houjicha gold. I'll take Lipton Green anyday

[Proinsias]

My wife won't touch that 'horrendous fish tea'. Meaning pretty much any sencha/gyo/match etc.

Chinese greens may be more to your tastes. At least you'll save a packet preferring lipton to sencha.

[entropyembrace]

I didn´t associate any of the flavours in sencha from OTTI round 1 with fish...but some of them had salty seaweedy flavours that I could see being associated with "fishy" Personally I really enjoyed them...but I like fish and seaweed

Maybe Japanese greens are just not your taste...from Den´s I´ve only tried their sincha Houryoku which I thought was very good so I can´t speak to the specific teas you tried.

Would be worth trying Chinese greens they are very different.

This is my prefered vendor for the China greens (and most other Chinese tea actually)

http://www.jingteashop.com/cat-jing-tea ... en-tea.cfm

I´m sure others will have more suggestions.

[Chip]

Japanese tea can be a challenge to brew as well, it could be your brewing was a bit off.

Hopefully you will give Japanese teas another shot some time. Til then, more for us!

[debunix]

I would put those other samples in the refrigerator and wait a while to revisit them.

In the meantime, to help us give you suggestions for ways you might enjoy the remaining teas, can you tell us how you brewed them?

And what kind of teas you generally prefer?

[britt]

I've never had any Houjicha that tasted fishy or anything other than mellow. What did you use to brew these?

[Ambrose]

I agree japanese greens are tricky to learn to brew right. Try a few other types from different sources maybe you havent found the one you like yet. BTW most of all the tea I drink are japanese, its da best !

[edkrueger]

I would not give up on Japanese teas having only tried that one sampler.
Sencha Fukamidori is a fukamushi sencha means it was deeply steamed. The deep steaming is a way to try to get some flavor out of inferior teas –other forum members will disagree with this. Genmaicha Extra Green is a second harvest tea that has had powered sencha added to it to try to flavor it. Houjicha Gold is a roasted second harvest tea and my memory is was not very flavorful –but didn't taste like fish to me. Second harvest Japanese teas, or Bancha, are inferior to first harvest Japanese teas, or ichibancha –that said there is a place in my cabinet for them. I would suggest trying a more traditional tea company like Ippodo if you order again.

[edkrueger]

I've never had any Houjicha that tasted fishy or anything other than mellow. What did you use to brew these?

Fresher Hojicha doesn't taste too mellow, it has a zing to it.

[Teacup1980]

Unfortunately, some people say Japanese green tea is fishy. It's probably your preference. I recommend you to try Genmaicha - it's more toasty/nutty.

[sampnik]

I used the perfect teamaker and followed the brewing instructions with not too hot water...

[britt]

I've never had any Houjicha that tasted fishy or anything other than mellow. What did you use to brew these?

Fresher Hojicha doesn't taste too mellow, it has a zing to it.

I've never had houjicha with a zing to it, but I don't use boiling water either. I use water between 175 and 185 degrees. The only houjicha I've tried other than teabags were from O-Cha and Yuuki-cha.

[Jack_teachat]

Personally I associate a kind of 'fresh salmon' flavour to be a sign of high quality and freshness in a Japanese tea.

[Chip]

Personally I associate a kind of 'fresh salmon' flavour to be a sign of high quality and freshness in a Japanese tea.

Interestingly, fresh fish should never be "fishy!"

I often notice a "marine" character with sencha, like a fresh tropical breeze, minus the fish smell.

[TwoPynts]

Being an island nation, perhaps it makes sense that some of their green teas exhibit that character. It may also have something to do with what they use to fertilize, if they even do. Just thinking out loud...

And of course the way they prepare it.