Kimberley's Kyusu

Yunomi’s founder Ian Chun launched the Women in Tea Collection back in October 2021 in efforts to spotlight and encourage the women who have taken on leading roles in their businesses. They wanted to shine the light on these passionate women, and help connect their customers to some of these inspiring women. While women in the Japanese tea industry face a wide-array of experiences and challenges, they share one common beautiful thread which is their love for Japanese tea. With this special Women in Tea Sampler set, customers will be able to enjoy teas from women who are passionate about tea and working hard on a day-to-day basis in the Japanese tea industry.

Yunomi.life’s Women in Tea Sampler Gift Set introduces 5 different teas (10g each). The set includes two Senchas, a Hojicha, a Wakocha (Japanese black tea), and an Oolong. In addition to the different types of teas, these teas are all different single, unblended cultivars. Included as a bonus in each box is two other types of tea picked at random from women producers as well as a pack of fillable cotton tea bags.

Kuma Tea Garden – 2023 Imperial Saemidori Mountain Grown Sencha

I tried this tea for the first time during December as it was one of the teas included in the Japanese tea advent calendar that I put together this year using samples from Yunomi. It was one of a handful of senchas and definitely a highlight within the advent calendar as a whole. This Sencha has a mellow taste overall with a fantastic rounded sweetness, it’s rich but also soft and refreshing. If left to cool, both the umami vegetal notes and the sweetness heighten and it gives off a Gyokuro vibe, which is ideal for someone like me who absolutely adores Gyokuro. With that in mind, I think I’ll be saving what I have left of this tea and brewing it Koridashi style in the coming weeks, just to see if that Gyokuro vibe can be heightened even further.

It was thicker in texture than I expected for a Sencha, and velvety smooth with only a slight dryness to it. The finish is long lasting with a lingering buttery vegetal aftertaste. I feel like this would be a great Sencha for those just getting into high quality Japanese tea, due to the presence of no astringency or bitterness, the mellow flavour and the well rounded level of sweetness.

Aymui Farms (Cyittorattu) – Sencha that Laughs with the Mountains

This Sencha comes from their 88th night tea harvest and it was produced through their cyclic philosophy of giving back to the earth and then receiving again from the earth. I first tried this tea back in November of 2023 and instantly adored it, simply because it is such a calm and delicate it is, which makes it an absolute pleasure to sip on in the mid-late afternoon. Usually I would drink Sencha as my last tea of the day however that simply is the best time for this tea because of how much it aids my relaxation.

Since my first session back in November I have done two more and experimented throughout them with different water temps and steeping time. Session Notes: This tea starts off with a fantastic vegetal note that has a slight pepperiness to it and a hint of straw. It is immediately followed by a brief, slightly sharp tingle of astringency that sweeps across your tounge, however it does not stay and instead a delicious creamy sweetness appears and takes it’s place. It finishes with a flaky butter pastry notes, like a freshly baked plain scones slathered with matcha whipped cream.

The after taste is light but lingers for a long time. In terms of notes, it’s is mostly light and airy, fresh vegetal with underlying sweetness. I would personally consider this a delaying drinker, however it is also such a treat and while the notes sound indulgent I assure you it is not heavy at all and delicately dances across your tounge, from start to finish.

Kiroku Tea Garden – Okumidori Roasted Spring Tencha Amehojicha (The Sweet Roast)

I set my eyes upon all of the small white packets within this box and before I noticed anything else in there my eyes saw the words: The Sweet Roast, and I couldn’t help but smile. I make it no secret that I simply adore roasted teas, no matter the type of tea. I do usually lean more towards darker roasted Hojicha however, so I was happy to see that a sweeter lighter roasted has been included in this box.

During the two sessions I had with this tea my stand out notes were sweet runny caramel encased in a thin super milky chocolate, roasted rice, the sawdust of a light-medium wood, oat milk and dry rolled oats.

In both taste and texture this tea is on the lighter side compared to many other Hojichas I have tried, however that is not a bad thing and this Hojicha has it’s place. For me, this is the kind of Hojicha I would reach for after a day of sipping on super flavourful, heavy hitter teas when I’m not quite done with tea for the day, and I just want something that has a much calmer feel that will help me feel relaxed and cosy.

Koukien Tea Garden – Wakocha Kanaya Midori Single Cultivar Black Tea

I’m a huge fan of Japanese black tea, and so many people overlook them, so I was excited to see that one had been included in the line up for this box. What makes it even better is that it’s a tea from Koukien Tea Garden, a garden that I have had the chance to try a handful of teas from in the past few months.

Taste Notes: This tea is creamy and rich with standout notes of roasted sweet potato with creamy butter, mid-dark woods, dried cherries and cocoa. It has a medium level of maltiness, subtle vegetal undertones and additional notes of tree bark with a touch of mossiness. There are hints of both hints of stone fruits and vanilla pods which both strengthen if left to cool.

Smooth, no dryness at all, with medium weight mouth feel. There’s a very slight touch of astringency but absolutely no bitterness and the astringency that is present is gone very quickly. Aftertaste lasts a mid length with light lingering bites of wood and cocoa. This would make a perfect afternoon tea, because it gentle, clam and heart warming while still delivering within it’s flavour profile.

Azuma Tea Garden – Kyoto Oolong Tea (Single Cultivar – Uji Midori)

Taste Notes: english toffee, dark woods, it starts off woody with a touch of astringency and then transfers into english toffee sweetness, Werther’s original hard candy, florals, honey crisp apples, muscat grapes and kiwi. Some of the indulgence lightens from the second steep onwards, but those notes becoming lighter allows other notes to come forward, like toasted milk roll, butter with honey, a light vegetal note that reminded me of the way the air smells when spring arrives and all the greenery is coming back to life.

It’s similar to a Wakoucha, but there is one thing that sperate the two and that is the orchid like floral notes within both it’s taste and aroma. It’s mouthfeel is smooth from steep one right until the end of the session, however the first steep is slightly more drying and lightly astringent than all of the steeps after it, it was also slightly heavier and more flavourful. The steeps after the first had a lighter mouthful, their own unique flavour notes and no dryness or astringency, however they weren’t as flavourful. I enjoyed all of them for their own unique reasons, ideally I would much rather they were all just like that first one.

The two bonus teas I received alongside the main line of of teas within this box were Kiyosawa Tea Gardens – Shizuoka Spring Asamushi Sencha by Konagai Chizuoka and Tauri Tea Farms 2019 Aged Shizuoka Black Tea, the later of which I have previous tried and review for my blog. If you are interested in reading that review you can find that here . As the Sencha isn’t part of the main line-up of this box, I wont be reviewing it for this post, but if you would like me to review it let me know in the comments.

It is clear that a lot of care and attention has been put into crafting this box and making sure it represents all facets of the world of Japanese tea and the hard working women within it. I would highly recommend this to both people who already love Japanese tea and want to discover some new teas / new farms and also to people who are new to it, and want to start off with more than just Japanese green teas.

If you want to try out this box for yourself, you can find it over on the Yunomi website here. If you have any questions at all leaves them in the comments and let me know which of the teas in this box you would enjoy the most.

Until next time, Happy Steeping – Kimberley