About This Tea
Ingredients: Sencha Green Tea, Wakame Seaweed, Mate, and Lemongrass.
Brewing Technique: 80°C, 2-3 Minutes
Supplier: The Gilded Teapot
Wakame is an edible type of seaweed, that is literally packed full of vitamins and minerals. Let's be clear, when I say literally... I mean it. It's stuffed with vitamins A, C, E, K, D and B2, as well as some added iron, magnesium, calcium and iodine. I mean come on, Wakame would basically be the next IT super food, if only it got the media traction it deserved. Remember me when you're famous Wakame! Joking aside, I don't know why more people don't rave about this "sea vegetable". Although I've never eaten it, apparently it's a little savoury, with a subtle sweetness. But how does it taste in tea?
Aroma
The packet is full of strong, brittle citric notes that contain a punchy lemon scent and a little twist of something indistinguishable… Mysterious!
Flavour
First taste, disappointing. I think I know what went wrong though. I built Wakame up too damn much and my gurl just let me down! Despite containing wakame (this is where I stop capitalising and pretending this is an old z-list celeb friend on the rise to fame), there's little excitement in the actual cup, no exotic pzazz. It's a little savoury, sure, but mostly, it's all lemony, citric boring blah!
All following tastes, were not so saddening. I now know what to expect and admittedly the flavour isn't half bad, starting with those classic sencha notes, hopping quickly into a stronger lemon zing, before circling back to the first note. The flavours feel organic and pleasing. All this is coming from someone who isn't super into sencha and hates hot lemon!
Getting Creative
Although I did try this iced, I didn't much like it...Shocker. So, classic me, I added it to a smoothie instead. Note two things. First, add ginger to taste. I love ginger, but I didn't add the whole thing! Second, these ingredients made for a tasty smoothie, but if you're after Instagram-able drinkage, neglect either carrots or spinach, because that combo of colours WILL NOT look pretty.
Want more inspo? Check out my Recipes section.
Final Thoughts
For me, personally, I am so adverse to lemon, particularly when it's hot, that Sencha Seaweed Wakame is really not a tea I would ever come back to. BUT. It's so well created that I can completely appreciate the notes of the tea. The Gilded Teapot has turned a tea I would normally gag at the thought of, into something I could, almost happily, sip at. Obviously, they've not done this specially for me, my point is just that there doesn't seem to be any of that synthetic awkwardness to the blend. The natural feel of the flavours are exactly what's appealing about this tea, for that reason most tea heads will love this brew, not just lemon lovers.
Want to know more about Sencha? <--- Click Here