Mellow Monk Artisan Reserve is a tamaryokucha ("curly green tea") sencha. The leaves are shaded and sun grown then carefully rolled and steamed. This process of shading the leaves, as well as this leaves location, at the foot of Mt. Aso with rich volcanic soil provides for a complex flavor profile. Mellow Monk's tea seem to be pretty popular with multiple reviews from various sources, though their awarding winning Top Leaf is among the most popular, Artisan's Reserve comes pretty close.

I brewed this tea with 1 teaspoon in 8 ounces in water at 167 Fahrenheit. Like the other teas I've had from Mellow Monk a bright neon cup is birthed. For the first brew at 30 seconds the tea was very citrusy, I had a hard time detecting the other flavors. At 1 minute the tea began to show it's true artist with a palate of fresh chopped spinach and green beans. Though these flavors typically come along with most greens, this tea has hints of sweet melon and citrus. To the tongue it is so smooth and creamy, it was delicious.

At 2 minutes the tea became stronger than I'd like, but this time the tang came out with the citrus, it wasn't as smooth and creamy as before. This tea is something that someone new to Japanese green teas would enjoy but there is also something there for the experienced drinker. Not a favorite for me, but definitely a good high quality tea, I give it a 8.9.

— To purchase Mellow Monk Artisan’s Reserve, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular tea, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.

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