[Limited] Tencha Pinnacle (30g/1.06oz) Reviews

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Nickname	V.T. (United States)
Review	Thanks to hard working folks at Hibiki-An and DHL EXPRESS, my Tencha Pinnacle (along with other teas) was ordered on Sunday and was in my possession on Wednesday. 3 days!!! And this is from Japan to East Coast USA, including clearing US Customs. Credit card was charged in USD, which means no currency conversion fees were charged. First impression: the tea leaves are of a high quality with no stems or veins. The smell is very pleasant, fresh tea leaves smell. The tea leaves are small and flat and it looks like electrostatically charged, so mixing tea leaves with water was a small challenge. Stirring tea leaves with fork did the trick. First brewing used 5 grams of tea leaves mixed in 50 grams of cold spring water and stored in the fridge overnight. It resulted in light green slightly cloudy liquor. Pretty strong umami hit. Taste is very interesting: a bit of gyokuro, matcha and better fukamushi sencha with faint nutty taste. Absolutely no bitterness here. Second brewing used 100 grams of 70C water for 3 minutes and resulted in liquor looking very similar to first brewing with a taste similar to that of high-end fukamushi sencha. Very little umami left in second brewing. The used leaves were mixed with ponzu sauce and resulted in delicious salad. I also added finely chopped sweet onions and cleaned jalapenos to the mixture for extra kick. Word of caution: teas grown in shade, especially high grade like Pinnacle grade teas are LOADED with caffeine. 8 grams of Tencha Pinnacle probably contains close to maximum daily amount of caffeine for an adult if consumed completely the way I did it. 8 grams of Tencha Pinnacle is pretty much the same as 2 servings of matcha koicha. This makes Tencha Pinnacle a very special treat to enjoy in small amounts. I would say Tencha Pinnacle (along with better matchas and gyokuros) are the healthiest, natural energy drinks out there with sustained energy release lasting few hours. I felt rush of energy few minutes after drinking tea made of 4 grams of Tencha Pinnacle in 50 grams of 55C water. It is like an espresso, but without instant caffeine hit.
Rating	Very bad... Bad... Very bad... Ordinary... Good... 5 of 5 Stars!
Date	July 17, 2021

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