Nio Teas ReviewsSee store reviews

I love how bright the stems are against the green leaves. There's a faint umami smell on the dry leaves. This infusion is 5 grams, 65℃, 45 seconds. Its sweet and earthy with a nice baked or roasted flavor, followed up by hints of wheat or barley flavor. Sweetness hits the throat quickly. 65 seemed weak at first, but it's a perfect temperature for this tea. This is a great evening sipper. The second infusion is the best. It starts to weaken on the third. Can teas be described as snuggly? This tea...

An extraordinary matcha, a fusion of taste and aroma that captivates the senses from start to finish. With its deep green hue enchanting the eye, this matcha delights the palate with a sweet vanilla scent that promises an unparalleled taste journey. The foam looks like pudding and its delicacy is harmoniously combined with a vegetal freshness that envelops the taste in a gentle but firm embrace. And when you tickle your palate, you will discover a barely perceptible hint of bitterness, ready ...

A deep green matcha with a very fine, velvety powder that enchants and relaxes the eye. When made into a pesto with a drop of water, it releases a roasted aroma with hints of chocolate, typical of the prized Okumidori cultivar. On the palate, the taste is full but never overpowering, with a total absence of bitterness. The umami is present but delicate, offering a pure velvet sensation. It glides from the mouth to the throat like silk. What I love most is its persistence: sweet and endless, ...

Let's dive into the art of tea with the brand new Shincha 2024, from the prized Saemidori cultivar (one of my favorites), prepared using the unique Kori Dashi technique, the Japanese infusion with ice! As the leaves slowly open, they give off a fresh, herbaceous aroma evocative of high mountain meadows. At the sip, the taste is equally fresh, herbaceous but with fruity notes, offering a thick and slightly sticky texture in the mouth. The persistence is surprising, so much so that it makes the ...

Yakushima Yabukita ‘Shincha’ (新茶 or "new tea") Tasting Notes: Classic Japanese Green Umami with notes of Buttered Brussel Sprouts, Seaweed Wrap, Cooked Rice, Sakura, and Steamed Milk with sweetness both in taste and aroma. Smooth, medium finish with a creamy texture, light and persistent dryness throughout, and a subtle astringency to ‘glue’ the shifting tone of salty to sweet. This Shincha held up extremely well to a high-heat sampling brewed with cooled down boiled water (200-205) for 1 min,...

The aroma is a nice mix of roasted and nutty notes, with some steamed vegetables coming through. My first sip was an explosion, with waves of flavour hitting me immediately. First I tasted that vegetable flavour, accompanied by a modest sweetness. Then came the toasty notes with a lot of elegance! For me, the flavours and the mouthfeel represent depth and thickness. After the second and third sips, a nice acidity accompanies these deep flavours, which would add some freshness to the experienc...

This tea is smooth and brings a cooling sensation similar to mint on my throat and the tip of my tongue, accompanied by a gentle and comfortable umami that lingers on the back of the tongue and a grassy sweetness in the back of the throat. These traits intensify in the second infusion and the cooling feeling slowly migrates into the top of the chest, followed by a deep sweetness. Maybe Japanese tea is a little 寒 after all. Liquor is impressively green. Definitely can push past 3 infusions. Botto...

A delicious bouquet of this Japanese green tea from the Asatsuyu cultivar, wrapped in an intense and enveloping aroma. An experience that begins with a herbaceous note and evolves into a delicious flavor reminiscent of meat broth with fresh vegetables. But here comes the surprise: wet leaves reveal an unexpected bouquet, with accents of cooked chestnut, a distinctive feature typical of fine Chinese green teas. This is what makes the fukumushi so extraordinary: a perfect balance between velve...

This Kuki Hojicha has the classic Japanese green tea flavour, with a very light sweetness and a subtle acidity. What makes this tea so interesting are the roasted notes that linger for a while. As this tea is slowly roasted using only the stems of the plant, it has a very low caffeine content, making it perfect for enjoying in the evening. Although I prefer to drink this tea on its own, I can imagine it pairing well with a light chocolate cake with a scoop of yoghurt or vanilla ice cream, as i...

Such a stellar tea! These are my impressions. Dry Leaf Scent: Strawberry jam, roasted barley, and aromatic jasmine flower. Wet Leaf Scent: Artisan coffee beans, coffee cherry (akin to jasmine flower and rose water), and fruit tape. 1st Infusion Taste: Ripe red grapes, freshly brewed artisan coffee, dark honey, and browned butter. 2nd Infusion Taste: Toasted sourdough with dark honey, toasted and honeyed oats, and a slight hint of strawberry jam. Body Sensations: Settled warmth throughout my...

Take a journey through the taste and olfactory paths of Japan with this sencha from the Okumidori cultivar. With its enveloping scent of vegetables freshly cooked in butter, accompanied by subtle notes of miso and soy sauce, this tea transports us straight into the kitchen of a traditional Japanese ramen restaurant. But there is more: an enveloping sweetness surprises as soon as the leaves come into contact with water. The umami stands out strongly, but is balanced by a fruity hint, enriched by...

1st infusion (60 sec): this infusion has a very light colour. The colour is almost beige. Umami is definitely the most dominant flavour. The umami goes on into the aftertaste but I’m also getting a light sweetness in the finish. It’s just about right! 2nd infusion (30 sec): the colour is a tiny bit green now and it has a yellow hue. It’s still mainly umami but less prominent. I’m also getting subtle hazelnut somewhere in the middle. The aftertaste is light umami. 3rd infusion (45 sec): this in...