A classic green tea from Zhejiang province, China. Gunpowder, as the name implies, is made up of leaves hand-rolled into tiny pellets. These resemble gunpowder, and give this tea its distinct name. Full-bodied cup with a hint of smokiness.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Gunpowder, including flavor, aroma, preparation preferences, strength, and how the tea fits into daily routines. Browse the full review history page by page to compare tasting notes, steeping tips, and favorite ways to enjoy this tea.
I am a big fan of this tea! I love the smoky kick coupled with the vegi taste, but you have to be careful with the steeping time for this. Still, I find the hint of bitterness to be pleasant even when I do get distracted during tea brewing time. I fully recommend this tea for someone looking for a green tea with a stronger flavor than most.
This is a wonderful tasting tea. I love the flavor.
The name is half the fun of this blend. I love smokey flavors, but this one doesn't have quite the kick I prefer. Still for a more subtle taste, this is the one to go for.
A good green tea staple. Contrasts well with sencha.
With short steeping times, it's just bitter enough, and just a bit smoky.
Delicious! One of my favorites! This is a very fun green tea to throw in with other teas to make them a little more full bodied.
I love gunpowder teas for their compact pebbly look, and their strong flavor. The dried tea is a mixture of partial and whole leaves packed tiny. In the cup this smells almost brothy, like a great noodle soup and while sipping it, I found myself wanting some thick udon noodes, bits of tofu and seaweed to accompany this. This stuff is tasty without the salt content normally in udon broths to drag you down. This has more body than aroma. my nose was almost touch the tea's surface before I could detect any scent and even then it was slightly green, but that's it. I like sipping some teas and gulping others. this is a gulping tea. I'm not sure what the characteristics would be that distinguish the two, but I do like taking larger mouthfuls of this tea, feeling the weight and heat of it on my tongue and sensing it more than smelling it that way. There's something about certain teas that seem nourishing, as though it would sustain you if it could. It does have the familiar briskness that I love about gunpowders, perfect for 3pm when I need a mental slap to keep myself active for a few more hours. There is a slight peppery feeling afterwards, not to prompt sneezing, but to add taste and interest. This is a great option for afternoon pick-me-ups.
I love this tea! It is just a basic green tea which I love. The quality is so superior to anything you could buy in a teabag at a store. I like to brew this tea and then chill it to drink iced and unsweetened. When it's unsweetened, it has just the tiniest touch of bitterness that I find very refreshing.
Large-leaf, hand rolled tea that has a slight smokiness to it. Tastes just like the tea at any Chinese restaurant.
This is the best green tea I, or anyone in my household, has ever had. We're almost afraid to drink it because we don't want to run out!
This is a no-nonsense strong bitter energy-charged tea, and a great replacement for strong black tea and coffee. It goes excellent with peppermint.
Gunpowder is a wonderfully strong green with a touch of smoke. I love drinking this tea alone or in blends. Be warned that if you aren't a fan of strong vegetal flavor, this is not the tea for you. It's also really fun to watch this brew since the pellets open up beautifully.
I love gunpowder, my husband hates it for some reason. I really enjoy looking at the leaves, how they unfurl when you brew them. :D
Vegetal and smokey yumminess. Excellent stuff, one of my favorite green teas.
Different brands (or stores) of gunpowder really have different tastes. This is my favorite and one of my favorite green teas. If you tried gunpowder before didn't like it try it again!
I was able to enjoy multiple infusions of this tea. I tried adding a little mint, which was fantastic.
My first time trying Adagio's gunpowder - pretty good stuff. I tend to like my greens a bit more delicate than this, but even with the smokier taste, it was still very palatable and pleasing.
It's flavorful and very smoky. I prefer less smoky tasting green teas, but it's still a nice cup of tea and change from my usual.
While I like the smooth taste of this tea, I've found that it is easy to oversteep. Perhaps it requires a specific temp for the perfect cup.
UPDATE:
After getting the steeping just right, this is by FAR my favorite green tea. Very earthy flavor.
When I brewed this following the package recommendation, I found it was bitter and harshly grassy. (Maybe my temperature taking was off.)
A shorter and cooler brewing gave me results I liked--nicely smokey, with a warm, gently leafy tea flavor.
very similiar to sleeping dragon, albeit more bold. the smoky quality is pronounced, but not overbearing. the undertones of mossy and vegetable astringency is pretty strong, enough so that it initially left an undesirable after taste. a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar mutes it well.
Ah, Gunpowder... You win. You always do you ole rascal. My favorite green tea. Flavorful, forgiving(to an extent), and a very smooth mouth feel. I love the smoky flavors, without having to having to fight with the grassy/vegetable-ish taste that are typically predominate in most greens. If you are wanting something a bit different from a green, go here. Thank me later.
This is my first green tea and it was the best thing ever 11/10
best served ice, and like nearly everyone else commented, with spearmint.
This is one interesting green tea! As the name would suggest it is full of smoky flavor and almost has a black tea quality to its taste. If your looking for a typical lit on the palate green then avoid this one. But if you like a forceful smokey tea this is the one for you we iminsly enjoyed and will be adding it to our alays on shelf blends.
Delicious! Simple green tea flavor. It's my go to tea at night time. Also, the leaves are very good for re-brewing, plus it looks pretty cool when the pellets unfold .)
This is a nice Smoky yet smooth green tea. I think anyone that likes coffee would also enjoy this tea.
This is my favorite green tea variety. Rich flavor and unique finish I love it
Having a cup right now mixed with the spearmint as suggested for the Moroccan Mint. Truly a wonderful cup!
Gunpowder is really a great tea! I drink it at least three times a week. All of the flavors absorb the other ones - it's great.
Stronger than I usually like my green teas but very flavorful and not too bitter once I added a teaspoon of honey.
Became a quick favorite of mine. It has a nice smoky taste that reminds me of summer bonfires.
I love mixing this with peppermint for a fresh morrocan mint.
I was kind of expecting a roasted flavor similar to hojicha, but gunpowder still carries that slight grassiness which is characteristic of green teas. It does carry a boldness which, if oversteeped, can carry over to bitterness.
A great every-day sort of tea. A weighty, strong taste without the grassiness of many of the Japanese teas (which I find are better for more delicate or relaxing occasions).
Ahh it's amazing. I had heard quite a lot about it in the past and needed to try some for myself, needless to say I was not dissapointed. It has a smokey flavour that really makes it one of the best green tea's I have had. It's up there with phoenix jasmine for sure.
What a cool tea! I was so glad when I was able to order more. I never want to go without again! Such a bargain - a few 'pellets' go a looooooong way. So wonderfully smokey and unique. Mmmm!
Wonderful! It has a dark, smoky flavor. In fact, I am drinking it right here.
I'm not typically a fan of green tea. generally I find it too bitter no matter how careful I am when I brew it. But this was perfect with just a little honey to take off the edge.
This tea has a strong bold flavor. I love it with mint, an it's got a nice price range. It's not for everyone though, start with a sample.
I really enjoyed trying this one. Delectable flavor and fun to watch.
Great tea, has a very earthy, smokey taste. Easy to make too, normally on black and chai teas I never get that full body flavor, but this was so quick and simple. That said it has a noticeable grassy taste which may not be for everyone. All in all Great if you like this sort of tea (I do) still good if it's not really your thing as well.
Quite a good, strong cup of green tea. Definitely worth it for the price, and is quite good alone or blended. I do prefer Sleeping Dragon to this, but have enjoyed both.
my favorite green tea if i want a strong tea. grassy taste.
great green tea also very good when mixed with spearmint
I bought it to blend with Adagio's spearmint tea, but it's also good by itself. It has a really lovely intense smoky taste and you can brew it multiple times!
For the price, this green tea can't be beat. Plain or mixed with spearmint (if mixing with spearmint, I steep the spearmint for a couple of minutes before adding the gunpowder), this is a good green tea.
Not as good as Sleeping ragon, but a nice mellow green without any bitterness.
Rather vegetable-y in taste, but definitely soothing and appealing. The hand-rolled balls are fun, too. I won't say it's my favorite green, but it's definitely worth a cup now and then. I suspect it might be good mixed with other things, like the Moroccan Mint suggestion.
Nice gentle, smoky flavor. efinitely one of my favorite green teas.