Classic steamed green tea from Shizuoka, Japan. Crisp and clean cup, notes of freshly steamed edamame. Refreshing, sweet, and much more delicate than most Senchas. If you're new to Sencha (and the vibrant teas of Japan in general), this would be a great place to start.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Sencha Premier, 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.
What a delightful tea; it took me right back to teas I enjoyed in Japan! It's really delicious. A light aroma comes from the pale green cup. It's surprisingly smooth and has a very nice body to it. Excellent green tea flavor without being harsh, overly grassy or raw tasting. Very little astringency yet it finishes cleanly and is quite refreshing. I could drink this all day long.
Well, it's sencha? I don't have anything insightful to add about the flavor of the tea. It tastes similar to all other senchas I have tasted.
I would like to note that I think 2 minutes is way too long to steep sencha. For all the people who said they thought it tasted like vegetable water, this is why. While it certainly has a leafiness to it, it should be mild and pleasant. I would only ever steep sencha for 1 minute and then even less time if you choose to resteep it.
You have to be a green tea lover to enjoy this, and I am not. It is very vegetal - like drinking the water leftover from thawing frozen spinach or asparagus. It was also pretty bitter. One sip and then down the drain for me. (reviewed through CommuniTEA; 1 min @ 175F)
Part of the April 2021 CommuniTEA box. Springy and refreshing, and no sweetener needed.
Grassy green sweetened with Honey. I sampled this tea with the Communitea April 2021 box.
On first sip, I wasn't sure I was going to like this. It was STRONGLY vegetal, in a way that I didn't enjoy (and I've enjoyed Sencha teas before). After the tea cooled a little bit, it smoothed out quite a lot, and I enjoyed it more with each sip. I think it would be easy to scorch this tea if you brewed it too hot, and it would be easy to brew it for too long. I brewed at 160F for 2 minutes, and ended up with a warm, pleasantly vegetal but not too grassy cup of green tea. If you like green teas, I definitely recommend trying this one.
I didn’t hate this one but I didn’t love it either. I did a slight 15 second rinse on mine first, then I brewed at 160° for 2 min. I didn’t get any bitterness and the grassiness was mild. It’s not a bad tea, just not to my liking.
not my favorite type of green tea. it has a very light flavor but that flavor taste odd and not what I enjoy when i want to drink a green tea. maybe mixed with other things it would be better but alone I'm not a fan
This tea is a light, delicate green tea. I added a bit of stevia monk fruit blend for sweetness. It was a smooth, easy to drink green tea. Happy sipping!
Smells bad and tastes even worse. I dumped out my cup. Could not stomach it. Just bad. I have no idea why someone would drink this. If I had not freshly brewed it myself I would have thought the cup sat somewhere for too long and had gone off.
There is a smell of warm grass and corn as the CommuniTea packet opens. The tiny leaves (they are itty bitty) create the palest of golden/green liquors and this smells of warm grass and buttery corn. Even after only 2 minutes, this is too bitter tea for me - my mouth puckers up. Adding ½ teaspoon of Truvia sweetener (to 10 oz) mellows the astringency enough for me to taste buttered celery. Mmm, this is refreshing, and the more the tea steeps, the mellower it gets, and eventually I do not need to add sweetener. Since this tastes better and better the more I drink, it just proves that my taste buds needed time to adjust to this fine green tea. Simple loveliness in a cup. (Multiple steeps: 2 mins @ 165ºF + sweetener).
This tea is really grassy. I did NOT like it, and couldn't finish the cup. But I'm sure its a lovely tea for those who like grassy teas since taste is so subjective.
I don't feel as though I am an impartial judge but I could not even finish my cup. I felt as j was sipping on a cup of grass. Grassy tea is not my, well, cup of tea.
Smelled like tuna when brewed and tasted like grass. Definitely was NOT a fan.
While I loved the delicate look of the leaves, and appreciated how they unfurled in the steep;; I just can't get over the intense grassy flavor. I always have this issue with green teas and perhaps I need to research different brewing techniques. But for now this is no for me
Following recommendations, I steeped at low temperature (160 rather than the specified 165 because that's the closest my kettle has) and for about 90 seconds. The resulting flavor is so creamy and rich, and a little smoky; to me it tastes heavier than a 'typical' green tea. Not a tea I'd choose for myself, but I'm glad I had the pleasure of trying it.
This type of green tea is OK but not what I reach for. Tastes very traditional and “green”.
As much as I enjoy 'steamed edamame,' it is not the most appealing description of tea to me; however, I found this tea more tolerable than I expected. The scent of the tea was reminiscent of cut grass, and the first sip of the very pale green liquor certainly conveyed vegetal notes. Subsequent sips retained that vegetal taste, yet somehow it was not as unappealing as I expected it to be. It's a very light vegetal note, and all together the tea felt clean and fresh - like a newly mown lawn. A second steep proved to be more vegetal tasting, though that may be because I sipped the tea solo as opposed to pairing it with food. Although this will likely never be my go-to tea, I can see how this would be an excellent green tea. Maybe I'm just becoming accustomed to quality (grassy) green tea.
I would definitely call this an ur-green. This is what you think when you think about a grassy green tea.
You definitely smell the grass notes from the leaves when you open the CommuniTEA pouch and another note that I can't place - maybe mossy?
GREEN. That's the taste. Grass green if you want to get particular, but if you want a green that tastes like a green, this is your tea. Beautiful pale green color; I have a set of clear teacups coming to me, and I wonder how it would look in them, because even in the white cups I have, it's so very light.
I put this on my wish list to buy.
Sencha premier really is a premier green tea. It's light, grassy, and vegetal in the very best of ways. It is easily overpowered by time and temperature, so steeping at 165 for no more than 2 minutes is the way to go, even in subsequent steeps. This tea brews into a flavorful, pale yellow green that belies its flavorful taste. My only issue was that there was a lot of tea dust in my packet that made it through the filter and made the final sips of my first steep less pleasant.
My favorite grassy tasting green! The grass does not come though as smelling like a fresh cut wet lawn though. 1/8 tsp sugar added to smooth this out. When I want a strong green, this is the one! Three grams tea, for 12 ounce steep.
Dry tea smells grassy and vegetal, which persists when the tea is brewed. The brewed tea is a pale golden green. The brewed tea is similar in taste to spinach, which I recognize as a Japanese green tea flavor. It has some buttery notes as well, like you're drinking buttered spinach. The fresh green-ness of the brewed tea is both delicate but full of flavor. The mouthfeel is a bit creamy with a lingering finish. I brewed at a lower temperature to prevent bitterness, which was successful. There's a bit of a savory component on the first infusion that keeps me drinking more to identify it. Second infusion: the flavors are more subdued and delicate, with more buttery flavors and less of the green spinach notes. Brewed tea is a similar color to the first infusion, and the spent leaves are more open. I enjoyed the experience, although you do need to be in the mood for this type of tea in order to fully appreciate it. Brewed for 2 minutes at 160.
I forget how much I enjoy green tea until I have a cup like this. I appreciate all the discussion this morning on alternatives to the brewing directions. I brewed mine for 90 seconds @165. I am on my 3rd steep. I drink my tea without any additions. A most enjoyable tea on a rainy morning.
This is the greenest-tasting green tea I have ever had! Based upon other reviewers comments I steeped for only one minute, but that short steeping time generated lots of flavor and no bitterness. It's a light, clean-tasting, refreshing tea.The flavor is light but very vegetal--fresh cut grass with a hint of lime overtone. This is my first experience with sencha tea so I don't know how it compares to other senchas, but compared to other green teas I've had this tea has a much drier, cleaner taste. It is a tea to sip thoughtfully, not one to gulp down for your morning caffeine hit. At first taste I was so surprised by the flavor that I wasn't sure whether I liked it, but it grows on me as I sip it, and a small amount of sugar gives it a layer of sweetness that doesn't change the other flavors in the tea but does nicely play off of them.
This might sound strange, and was a shocking but pleasant surprise to me, but this tea both smells and tastes like buttery crab legs to me
165/2min a lovely and delicate Sencha, I enjoyed this tea with the CommuniTea group. I enjoyed mine sweetened lightly with honey.
This one fell into the meh category for me. I like my green teas flavored with fruit best and this one is just too grassy/spinachy/brothy for me. I feel like I just brewed a cup of my husband’s freshly mowed grass!
Such a wonderful rebalancing green elixir to sip this morning. Its touch of fresh grass and pleasantly savory flavor hit the spot. After a rollercoaster of flavored teas and life happenings, a simple, smooth, and elegant green tea to enjoy is just what the doctor ordered. It helped recalibrate my taste buds and pause the craziness of life.
My CT packet had 3 g/ 2 tsp of forest green tea with long and short leaves smelling of fresh grass with a bit of exotic smoke, very pleasant, though. I brewed 12 oz. carefully at 165F for 2 min. The pale green liquor had a gentler scent than that of the dry tea. The first sip was a little vegetal in taste and savory too. There was no bitterness detected and I enjoyed a smooth mouthfeel with no noticeable astringency. There was a tangy taste at the finish but I could sip the tea plain very easily so there must have been a slight natural sweetness with subtle floral notes for my sweet tooth to be able to continue sipping without adding honey right away.
I did sweeten, though, with a bit of green tea honey that offers a bit of soft floral taste with its sweetening power. The honey took this cuppa from being a serious green to a more delicate treat. I enjoyed two more resteeps of 8 and 4 oz. too and sweetened and chilled a mini cup. The chilled version, I found, was very tasty and slightly more mellow in flavor than the hot tea. All in all, this was a very impressive green for me because of its sippable flavor and pleasant aftertaste while offering a different but enjoyable experience entirely when sweetened. It was the perfect reset button I needed today. Ahhh...Thanks, Adagio!
I love this tea and could drink it all day long. I like it with or without a bit of sugar. It is delicious hot or lukewarm.
What a great sencha! The leaves are dark and fine, the tea smells like grass but comes through a bit more nutty. This tea seems more like a vegetal Dragonwell tea than the wheatgrass-shot taste other sencha blends. I can definitely taste the difference compared to the Sencha overture, and find the Premier a stronger, more satisfying sencha experience overall.
It tasted of roasted grass a bit nutty. I much prefer fruity green teas than plain.
Slightly vegetal flavors, in a good way. I found this to be a very pleasant green tea, and not at all grassy.
Enjoying along with the Communitea today: Very subtle grassy fragrance noticed from the dry ingredients and packet. However, subtly is not the adjective I would use to describe the steeped leaves (2 mins at 175°F). This is a bold, flavorful green tea with lots of earthy and grassy minerality, rounded out with subtle butter notes early in the finish closing out with subtle astringent tannins. The chablis of green tea. Enjoy!
I feel special when today's Communitea is a pricey tea. Fortunately for me, today is a school day. My oldest would have asked me to drink the rest of this tea. This tea is very much a green tea due to its color and taste. The tea leaves are as green as a forest. I will enjoy my day with this and as many steepings as I can get with this.
compared to my go to current green tea sencha overture this is an upgrade in that it has less of a bite in bitterness. This has more of a nutty flavor as opposed to sencha overture's more fresh grass flavor. You can still taste the grassiness in the background but the nuttiness is at the forefront of the palate. I think there are more nutty and sweet green teas with less bitterness that do it better than sencha premiere for the price. Sencha will always have that grass flavor and the premiere hides it but its still there. For me personally I prefer the overture over the premiere but it does come down to personal preference as i prefer the more grassy flavor.
This is a very grassy tea. It's fine, but not something I would seek out.
Thanks to everyone on the CommuniTea who gave tips on how to tame the grassy/green taste, I was able to enjoy this tea. In the past, green teas like this turn me off. I don't drink water that tastes like boiled veggies. A description that includes 'tastes like steamed edamame' sounds gross. I did a quick rinse and only steeped at 160 for 1.5 minutes. That resulted in a *much* better experience. It still does not smell appealing, but the taste is more buttery than grassy. I can drink this. I added in Monk fruit still because I can't do unsweetened tea - any flavor.
Nice, light green tea that isn’t overly grassy tasting. I enjoyed it with a touch of sweetener.
This is a classic Japanese sipper! With a profile like this, no wonder it is one of Japan’s most beloved teas. I am a fan of these steamed greens as I love the way it locks in that beautiful green color. This tea is a visual stunner! When brewed, I adore the roasty buckwheat nose and pale green color. The light mouthfeel is heaven. Nutty, vegetal, grassy goodness that I could steep and steep and steep. Watashi wa koishite iru! Happy Sipping!
Very nice smooth tea. I have been spoiled with fruity teas so add a little green apricot tea and enjoying a very peaceful tea.
165 degrees for 2 minutes. You know the scent of the air after a spring shower? Bright, vegetal, with a tang of ozone? That's what this tea reminds me of. The dry leaves smell like fresh cut grass, the brew itself is multilayered seaweed, slightly floral with an umami aftertaste that turns sweet after a few moments. I enjoyed this tea the most only slightly warm and unadorned by sweeteners. A superb cup of green tea!
A nice green tea deserves a bit more care and attention. Research: more experienced green tea fans recommend cooler temperatures, a light rinse, and a very short steep time. Check, check, check! 158°, rinse, steep for just 1 minute. The resulting tea is a delicate green-gold in color. The aroma is that of fresh grass shoots, not too vegal and not floral. The flavor is not grassy or vegal, but maybe a bit hay like, with peppery notes. It’s pleasant and clean, and nothing fancy in a sophisticated way. Very enjoyable.
This is a very nice Sencha, but Adagio's directions for good green teas are always so... confusing. Basically, 2 minutes right out of the bag? You're going to get a spinach-y mess.
Instead, use water between 150 and 160 degrees F, and steep it for NO MORE THAN a minute (at 150ºF; hit more like 45 seconds for 160ºF). On each subsequent steep, brew for an additional 10 seconds.
Obviously this is just a strongly worded suggested place to start, but the results are a world away from the really mouth-puckering spinach taste you're going to get at 2 minutes at anything over 160ºF.
Steeping for less time at a gentler temperature gives you a softly floral cup that has a soft, refreshing flavor somewhat reminiscent of edamame. It's a very nice tea to wake up with.
My one critique is that, at least for CommuniTea pouches, there's such fine dust/powder in the bag that your tea strainer will fail. So you have the choice of steeping in paper and risking flavoring from that, or just the dust of the tea sitting in the bottom of your cup. I suppose you could steep in one and transfer to another, but for the amount that Adagio sends for the sampler - well, most people would be transferring from cup to cup.
And speaking of, remember when it says 1 tsp/cup of tea, this is about 6 ounces of water - NOT your 'tea mug of water'! (That's also gonna affect taste. A LOT.)
Greenery is here; In the air brought in by Spring; Also in this tea!
Or
Walk in the garden; senses open to enjoy; verdant greenery
Or
Who put veggies in?; Greenery in my tea cup!?!; I love vegetables!
(Haiku choose your own Review)
This tea reminds me a lot of when I visited Japan, which should speak of the quality that this tea has for a product I got in America. It brewed into a crisp, vibrant pot of tea that had the sharp metallic tang of spinach, with the faint sweet undertones you might expect of fresh peas. A delicious and traditional tea.
I'm not sure what it is about some green teas...those that have a vegetal taste are ones I just can't drink. I knew going in that this would be a challenge for me...how to brew this cup of tea so I could enjoy it or at least finish a cup. I rinsed the tea leaves before brewing...covering them in 165F water for about 30 seconds and pouring off that first bit. Then 165F, 1 minute with 1 tsp stevia. Bingo! Still vegetal,but I don't feel like I'm drinking a cup of hot moss or broccoli water. For me, a strong vegetal taste is actually nauseating. I'm beginning to think it tweaks that same gene that makes cilantro like kryptonite for me. It's odd as I love to eat vegetables...I just can't drink them. no kale smoothies...and no grassy green teas. But...I think I'm figuring out how to brew those few teas in such a way that I can enjoy them. Good cup of tea...but required some preparation to personalize the brewing to my tastes. I'm not penalizing this tea for being not to my taste in the first place. It's obviously a very quality tea...nice scent on opening the packet...and I was able to work around my personal issue with it and finish the cup. Not one I would order for myself. But I'm sure green tea lovers really enjoy this one!
Really enjoyed this light cup of green tea, it was delicious.
This green is so strong if brewed for the recommended 2mins at 175°
I can only brew it for 1 minute, or else it beats me up. That shorter brew time results in a cleaner finish yet it’s still strong and flavorful. This is different from Adagio’s other, less expensive sencha, which I like about as much as I like this one.
I had to put my glasses on to verify the 'steep at temp' on my CommuniTea sample..yep, 165😃 This is nice, delicate and grassy. Not bitter or over the top vegetable. Very enjoyable!
Maybe one day sencha will stop tasting like seaweed. It's very vegetal. Not like gyokuro which is amazing but in the gross blended kale juice no pulp way