I am really starting to think that I like the Iyemon lineup from suntory the best out all of the bottled teas. Perhaps it is their association with “an authentic tea company” (that is seriously in the company’s description of the tea) but these teas seem to just have so much more character than a lot of the other bottled teas. What’s more, the character they have is much more sophisticated than a lot of the stronger teas who seem to be relying on a philosophy of “RAR TASTE THE STRENGTH OF MY TEA”
Which, in a brilliant and smooth segue that I have just ruined by pointing it out, leads me to today’s tea, which is brewed deliberately strong because apparently that is how the Japanese did it in olden times. The difference from their other green teas is obvious just from the color, which is much darker than their other teas. From the color, you could be forgiven for assuming that it was an oolong tea, although it is not quite dark enough for a mugicha. The taste is similarly quite strong and, while I like it all right, I found it a bit too bitter. I also found myself missing the taste of the matcha that the other Iyemon teas have…still, I prefer it to the hojicha…
