Aiya

Backlog:

I love Aiya. They’re really a great company – and they provide some of the finest Japanese teas available. I have never been disappointed by a tea from them. They’re always fresh, always amazing.

This Japanese Sencha is no exception – fresh, vegetative, and so lovely to sip.

Here’s my full-length review of it: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/03/17/organic-sencha-green-tea-from-aiya/

Full review will be on http://sororiteasisters.com/ tomorrow, May 22nd at 6pm Central but here are the snippets:

The best way that I can describe Premium Sencha from Aiya is fresh delicious perfection. I have sat here with this cup so immersed in it, just allowing myself to become a part of it, and it is just the freshest sensational cup of tea ever. There is a nutty sweetness with just a slight astringency that gives it almost a citrus like zest. The left over flavor on the palate is lingering, nutty, and a little tart. Yes, you will find a grassy flavor in the tea, but it is not grassy like other green teas I have experienced, this tea is more like a seaweed with a slight saltiness, a vegetal flavor that is really special. The aroma is equally pleasing. I can only describe the aroma as something you would experience in a prairie meadow on a breezy, warm, summer’s day.

When I received my tin from Aiya I was really surprised to find that under the lid was a secondary sealed pull back lid. I was so excited and impressed I made my daughter and husband come look. Upon pulling off the sealed lid by the ring (like an older style soda can) and hearing the freshness seal open, with an airy sound, the aroma of the dry leaf was mesmerizing! The lead is dark green and almost shimmery silver looking. No wonder this is the freshest tasting sencha I have ever experienced!

If you have not tried a tea from Aiya please do yourself a favor and get yourself some right away! You won’t be disappointed in their teas.

Had a cup of this before “lunch” which really only consisted of bean chips and nuts! LOL Regardless this was good!

Full review will post on Sororitea Sisters on the 27th but here are my snippits:

I feel very centered and balanced when I sip this tea, and it makes me feel like I am doing something really wonderful for my body, and mind. Gyokuro is known for its balance of sweet and bitter, even when steeped properly there is a slight astringency in the sip. Yet, it is sweet as well, which brings this perfect harmony to the cup. Its the perfect balance indeed.

There is just something special about Japanese Green Tea, something that only high quality companies that have high standards can bring us as tea lovers. Aiya brings us some of the best examples of excellent Japanese Green Tea.

Full Review will be on http://sororiteasisters.com/ on the 20th but here are my snippits:

I found this cup to have a nutty appeal, grassy of course, and just a slight seaweed flavor. While also vegetal, I find the vegetal notes to be somewhat tame.

This sencha also leaves a lovely floral essence on the palate. It is a surprising and delicious experience.

When Aiya releases something new – it’s like a grand fanfare and rightfully-so! This is delightful! It’s light but flavorful – pleasant and beautiful – vegetal yet sweet – bold yet delicate. It’s quite clean and very impressive. It’s good for multiple infusions, too!

A lovely Gyokuro experience!

Love!

It tastes so sweet and beautiful … like the early days of spring! It has a strong vegetative tone, even though the overall cup is delicate, the vegetative tones stand out. It is somewhere between a lightly steamed spinach-y taste and that of kelp … but without the briny notes of the kelp. Sweet and green and lovely. One of the nicest Gyokuro teas I’ve yet to taste … it tastes so very clean and wonderful.

The leaves stand up well to multiple infusions as well … I’m on my second infusion now!

Sweet, frothy (when mixed with a real chasen), and tasty. It is a calming cup. Beautiful emerald green color. Don’t check email or read the paper when enjoying this, its like a relaxation ritual all on its own.

FANTASTIC!!!… I love this matcha. Aiya produces high quality matcha; it’s vegetal and grassy with just a hint of sweetness [a natural sweetness that comes from vegetables like carrots so that it is not cloying] to be enjoyable.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this matcha.

I should probably start of by saying Matcha is my favorite tea, followed by oolongs and various blacks. Shortly after I found matcha, I began a search for the best ~$30 tin I could find. I have a bowl or two a day, so this task has taken a bit of time, as I finish a tin before I order another.
I have had Domatcha and Pure comparative grade matchas in addition to this. ( long way to go, I know ;) )

The tea:
Sifted and whisked at 175, it doesn’t froth for me much differently than the rest, good amount of small bubbles to cover the surface of the bowl. I do keep it in the fridge and I understand this lessens frothy-ness.
It tastes wonderfully of vegetal, grassy, underlying buttery and most importantly fresh. I find it to taste a lot like domatcha, and similar in color. It stays together and does not require re-whisking or have any chalky texture.
I love this matcha, it’s tasty, more vegetal than buttery but not unpleasantly strong. If I could afford it, an everyday drink for sure, and my current matcha winner!

I was thinking about doing a bagged-bonanza for the rest of the day but I’d rather do MATCHA MADNESS instead.

My Bamboo Whisk is on it’s way out…oh no!
Anyone have an extra Matcha Whisk they might want to part with? I’ll send you a Mystery Box of teas from my stash as a thank you!

So…This is a a sipdown for this matcha and I will surely miss it! Creamy-smooth and very pure. It’s a goodie! See previous notes!

I was excited to get this as a sample with my order from Aiya. I love matcha, I love rice and I like green tea, so I thought this tea would be a smash hit for me. I ended up not really liking it, which disappointed me greatly.

The tea itself was excellent quality, with a generous portion of rice well coated in matcha. Tea leaves were thin, tightly rolled, vibrant dark green.

Once the water hit the tea, the scent of the toasted rice was so strong it put me off. It seemed almost burnt smelling, although the rice was not burned; that was just my impression of the scent.

The matcha blended nicely in the water and the green tea had a very pleasant rich taste , but the taste/scent of the toasted rice just overwhelmed me. After drinking, it also left a very strong aftertaste of toasted rice, which I disliked.

I tried a second tasting with some food instead of by itself and that helped a bit; but I still found the toasted rice flavor aggressive and unappealing. This was my first try at Genmaicha, and I’ll probably try it again to give it another chance but as of now it’s not something I’d seek out.

I did rate this tea highly because it was obviously very good quality, well blended and flavorful, I just didn’t like the flavor!

This is actually the first Matcha that I ever tried and I think I’m addicted now!
It comes in a nice airtight sealed tin with a pull ring to unseal and a screw top for fastening, so good storage.

Very bright kelly green fine powder with a rich “green stuff” smell immediately on opening, a few clumps sifted out nicely into my tea bowl. Upon contact with water (3 oz water to 2 bamboo scoops matcha (water heated almost to boiling but not quite!) turns into a very dark vibrant green and mixes well. I need to practice my frothing technique, but even as a beginner I got a nice froth immediately.

Taste: mmm wonderful rich mouth feel, smooth and calm. No bitterness, but not “sweet” either, nice and vegetal in a good way, like the green of garden plants in the heat of summer. Froth lasts until the last drop!

Smell: very pleasant moderate “green-growing-things”, it’s there but not overwhelming.

Even a small 3 oz serving really gives a very nice feeling of relaxed energy, not “coffee jitters”. Almost soothing.

The only drawback is that it’s expensive and I can’t afford to drink it as much as I’d like- but it’s a fair price for the quality, taste and enjoyment.

Best of both worlds is right! This is FAB Matcha and FAB Sencha, indeed! It smells gently vegetal but tastes a bit sweeter, too. Brisk IS a nice way to describe it! REALLY tasty regardless!

Mmm… This is really good. I’ve had Matcha Infused Senchas before, but as I’m finding with all teas, not all Sencha are equal, and this one tastes exceedingly fresh and has a very exuberant flavor – very lively … vibrant.

It has a very refreshing kind of flavor, and it has rejuvenating qualities to it as well, as I am starting to feel invigorated from within.

Very lovely tea, this.

YAY! Under 500 teas in my cupboard! YEAH! I LOVE sharing tea! Having on last cup of this before sending the rest to a friend.

Nutty-Sweet with buttered green veggies and brown rice with that lovely popped corn aroma and taste! This truly IS matcha infused! The popped rice is covered in the matcha perfectly! Delish! It’s been a while since my last Genmaicha and this was a fab reunion!

This is excellent. But then, I would expect nothing less from Aiya. Their matcha and gyokuro are exceptional, I was confident this would also be good.

Unlike other Matcha coated Genmaicha teas I’ve tried, I’m impressed at how clear the brewed tea appears. It doesn’t have unincorporated bits of matcha settling to the bottom of the cup. The flavor is sweet, toasty, and pleasantly mild. Very soothing and restorative.

This tea has been staring at me for a few weeks. I have been waiting to try it and make my notes when I had the appropriate time. Now…I am wondering if it was trying to tell me something…like…I"M PRETTY DARNED AWESOME…because, you know what? It IS pretty darned awesome!

“Dew” is a lovely word and fits this tea. It’s light and airy and clean and fresh as well as springy, sweet, and delightful!

I agree with my Sororitea Sister LiberTEAs that this is perhaps one of the best Gyokuro’s I have tried to date :)

This is an excellent Gyokuro, perhaps the best I’ve tried yet. So sweet and young and fresh, quite like a dew drop on a young sprig of spring grass. Lightly creamy in the background – nothing heavy so it doesn’t weigh down the tea, but instead highlights the sweetness of the overall cup.

A very pleasant cup … I like this very much.

So – I have had this matcha staring at me and I was saving it for a day I really needed it. Sometimes I wait for a tea to TALK to me…well, this one biffed me in the head today! I needed it! Right there infront of me – on the package – it says “Mental Focus” – I soooo needed that today!

My dear Sororitea Sister LiberTeas will tell ya…I’ve had a flighty morning and technology hasn’t been my friend! LOL

Anyhow…this SHOULD help me get back on track! I HOPE.

This is really good matcha! It’s velvety and pleasant from start to finish! AND…it stays mixed the whole cuppa! It froths up and stays mixed well throughout with little to no chalky end-cup! YAY!

I’m really amazed at how sweet this is…naturally! This is really wonderful! It’s creamy and savory. It’s smooth and a pure delight! I really REALLY like this! It’s great!

No notes yet.

Backlogging: I finished up my tasting of the trio of Matcha teas from Aiya with this Organic Ceremonial Grade. It is very similar to the conventionally grown Matcha, although I notice a bit of a different vegetative kind of taste with this one. This vegetative taste is a sweeter kind of vegetative taste, whereas the conventionally grown is more of a savory, creamed vegetable kind of taste.

Very frothy, sweet, creamy, and thick. YUMMY!