Yamamotoyama

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Recent Tasting Notes

84

A classic jasmine green, sold in teabags outside of Japan, usually very affordable. I paid $3USD for 10 bags in NYC.

The jasmine is subtle and not too perfume-y tasting and the underlying green tea is a basic sencha type, not bitter or fishy. The flavours complement each other well and neither dominates. If you’d like a level 10 jasmine-scented experience, this will likely be too mild.

Whilst admittedly not the finest jasmine ever, it’s a very nice daily drinker at a great price. I have yet to try it iced but that may be a summer project!

Flavors: Jasmine

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 15 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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drank Hoji-cha by Yamamotoyama
73 tasting notes

I usually brew a 6-cup pot at a time with boiled water allowed to cool for a few minutes (to around 190F – I’ve tried using water as cool as 155F or so and found the flavor gets a bit weaker even with a longer infusion), and infused for 1 – 2 minutes. A bag can make a second pot if needed, though it will take a few more minutes of infusion.

Persian orange liquor. Woodsy, baked, nutty, toasty aroma. Clean and mellow palate entry with hints of buckwheat. Hits a sweet spot between genmaicha and mugicha – rather generic but not bland.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 1 min, 30 sec 0 OZ / 0 ML

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90

I’ve drank all kinds of oolong from cheap to ultra pricey and this stands out as a great classic brown oolong. Brews true dark brown, with a strong but mellow taste to match. Don’t overbrew it- but if you hit that sweet spot between weak and “been in the Chinese restaurant teapot for a week” spot, it’s a solid contender. Dirt cheap but beats out teas that are twice the price.

Yamamatoyama is a solid choice, though the quality of their domestic Japanese teas far exceed out their export-quality stuff. It’s actually a very high-end tea company in Japan, so they save their best tea for their domestic market. Even so, this export-grade oolong holds up well for an everyday, unfussy brew. I always recommend this one to friends looking for a simple “Chinese restaurant” type tea.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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90
drank Hoji-cha by Yamamotoyama
676 tasting notes

I have my wife to thank for getting me into this tea. As she’s sensitive to caffeine, houjicha and herbals are the only teas we can drink together. Despite not being big fan of houjicha, this bagged Asian grocery store tea has slowly won me over.

It’s not ashy or earthy like houjicha can sometimes be. It’s roasty without being aggressively so. Very smooth with a rich body and mellow comforting flavor. Can sit forever in a mug of hot water without becoming bitter.

I’ve had higher grade houjicha and while they were good, the subtleties are sadly lost on a houjicha-heathen like me. Sometimes, the bagged stuff is the best.

Flavors: Earthy, Roasty

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C
Michelle

I remember liking this one enough that it’s gone from my cupboard, and I’d buy another box if I ever found it again.

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75

Sipdown! (33 | 249)

This was a tea that I picked up at my local Japanese market on a whim, because I love apple things! When I was filling a ziploc bag with some wrapped teabags to take with me on vacation, I noticed there were only a few of these left, so now I’m finishing them off!

I find it interesting how in these sachets, the flavoring is actually little round beads that are separate from the tea. Bird & Blend does something similar with their flavored matcha (which makes it really annoying to cold brew), but I think this is the first time I’ve seen that in a teabag. Not that it matters one way or the other, just interesting!

This has a strong and crisp green apple flavor that definitely leans into candy territory. The green base is über mellow and smooth, and the matcha adds a bit of sweetness and gives a more substantial texture. I could see this base being tasty on its own or as a foundation for any number of flavors. I’ll have to see what else is available the next time I visit the grocery!

Really a lovely strong apple tea for this time of year. :3

Flavors: Apple, Candy, Creamy, Grassy, Green Apple, Smooth, Sweet, Tart, Thick, Umami, Vegetal

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 16 OZ / 473 ML
Courtney

Love finding hidden gems at the grocery!

Cameron B.

They always have some interesting-sounding flavored Japanese teas!

ashmanra

I had a Whittard’s? Rose tea that had the little beads! It was very good. But I love rose tea!

Cameron B.

It makes a lot of sense if they want to use the same base for several flavors, seems like it would simplify manufacturing so they can just add the flavoring separately.

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drank Hoji-cha by Yamamotoyama
9 tasting notes

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Flavors: Bark, Rice, Roasted Barley

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58

I’ve been wanting to try Genmai-cha. This is a box I got at the Korean grocery store, H-mart. “Genmai-cha Green Tea with Roasted Rice”. I was actually a little nervous after smelling the bag. The roasted rice is not a joke! I wasn’t sure how i’d like it in tea, but I’d say it’s pleasant overall. I expected more vegetal green tea flavor though. All I really notice is the roasted rice smell and taste – which is nice, just not as complex as i was expecting. Will definitely drink it again and see how i like it. Not bad for what was probably around $3 for a box of tea bags.

Flavors: Toasted Rice

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 2 min, 30 sec 8 OZ / 236 ML
gmathis

Genmaicha has always reminded me a little of popcorn.

Madeline

There was something about the genmaicha that was suuper familiar to me – i think it was that it smelled like popcorn to me too! haha

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74
drank Oolong Tea by Yamamotoyama
113 tasting notes

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30

I found a box of this still in the cupboard that I’ve been trying to clean out, buried behind where I keep my cans of soup teas I use for ramen broth. It expired in 2010. Oops. Only five packets left in it, I figured I’d make one water bottle’s worth and if the matcha tasted nasty due to age I’d trash the rest. At least unlike that fossilized instant chai I found in the back of the cupboard, this doesn’t have milk product in it, so maybe there is some slight hope…

The Yamamotoyama website listing says this is the “lightly sweetened” version of their instant matcha iced tea (the box just says “sweetened”). Honey, there is nothing “light” about this! Is there matcha in this? The green color says there is, but my taste buds are getting nothing but sugar water. Maybe there is a faint shadow of something grassy in the background behind all the sweetness, but this is just… meh. I’ll admit I have to sweeten my matcha drinks because they tend to be too bitter for me otherwise, but I like to at least taste my matcha! This is unbarably over-sugared.

At least there is nothing about it that tastes off, or bad… though maybe the lack of flavor to the matcha is due to the age, and if it wasn’t 9 years expired now I’d be tasting more than just sugar, so I suppose I should take that into consideration. I have three packets left to finish this off and get it out of my cupboard. Maybe if I add a few teaspoons of my loose matcha with the leftover packet mix that will help even it out a bit?

Flavors: Sugar, Sweet

Preparation
Iced 16 OZ / 473 ML

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82
drank Hoji-cha by Yamamotoyama
168 tasting notes

I started a new job in a very small office. There’s no kitchen. The bathrooms are shared for the entire floor of the office complex. There is a water cooler with instant hot water. I plan to bring in a thermometer to measure the temperature.

Since this is one of my favorite bagged teas, I brought it in for the convenience factor. I may have to get some Steven Smith teas too. Does anyone have any other bagged recommendations? I’m not keen to bring a gravity infuser that I’d have to carry out along with a key to the restroom just to clean it out. There’s no refrigerator here either.

The main flavor note for me is “visiting in Japan in 2007, being driven around Kyuushuu.” It also tastes roasted and woody and twiggy. There’s a light caramel note too, just a little sweet.

Flavors: Caramel, Roasted, Sweet, Wood

Preparation
2 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
Mastress Alita

Since “kettlegate”, I don’t make tea at work at all. I keep no tea/tea equipment at work anymore (since I can’t prepare any hot water at work that doesn’t taste like shit). I always bring tea from home in an insulated thermos in the morning. Often I’ll bring two thermoses, a hot tea thermos and an iced tea thermos.

I’ve really gotten out of bagged tea, mostly because the “crushed to death”/“on shelves for ages”/“designed to be preserved for eons” taste just doesn’t do it for me anymore. The few “bagged” teas I like aren’t really “bagged” teas in that sense, but rather loose leafs that are in sachets — Steven Smith Teamaker, Teapigs, etc. (and though I haven’t tried them yet, pretty sure Harney & Sons has this option as well). There are only a few select bagged grocery store tea flavors I still like, and they are mostly herbals (Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer, Tazo Passion, Stash Apple Cinnamon Chamomile…)

I love these things and just bought another package recently: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078RJGHG3/?coliid=I2ZI2DD50L11PY&colid=3DWOHQU4F44P2&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Corn fiber fillable tea bags. You can measure out your loose leaf however you prefer and just seal it up and leave some in your desk. They leave no taste in the water like paper bags and are biodegrabable on the environment, too. I use them pretty much nightly in my dobin teapot making herbal tea, because herbals require little expansion/don’t really oversteep/and cleanup from the teapot is super easy then! Then you don’t have to feel limited to just bagged tea since you can bag up some teas from home and leave them at work.

Todd

Thanks! I ordered those and a Steven Smith assortment.

derk

Ahh, income. Maybe you can convince your new employer to buy a mini fridge at least. As for teas, I enjoyed the Numi bagged sampler box. That brand is available in most supermarkets.

derk

I retract my suggestion now that I see you don’t care for grocery store teas.

derk

Oh, wait, that was Mastress Alita. I blame this sickness.

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69
drank Hoji-cha by Yamamotoyama
1214 tasting notes

Summer Vacation! Onto Japan, and I didn’t have much time to brew a hot cuppa on my way out the door to work, so I decided to finally use up the one teabag of this my friend had given me. He said it “wasn’t bad, for bagged houjicha.” I’m willing to take his word on it. Especially since I didn’t really have time to measure leaf, clean an infuser, etc. with around five minutes to spare to prepare a thermos and head out the door.

Knowing me, tomorrow I’ll probably decide to spare even those five minutes for more sleep, and just take my bag of loose Kyoto Obubu Tea Farm houjicha to work, and “wing” a brew at work without my scale and some of my other schmancier tea things. It’s not like I don’t have a second kettle and gravity well infuser at the library, because I have problems

In any event, he wasn’t wrong. This isn’t bad, for a bagged houjicha. The flavor still has that roasted, woody taste; in fact, I’d say it comes off a bit more woody than I’m used to with loose houjicha, as I’m not getting any sweeter notes like I’ve found later in the sip with those houjicha (typically a honey or caramel sort of flavor). So this comes off a little more robust. Maybe that is a result of being in CTC form?

Certainly not the best houjicha I’ve had, but exceeded all my expectations considering the price point and convenience.

Flavors: Bark, Dark Bittersweet, Roasted, Toasty, Wood

Preparation
Boiling 1 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML
Todd

Yay, glad you liked it!

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90
drank Genmai Cha by Yamamotoyama
29 tasting notes

I just got acquainted to this type about 2 months ago and it has been utterly pleasant. The taste of green tea and rice go together so well. I like to drink this tea to help me when I get peckish but don’t really want to eat. It is quite a nice full-bodied green tea, woodsy and warm.

Flavors: Green, Rice, Wood

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93

I drank this tea for the first time when I went to a Japanese restaurant. It was pretty good; it wasn’t as bitter as the Sencha green tea and there was a lighter taste to it. For me the fragrance was sweet, but there was a hint of rice taste to it. I enjoyed the light flavor it had.

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56
drank Hoji-cha by Yamamotoyama
11 tasting notes

This was a bit too charcoal-flavored for me. I couldn’t taste much else.

Flavors: Char, Roasted, Wood

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82
drank Genmai-cha by Yamamotoyama
16 tasting notes

One of my favorite teas. Very rich, with a full body. Feels more like a meal than a tea.

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65

Its quite warm in my part of the world. I can go without tights, and abandon my coat at lunchtime, and all is well. Bleh, I say. Bring me the cold weather instantly.
But still, its usually freezing in my office, and so I brought a sample of toasty genmai chai with me today.
This is a pleasant, but somewhat weak blend. Its very light, but the toasty notes ar at the forefront of each sip, and the greenness of the tea never gets vegetal.
I’m glad to have tried it.

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71
drank Sencha by Yamamotoyama
2 tasting notes

Quite bitter with first infusion at 170 degrees. Next day, I did a 10 second rinse, then used cold water and a overnight cold steep. Much improved. Color was less cloudy after the quick rinse. Bitterness decreased and sweetness increased. Good everyday ice tea.

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more

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100

This sushi bar style green tea takes me back to Japan and to small sushi bars where the sushi was delicious and the my tea cup was never empty. The full flavors of this green tea are warm and full.

Flavors: Green

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 2 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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83
drank Decaf Genmai Cha by Yamamotoyama
2955 tasting notes

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83
drank Decaf Genmai Cha by Yamamotoyama
2955 tasting notes

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83
drank Decaf Genmai Cha by Yamamotoyama
2955 tasting notes

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83
drank Decaf Genmai Cha by Yamamotoyama
2955 tasting notes

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83
drank Decaf Genmai Cha by Yamamotoyama
2955 tasting notes

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83
drank Decaf Genmai Cha by Yamamotoyama
2955 tasting notes

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