I saw these matcha-dusted sencha sachets at a gourmet specialty store and decided to give them a try. I consumed quite a lot of matcha-dusted sencha over the course of a couple years of my life, but I have not had any lately. I used to buy two different kinds: Stash Premium Green with matcha, or Kirkland Signature Green with matcha. Both were quite decent, though the Stash was in a filter bag. Kirkland’s was the very first sachet I ever encountered, and I always felt that there was something luxurious about it. Apparently many other people felt that way as well, as now sachets are in virtual ubiquity.
Rishi has changed the name of this tea. I clicked on the link in the company description and was directed to Rishi’s home page. There is no tea now known as Super Green, only this Matcha Super Green, and this batch is said to hail from Kyushu, not specifically Kagoshima. On the box the cultivars are identified (somewhat surprisingly, since even most specialty tea emporia do not provide such detailed information on their teas). Here’s what it says: Asatsuyu, Yabukita, Okumidori, Okuyutaka. Make of that what you will!
The tea brews up bright emerald, as all matcha-infused sencha does, and the texture is super sumptuous. I found the brew itself to be a bit bitter, though I kept the time short (2 minutes) and the temperature low (73F).
Upon examining the sachet, I discovered that there were lots of stems along with the tea leaves. I was very surprised by this, as the Rishi loose-leaf teas have been very good. Slipping stalks into sencha sachets? They must be trying to cut corners.
Note that this new version is not identified as the same tea which won the award in 2010. There is no way that a stem-riddled sencha would win an award. The competition is incredibly stiff among sencha producers. Lest we forget: they live in an honor-shame culture!
