Oi Ocha Dark

I always keep this handy in between drinking hot tea. I enjoy the robust flavor. It tastes of fresh teas and doesn’t have that flavor some other RTD teas have. Highly recommended for those who like a stronger RTD.

This tea is in the database twice, interestingly, once as “dark” and once as “koiaji” which is to say the actual japanese word for it. I’m going with this entry because it has more logs in it.

So, like iyemon koime, this is very strongly brewed green tea. I guess because that means more health benefits? That is what the description tells me. Anyway it definitely tastes overbrewed, a lot more so than the iyemon. Someone in another tealog mentioned that Ito En is basically the equivalent of Lipton in America so I guess the quality of the tea is lower (that also explains why I got it for 100 yen instead of 150) (it also makes the whole reverse-importing thing with the Teas’ Tea New York brand even funnier!)

But back to the tea! It’s bitterness is kind of unpleasant really, and it’s got a weird sugary finish at odds with the rest of the teas – honestly I think I don’t like these sugary finishes on green tea, I much prefer consistency of taste. At least it’s not super sweet all the way through though.

A strong green tea, goes well with Japanese food such as sushi or donburi. A cloudy cup, but not gritty. Deep green color, pretty grassy. Brewed in a kyusu for one minute. Will try a second steep to see how it goes.

This advertises a “bolder taste” but to me it tastes bitter (overbrewed?), with a strong honey note onteh finish. I actually looked to see if it’s sweetened (it’s not.) I definitely prefer the more subtle, yet more complex taste of their regular brew. In fact I bought a whole case of it. I can taste a bit of woody/roasty something behind this if I strain, but the bitterness is primary on my palate. It’s drinkable, but I don’t enjoy it like their other green.

Even though Ito En is the equivalent of Lipton Tea in Japan, I really enjoy their iced tea. They are extremely refreshing and don’t contain any sweetner. I tried this one for the first time today and it has a stronger flavor than their regular green tea. It kind of has a grassy/sencha flavor to it. The regular Oi Ocha tastes more like barley/popcorn/gen mai cha to me.

I got stuck in California on work for some extended stays. This was my favorite discovery out there. Every time I see somebody sneak a batch in to Texas, I buy it up.