Japanese Green Tea Co.

This is only slightly better than the “Green Tea with Lemon.” I say slightly because I do at least taste matcha in this one, which I did not from the lemon. But it still isn’t very good. Mostly, the orange and sugar tastes like Tang, with a slight matcha aftertaste.

Meh.

A few months ago I bought this lemon matcha and also the mikan (orange) matcha by this company, wanting to add those flavors to my morning breakfast smoothies.

Sadly, both flavors turned out to be awful as smoothie additions because they are so damn packed with sugar that they make the smoothies way too sweet. So I figured I’d try a water preparation, so I added a tablespoon of powder and 500ml ice cold water to my water bottle and shook it like I was beating the devil out of it.

It just tastes like instant powdered lemonade. It’s a nostalgic taste; growing up my parents used to buy the big tubs of CountryTime lemonade powder. But I just can’t taste the matcha at all. There is a slightly different mouthfeel than I’d get with instant lemonade, but that is all I can taste.

Meh. Definitely will not purchase more of this.

After finishing my sample from @skysamurai, I was still thinking about this tea for a few weeks after so I finally decided to get it. It’s honestly really refreshing, sweet and nice in the summer even as a hot tea. I think it is the first kabusecha I have had before, so i feel pretty lucky to enjoy it so much. It’s also such a brillant bright green liquor. It kind of makes me chuckle how the hue reminds of the color of cartoon green acid or cartoon radioactive waste.

Feeling a little unwell today and its helping me relax in the right way- listening to ghibli sound tracks and working at relaxing pace (at home).

Just got back from vacation and I have finally had time to try the first teas from Skysamurai.

Preparation: Western
Tasting Note: I haven’t had a japanese green besides matcha in awhile so this was really refreshing. I don’t think I have had this variety either so it was a pleasant surpise. The dry leaf was very sweet smelling like sugar cane and umami. The tea was really nice, I thought it was the perfect combo of vegetal, sweet and umami. It was really refreshing.

There’s a reason this tea has won so many awards in its home country. It has a nice umami, marine, rich flavor like many high quality Japanese fukamushichas, but also has some nice undertones of freeze dried strawberries that really ties the tea together!

TeaTiff TTB #19

This was a pleasant, if slightly boring, bagged hojicha. Plenty of the toasty, roasty flavor I was expecting, but it came across a bit thin and lacking in depth.

TeaTiff TTB #1

I was craving a green tea when the box arrived, so this was the first one I pulled out. I’ve had some bad experiences with Japanese green tea in the past, but this one is delightful! It steeps up to a bright lime green and has a delightfully smooth, delicate vegetal flavor. Definitely something I’d consider purchasing on my own. This box is off to a great start!

Skysamurai’s TTB Thank you!

Hojicha. My first encounter. Again, I just think so.

Tea #9
Not boiling water. But hot enough. Tea bag is waiting next to the cup. Now, it’s in the cup. Steeping is rather short. Maybe the two minutes mark as Shae did.

Results: roasty. It actually reminds me an Chinese oolong from Sea Dyke Company that I have at work. It’s not bad, but I have been expecting more I think? I can see potential in hojicha, but this was not the best, which I have expected. But it is so mediocre. It was just an okay drink.

2021 Homemade Advent Calendar Swap – Day 20
From Skysamurai.

This is the sachet/tea bag version, but this company also has this same tea in loose leaf form. I’m admittedly not the best judge of this tea because I don’t drink green teas often, and when I do they are typically flavored green teas. That said, this tea isn’t bitter like others I’ve tried so it’s not so bad. Not one I would choose on my own, but it’s interesting to try something new every once in a while.

2021 Homemade Advent Calendar Swap – Day 9
From Skysamurai.

I decided to make a latte with today’s Advent tea, so I’m not sure if it’s a true representation of the tea itself (since I added some tasty additions). I steeped the tea bag in a small amount of water, sweetened with honey, added frothed milk, and topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon. It was delicious! I can’t say for sure if this was an exceptional hojicha or if I just like hojicha lattes in general, but I loved this one.

Backlog: I was going through some of the samples that Whiteantlers gave me a few years ago, and I took a break from the usual oolong for an actual green tea. I was kinda surprised this tea was flavored because it just smelled like a really fresh green sencha when I opened the bag.

I used my whisk and bowl, and when I tried the tea-I was caught off guard by the citrus sweetness. It reminded me of emergency a little bit, but it was sweeter and lighter. It was a hot summer day, and the orange was welcomed. It reminded me of some Japanese Sherbert Ice Cream I used to have in Hawaii, and there was a little bit of a sugar crystal texture in the lightly grassy green matcha. I was very happy with it and finished it quick.

Sipdown 22- 2021
A perfectly nice green tea. Mostly tastes of toasted hay, with some bright vegetal notes. There’s a slight nuttiness as well.

Sipdown. I didn’t care for this hojicha. It was very dusty, and the leaves were incredibly broken. I tried making a few different cups, and they were all so roasty that I couldn’t really taste anything else.

A hot cup.

Very lemony taste and sickly sweetness mixed with piney earthy seaweed.

It met its fate with the kitchen sink after a few sips.

I’ve really been craving green teas, and I sadly don’t have many in my collection. I decided to cold brew this one, and wow was it refreshing. Buttery and sweet, and such an easy drinker. No bitterness or astringency whatsoever. A hint of snap peas and grass.

I grabbed this sample with the Japanese Orange matcha sample I tried from the same company. They claim to add sugarcane and sugar syrup to their soil to enhance the natural sweetness of the tea. Not sure if I buy that, but it was a perfectly decent bowl of matcha. Very smooth flavor, nicely grassy with only mild bitterness.

I’m bumping this one down since the last time I had it. It’s a really oddly sweet, even though the orange flavor itself is pretty nice.

I found out about this company through a tea blogger I follow, and saw that they offered matcha samples for $2.99 with free shipping. I grabbed this one and their plan matcha. This was really pleasant! It has a tangerine like flavor, sweet and present, but not cloying or overwhelming. I added a bit of honey and it was an excellent bowl of matcha.