Aiya

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!

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!

Today, I tried out the Ceremonial Grade Matcha from Aiya (hopefully tomorrow, I will get to the Organic Ceremonial Grade). Here are my thoughts:

While whisking this one, it was evident how different it was from the Premium Grade Matcha. It was thicker. VERY frothy, froths up more than the Premium Grade. Creamy and thick on the palate, Sweet with a distinct bitter tone. Even though it’s thicker and creamier, it still doesn’t impart a chalkiness in the aftertaste. One thing I noticed about this, is that it stays mixed… no need to whisk while sipping (same is true with the Premium Grade). This is delicious, but, I actually think I prefer the thinner Matcha as it has less of the vegetative taste. I don’t dislike vegetative taste, but, I do prefer it to be on the lighter, milder-tasting side.

Backlogging: I am trying out all three of Aiya’s Pure Matcha teas (Premium Grade, Ceremonial Grade, and Organic Ceremonial Grade). Before I do an in-depth review of each tea, I want to try each of them so that I can compare and analyze.

My first sampling of Aiya’s Matcha involved this Premium Grade Matcha.

Color is bright, vivid green. Frothy! Smooth, creamy, not too thick. I recommend starting at 2 ounces and then tasting before adding a third ounce. Two ounces per 2 grams of tea turned out to be perfect for me. Sweet with a sharp, savory bitter note. A nice contrast of flavors. One of the best chawans of Matcha I’ve had in a long time! Very vibrant… no chalkiness in the aftertaste. Smooth and creamy. Very nice.

I noticed after I drank this Matcha that I was truly energized! Don’t drink Matcha too late in the day, or it may be difficult to settle down and start the rest cycle at night!

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!

This is a little lighter and mellower on the side of taste as far as your GREEN Matcha taste is concerned but the feature I LOVE with this one is how SMOOTH it is! This is really nice! Almost milky! A pure delight! I really like this!

This was a slightly more fresh version of standard American grade maccha teas. It has the standard floral finish, but too much bitterness for the price-point. I wouldn’t recommend this tea over the standard maccha that one can get at the asian market, but it is definitely not the worst I have tasted. (^^)

Truly the mother of all green teas… Still needs to be discovered by many, but I guess that that is just a matter of time.
Funny enough many think that matcha tea needs additional effort, while in the end, preparing the tea happens in a jiffy as it does NOT need to steep. 2 bamboo scoops of matcha, water at about 80˚ C, foam it up with a bamboo whisk for about 15 secs and you are good to go!
Not just good taste, but especially a good and long lasting feeling after consumption.