Hibiki-an

So creamy with notes of chocolate. No hint of bitterness. For the price, absolutely delicious.

Second Tasting Note

10g tea
Higher end of the 140 to 150 range
250 mL first steep 200 after

The brewed tea is a definite green colour. The flavour is very savoury, unami.

I wondered if the change in tea varierty type resulted in a less intense flavour (perhaps a good thing like a wine with a 60 / 40 split).

Full of unami. Though the surprise this year was Kuradashi Pinnacle.

Greener. I also had more powder in my tea, I suppose.

10g tea
60C (or below) F
2 minutes

My guess is that this one would make a better matcha. It was also more consistent across multiple steeps.

I will update this. This is a first try.

My first tasting note for this tea.

Opening the package, I noticed a little aroma. (I expect that this will increase as the tea has a chance to air). Just weighing out the tea, I could tell that these leaves were high quality.
I have a idea of where it is grown. Tea leaves reminded me of the quality that I saw in shincha this year.

10 g of tea
80C Water
1 minute brewing time
3 brews

The first brew had a lot of unami. Yet, it was not as spectaular as the Gyokuro Pinnacle. Still, that in no way diminishes this tea. Soup like unami.

The second brew was much less so, yet very good. The third also.

The colour of the brews was the bright yellow that you expect from sencha. I did also notice the astringency / acidity that sencha is famous for. Reminded me a little of weak granny smith.

I would rate the first cup above the best sencha that I had from Shizuoka.

Next is cold brew.

Cold Brew Tasting Note
20 g Tea
1 L of water (approx.)
24 hours brewing time

I have been drinking high grade gyokuro konacha for a month or two prior to receiving this tea, so I have an idea of what I am looking for.

I poured off the clear portion of the tea and saved it. I then rinses the tea with abput 450 mL of water. This gave me the cloudy green tea that is so delicious. I found this tea to be more muted in flavour than other oned that I have drank.

On the other hand, the clear tea was definitely more flavourful.

This was the most expensive cold brew that I have done to date ar $17 usd.

I also think that it is a bit of a shame to use this tea for cold brew, as the first hot brew is so incredible.

Second Tasting Note.

10G Tea
143C Water
Used A Bowl And Sieve To Brew
Preheated Cup

Simply the most umami flavour. The best.
This tea was meant for straight drinking.

This is the first time that I have tried a culinary grade matcha. This one uses nibancha (second pick) tea. I noticed a bit of a colour difference between it and house matcha; because I had them both on spoons next to each other. It was more of a subtle difference.

The product was fine in my latte this morning, it appeared green. I sifted the matcha beforehand. The taste had a tea flavour. Perhaps because it is second picked?

Update: I don’t think I would drink this ceremonial style. It’s great for lattes though!

This was my favourite matcha last year.

I used this traditionally whisked, though with sugar. It was my summer matcha. I have also used it ceremonially.

It’s a good product. Green colour. Some aroma when I open the tin. Tana method is used for shading.

I really can’t describe it in depth, despite having it several times in a row during my daily ceremony. Maybe that’s a good thing.

I’ve also had it as a latte, and iced latte. In comparison to the shincha matcha, I thought the flavour was more developed, at first. Still, I think because things get more mellow as you move up the quality scale, and I prefer matcha with more taste, that it is hard for me to say sometimes.

This was a better green than an organic premium (supposedly) matcha that I tested at the same time.

I used this for my tea ceremony each day. I also tried it with sugar and in lattes and iced lattes. The extra green colour is great for iced lattes.

Over the summer I used this and Matcha Superior. I think this had a very smooth taste being so young. If I am not mistaken, the grind waa amazingly fine.

The tea itsslf would be either super premium or pinnacle grade.

Because tea gets more mellow as you go up the scale, I have a hard time deciding on reviews. I like lots of flavour in my matcha. That makes it difficult.

The first in a three series release. The difference between this one and the regular Gyokuro Konacha is in how the tea is grown and picked, and where it is from. Think hand picked. Tana or traditional Honshu shading.

I wish I had saved this tea for last. I would have really liked more experience before drinking it. It’s definitely worth drinking. I can’t say whether it is that much better to justify the price difference.

The difference between this and the regular Gyokuro Konacha is the way the tea is picked, where it comes from and being more expensive. Higher levels tend to be hand picked.

I think I wish I had waited until the end to drink this. I don’t have much to say.

It has the usual lighter and darker speck appearance (straw and green). The rinse is full of flavour (see below). There may be more flavour in the clear liquid than regular gyokuro konacha. I just don’t know.

A little different from Sencha Konacha, also very similar. More greenness in both the liquid and the rinse. Gyokuro flavour.

This is a by product from the sifting process of all that Sencha. Tea specks from premium grades are used.

I recommend this product for cold brewing. Simply take 20 grams of the tea and add to 1L (roughly) of water. Leave for 24 hours in your fridge

There are two ways to finish this. Strain out the whole tea and put the liquid in a container. Add a 450 mL of water to rinse off the tea. Now you can either drink the liquid you rinsed off, or put back into the jar. It is like the unfiltered apple cider of tea This will be green and cloudy versus the clear filtered liquid.

One note, you can’t use this in fine tea bags.

Because the tea has sat, the sediment has settled to the bottom. Try to pour off the first liquid without disturbing the sediment.

A little different from Sencha Konacha, also very similar. More greenness in both the liquid and the rinse. Gyokuro flavour.

This is a by product from the sifting process of all that Sencha. Tea specks from premium grades are used.

I recommend this product for cold brewing. Simply take 20 grams of the tea and add to 1L (roughly) of water. Leave for 24 hours in your fridge

There are two ways to finish this. Strain out the whole tea and put the liquid in a container. Add a 450 mL of water to rinse off the tea. Now you can either drink the liquid you rinsed off, or put back into the jar. It is like the unfiltered apple cider of tea This will be green and cloudy versus the clear filtered liquid.

One note, you can’t use this in fine tea bags.

Because the tea has sat, the sediment has settled to the bottom. Try to pour off the first liquid without disturbing the sediment.