Ippodo

First three steeps are truly amazing. Lingering umami taste. Thick and brothy. Buttery sweet corn, with a hint of creamy milk. Fourth and fifth steeps remind me of the sweetness that comes with that of Long Jing. A delectable tea!

First and second steeping are sweet, with a somewhat prominent umami taste. Delightful. Third to fifth steeping begin to lack the umami and reveal a subtle bitterness. Great while it lasts.

This seasonal matcha isn’t as great as the Nodoka Spring seasonal match.

A delicious Usucha Tea

dry leafs smells very powerful of marine notes like seaweed, mussels, seafoam, also salty olives and wet freshly cut grass. when brewed the salty olives and seaweed persist on the nose, the taste is very full bodied with a heavy dose of umami bringing it almost in Gyukuro territory. Very grassy , and there is asparagus and raw cabbage as well. It is very sensitive to temperature and steeping time, and dosage, every time i brew it comes out a bit differently. Now it has been open for four weeks and i definately note that flavor is more muted than the first times i brewed it which is a shame. Very nice allround Sencha on the full-bodied side but use if up within the first 3 weeks if possible

the warm wet leaves give me a vague hint of roasted seaweed. i love this tea

Very solid daily drinker. Has a very pleasant roasted taste without getting overpowering. Lasts for many steeps. Can go all day and it won’t lose taste much even after a dozen steeps.

I’ve tried Ippodo’s Top tier matcha. (not in the traditional way though) it was lovely! nice amount of sweetness/bitterness. nice amount of Umami and grassy taste.
i should buy more to try the traditional way and koicha way.
until then i will not rate this tea :)
goes nice in a water flask

give it a go: http://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/kyoto/shopf/goods/index.html?ggcd=101024&cid=matcha

My matcha kit has arrived!

This is my first time so I hope you forgive me if I did not do well. I might have done well as it was very creamy. Tasty too!

Nice grassy, umami taste, as well as a balanced bitter/sweet taste.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BguGj4SgPiP/?taken-by=kirkoneill1988

End result Yum:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BguGnoSgxuI/?taken-by=kirkoneill1988
i rate 99/100 as this tea is just short of the best (i’ve tried their “Top Tier matcha”)
all in all, i really enjoy making matcha the proper way.

i suggest you buy either the kit or the matcha :D

Kit:
https://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/kyoto/shopf/goods/index.html?ggcd=651607
matcha:
https://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/kyoto/shopf/goods/index.html?ggcd=135624

Guyokuro pyramid teabags by ippodo.

Grassy, grapes, vegetal, minerals, metallic (iron), bitter with a sweet aftertaste.

All in all, a yummy tea. I like the tastes in this tea. Somewhat similar yet different than sencha.

In the end after trying sencha, gyokuro, and hojicha; these teas are very yummy. There’s a taste unique to Japanese teas. I cannot put my finger on it. Unami? I do not know. Do you?
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf1UebHAQPY/?taken-by=kirkoneill1988
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf1UhCxAGa7/?taken-by=kirkoneill1988
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf1UkyrAnm8/?taken-by=kirkoneill1988

so i tried cold brewing this with 4 teabags in a medium sized container early afternoon and overnight in the fridge. it was ok. still it was tasty. however, i wont be doing this again.

Hojicha pyramid teabag. By ippodo

Hojicha is my most favourite Japanese tea!
Nice earthy, roasted, nutty, grassy taste :D. Some mineral notes. Possibly seaweed notes too.

All in all only due to possible favouritism bias, I won’t rate a 100, but a 99.

I suggest you give this a go! I honestly do!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf00x-5AHwi/?taken-by=kirkoneill1988\
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf001VbgM9o/?taken-by=kirkoneill1988
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf004PLgXo6/?taken-by=kirkoneill1988
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf0069kgNXn/?taken-by=kirkoneill1988

Sencha pyramid teabag by ippodo.

What it can say is this tea is yummy! Grassy, vegetal, sweet, and nutty. Some mineral notes. Maybe iron? Metallic too but all in all so yummy. I rate a 95/100. I suggest you try this.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfy2IlQgdVA/?taken-by=kirkoneill1988
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfy2D7yANbG/?taken-by=kirkoneill1988

Light, sweeter flavor than other matchas. Great with milk

This is a limited edition tea by Ippodo that I purchased at their store in NYC. I was looking for something cheap and tasty to drink and found this to be a great affordable tea that was a cut above grocery store genmaicha. Unlike other genmaicha, the toasty roasty “popcorn” taste of the toasted brown rice is much less apparent. Instead, there is smooth and bright, juicy, lemongrass-like note that erupts in your mouth while the savory brown rice translates into a creamy avocado flavor that is sweeter in nature than the fishy, savory, umami I normally find in Japanese green teas. The tea itself is quite pretty as well. The dry bancha consists of very shiny, smooth, uniformly cut pieces that are such a rich vibrant green. I really can’t stop looking at it! Consequently, the liquor produced is a bright “spring-y” green.

I HIGHLY suggest steeping it only briefly. In my opinion, the grassier taste and additional dryness and slight bitterness that accompanies a long steeping don’t really add anything great to this tea. Brewing instructions from ippodo also suggest a short 30 second steep time and to pour out the tea completely rather than leave it continually stewing in the pot with the leaves.