Ito En

Smooth, with a strong jasmine finish that is floral, but tastes more fresh than fake/perfumey. Probably not the best choice with my lunch of roast beef and welsh rarebit over rye toast, but enjoyable nonetheless.

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.

I had been thinking about this tea since passing it over during a trip to Ito En’s New York store back in April. When I was there again last week, I made it a point to pick some up. After all, how could you go wrong with a blend of Chinese Silver Needle white tea and Japanese Uji Gyokuro green?

Sadly, the first infusion definitely did not live up to my expectations. The gentleness of the white was overwhelmed by the green, leading me to think the ratio of the blend isn’t optimal. The second and third infusions, though, were better and seemed more even.

The jury’s still out, overall, though.

Bit sweet, honey notes like everyone says. I’m not a huge fan of oolongs but this one is okay.

I tried this ready-to-drink (RTD) tea yesterday. I paid $1.99 for it at one of the local markets. I was prepared not to like it, but was surprised. It was fresh tasting and pleasant. I had a subtle experience that the beverage was salty, but that’s unlikely because it has no added sodium. Probably my body chemistry. I’m conflicted in my opinions on bottled and canned teas, but I think this unsweetened option would be a much healthier alternative to soda when you crave something other than water.

A peach-juice blended iced ceylon tea. It reminded me of those orange-and-yellow peach gummy candies that look like sour worms except they aren’t actually sour.

I love the full flavor of green tea this brand offers. The flavor is good enough to drink without any sweeteners and milk. I will have to say this is the best green tea in terms of quality, taste, and price.

Tea is pleasant. Has an organic grassy taste to it.

I find that I don’t like this one quite as much as the traditional Jasmine Green tea from Ito En [in the round bottle]. This one is noticeably lighter in color and flavor and the ascorbic acid gives it an off taste that I don’t notice as much in the traditional variety. I find that I generally notice the ascorbic acid more in the Teas’ Tea varieties for some reason, I’m not sure why. I do like the design of the bottle better because I can fit more of them in my cooler.

While this certainly doesn’t compete with loose leaf this is hands down the best pre-bottled jasmine green tea I’ve ever had. When I’m traveling I like to stop by Whole Foods and pick up a few bottles to keep in the cooler. It has a very strong floral flavor and scent to it that I like and I find it very refreshing. It is unsweetened and I think it is perfect that way, but I have added honey on occasion when I’m craving something a little sweeter. This is nice at room temperature or iced but I do tend to find this a little more astringent when it is room temperature.

The scent is pleasant, but hard to smell unless poured into a glass. For some reason my bottle of tea smells like maple syrup and this is really messing with my head every time I go to take a drink because it makes me crave pancakes. It also keeps me from smelling the wonderful jasmine scent from my tea.

I purchased 2 cans based on the reviews this got. I dont have a strainer so I used a technique I saw on the internet to dry whisk the match in the bowl prior to adding water. This worked famously to remove any clumps! After adding the water and whisking the matcha foamed up perfectly, the color was a dark green. The taste was amazingly smooth with no bitterness. The caffeine kick was amazing. this is a very good everyday usucha for a great price.

The rose flavor really hits you in this one so if you aren’t a floral tea fan I would suggest skipping it, it pretty much overwhelms the green tea. I love that this is unsweetened, but it has a slightly bitter taste from the Ascorbic Acid. You’ll find that in pretty much any bottled tea, although I think it is more noticeable in this one.

This is probably one of my favorite bottled teas and I remember how shocked I was when I first saw it. I love rose tea! This one is rather hard to find around here, but I generally keep a couple of bottles in the cooler when we go on road trips. Now that I live up north is is absolutely impossible to find fresh brewed tea at the gas stations and I refuse to stop at McDonalds for tea (my only other option on my route down south.)