Japanese Green Tea
17
Percentile
6 ratings |
|
Commercial Description
100% Natural brew of authentic Japanese Green Tea from the green tea specialists in Japan.
Brewing Instructions: (from Kirkland Signature / Costco)
176°F (80°C), 30 sec.
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Ratings & Reviews
Page 1 of 1 page with 6 reviews
65 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5Difflugia (170 reviews) on Jan. 9th, 2019
As the other reviewers mentioned, ignore the directions. I prepared the tea using 8 ounces of 175°F water for four minutes (which is a bit longer than is generally suggested for green teas, but I find I like it that way).
The tea in the square, nylon bag is chopped, but not as finely as most bagged tea and is mixed with a bit of matcha. As it brews, it smells like fresh, chopped plants. Not grassy, but almost like the smell of weeding a garden or picking beans. The color of the liquor is a bright, mossy green.
While the flavor is extremely mild, I'm not sure that "weak" is exactly right. There's a really sweet taste and a vegetal character similar to mild spinach. The "seafood" flavor of nori that seems to be present in most Japanese teas is detectable, but more into the background than normal and sort of attenuated by the sweeter flavors. There's no bitterness (even the "good" bitterness) at all. As I sip it, there's almost a hint of peppermint. There's a lot of flavor, just not the balance that belongs in Japanese tea.
Since this tea is manufactured by ITO EN for Costco, I have a hard time believing that the flavor profile is unintentional. I rather suspect that this tea is blended to appeal to those wanting something better than grocery store tea, but are nevertheless unaccustomed to Japanese green tea. Though I can only describe the flavor as "nice", it's not particularly satisfying.
72 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5Tchuggin' Okie (379 reviews) on Jan. 8th, 2018
Surprisingly, this is one of the better bagged green teas I've had. A store brand for Costco, it's not expensive; so I assigned a good "value" rating despite receiving it at no extra cost in a package of teas provided by lodging.
Bags are individually plastic-wrapped. Upon ripping one open, an unmistakable matcha+green tea aroma wafts from the dry product. A silken-textured plastic sachet holds the green tea leaves, which look well-colored amidst few, if any, stems. It's apparent Costco is contracting with a green-tea provider who (at least in the batch from where my bags came) uses fresh, well-prepared, good-quality leaves. [EDIT: After posting this, I saw some of the reviews below and now wonder if they use different contractors, or have high batch-to-batch variability.] Although the "Signature Green Tea" is listed here separately from a specifically labeled matcha variety, this brand also contains some matcha.
The instructions on the packaging say to empty remaining matcha from the "outer bag"—presumably the plastic packaging—and surely enough, a thin strand of green powder lies at the bottom of the packaging, eagerly awaiting recombining with the tea. [Playing Peaches and Herb's "Reunited" in the background is optional.]
The resulting products act like they both are so excited to be reunited. A remarkably bright, dense green hue permeates the brew, and toasted scent wafts through the steam that becomes even more pronounced as an accessory flavor. I'm not a big fan of the explicit addition of toasted rice to a couple of teas that I've had so far (combination seems disjointed to me), but this is more like a background layer of taste from grandma's home-baked bread toast. Whether intended or not, somehow that enriches and not detracts. The green/matcha combo is quite richly flavored in its own right. One certainly could do much worse if buying bulk green tea to serve at meetings, clubs, motels, conventions, or just for home consumption.
40 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 1/5spaflam (179 reviews) on Aug. 17th, 2016
Meh. I had this at a SPA no less - I guess they buy their green tea bags in bulk from Costco. While this was drinkable, it was by no means enjoyable. On a cold day I guess it beats a cut of hot water? But so weak and non-descript tasting.
Meh.
There are better options out there.
Sometimes, in an attempt to save money, you get what you pay for.
63 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 4/5levers (13 reviews) on Apr. 30th, 2015
I'm a big fan of Kirkland products, and I enjoy other ito en tea, so you can imagine I was pretty excited when I say this huge box just waiting for me to throw it in the cart.
It's not bad, but it's far too weak. It's odd too, because I can see the tea in there. It's getting wet and it's in my cup, but at 30 seconds (as they recommend for the first steep) I can barely taste it. They also recommend dumping in the remaining matcha from the outside wrapper--there really isn't any.
I feel like the packaging was designed for some long lost age when this tea was flavorful and complex. It's not. It's a cheap and weak green tea that I don't regret buying per se (cheap and not necessarily offensive), but I don't particularly look forward to drinking.
37 Aroma: 3/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 3/5kimberly (1 reviews) on Mar. 31st, 2014
i've been using this Kirdland Japanese green tea from Costco for years....but the current box i bought recently, the quality of the tea is not the same any more. the tast is different - it doesn't tast that strong like before. the color of the tea is also different. now it's yellow-ish green color. it's used to be so green before, but not anymore. i just bought 3 extra boxes because of the sales going on from Costco. will have to return them all. so disappointed!!
27 Aroma: 2/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 2/5Alex Zorach (1448 reviews) on Aug. 30th, 2009
After generally being impressed by the quality of Kirkland's other products, I was disappointed by this tea.
The aroma was weak and stale; there was little complexity and in particular, none of the fresh grassy or vegetal tones that characterize many Japanese green teas. The flavor was weak too.
I found the brewing instructions to be off...if you brew for only 30 seconds this tea is almost flavorless...I let it steep for a few minutes.
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