This is the feed of all reviews of teas from Maeda-en on RateTea.http://ratetea.com/brand/maeda-en/135/http://ratetea.com/review/6623/http://ratetea.com/review/6623/Mon, 01 Mar 2021 14:11:46 ESTBest tea ever!! At least for me, since I love grain based teas like barley and buckwheat. This tea is green tea mixed with toasted brown rice and it really does give the tea this amazing malty, nutty flavor that I love! The tea is very warming and cozy and not astringent at all. The price is great as well! definitely recommend anyone trying it. http://ratetea.com/review/6447/http://ratetea.com/review/6447/Thu, 27 Aug 2020 22:44:45 ESTThis was a very interesting tea. If you don't know what kona-cha is, it is the dust and tea leaf pieces from tea processing. It is technically a byproduct, but the tea industry has repurposed it as a tea product. It's better quality than the pieces of leaves one might encounter in a tea bag, because the tea leaves used to create this aren't terribly low in quality. There is enough variance in terms of which tea leaves go into this that you might get a mixture of sencha, gyokuro, and others, resulting in a ...http://ratetea.com/review/6446/http://ratetea.com/review/6446/Thu, 27 Aug 2020 22:27:26 ESTI was very impressed by this tea. The only other hoji-cha I've tried was from YamaMotoYama, and I enjoyed it. But, this had a more toasty, well-rounded scent to it. The leaves differed more in their shape and appearance, which made it look more natural. The tea also had a more nuanced flavor. It wasn't that expensive. But, Maeda-en tends to sell things in different amounts than one might expect, so pay attention to that when trying to understand how expensive this is. For example, the kuki-cha I got fr...http://ratetea.com/review/6439/http://ratetea.com/review/6439/Sun, 09 Aug 2020 21:16:03 ESTI liked this tea. I decided to get it because I wanted something that wasn't roasted or aged, that would still be more subdued in caffeine. I prefer naturally low-caffeine teas over ones that have had caffeine removed through some chemical (or other) process. Because kukicha is the twigs, with some leaf pieces (which you can see in the bag), it's not as caffeinated. It's really a much milder tea as compared to sencha. That said, it has a really nice body. It was impressively buttery and had a relaxing effe...http://ratetea.com/review/6438/http://ratetea.com/review/6438/Sun, 09 Aug 2020 21:09:11 ESTUpdate: I found a way to brew it better. 80ºC water, 110ml water per 2 tsp of tea, 20 seconds for the first cup, 20-25 seconds for the second cup... The tea is very, very grassy. It's more grassy than any other sencha I've ever had (or any green tea, for that matter). It's not buttery. It's more like brewing a nice, hot cup of lawn. That might not appeal to everyone. Personally, I have to be in the mood for something this grassy. The taste goes along with the scent of the dry tea. I think part of the fac...http://ratetea.com/review/6435/http://ratetea.com/review/6435/Fri, 07 Aug 2020 20:49:54 ESTI was surprised at how good this was. I took a chance because Maeda-en really has terribly short descriptions of their teas on their site. I really didn't know what I'd get. The tea, in terms of the type of leaves, length of them, scent, and color, actually reminded me more of Shin-cha than other Fukamushi. The leaves were pine-needle slender, dark green and had a sweet, almost fruity, deep fragrance to them. I made the brew the way I made Shin-cha -- 80ºC water, 110ml, 1tsp (heaping) of tea, for 20s to s...http://ratetea.com/review/6403/http://ratetea.com/review/6403/Fri, 29 May 2020 15:04:36 ESTI was surprised, but also not, about this super premium shincha. You see, I know my tastes and I know that I've loved some "cheap" teas because even though they were inexpensive, they were great teas. I've also had some disappointing experiences with really expensive teas. So, I purchased this with that knowledge somewhere at the back of my mind. Now, I tried brewing this the same way as the other shincha that I got from Maeda-en and it turned out terrible. I thought I'd go for an even lower temperature...http://ratetea.com/review/6397/http://ratetea.com/review/6397/Thu, 14 May 2020 00:01:12 ESTI really wasn't impressed with this. I was hopeful because the reviews I found elsewhere were good. But, this tea lacks taste and body. There's nothing to it. I even contacted Maeda-en because I thought there might be an issue with the product. It's not what I've come to expect from their brand. Their teas are usually very good. This was weak. It wasn't bad in taste. It just was really weak -- and that's after I used more tea per cup than normal (about 1/2tsp to 1tsp more per serving). I wouldn't recommend...http://ratetea.com/review/6396/http://ratetea.com/review/6396/Wed, 13 May 2020 23:58:25 ESTThis is a great, fresh fukamushi-cha. I really enjoyed it. I actually got three cups out of 2tsp of leaves, rather than just two cups (the typical amount for this kind of tea). It's very full-bodied, has the typical cloudiness and rich flavor of fukamushi (which is extra steamed). I went with a lower temperature because of how fresh it smelled. I could probably even brew this with 75ºC water (I'll try that later). For now, 80ºC was a good fit. 2tsp of leaves, 110ml water, 80ºC, with a swift rinse and...http://ratetea.com/review/6394/http://ratetea.com/review/6394/Tue, 12 May 2020 02:32:40 ESTThis is, easily, the most striking tea that I've ever had in my life -- and I've had hundreds. First of all, the scent was lightly fruity at the same time that it exhibited notes similar to the umami gyokuro green tea. The color was the most rich green I'd ever seen. I think the description had said that it leans to a blue and it almost does. It's so green, it's almost blue. But, none of this prepared me for the flavor. I brewed 1 tsp with 110ml of water heated to 75ºC for about 20-30s (no rinse). T...http://ratetea.com/review/6393/http://ratetea.com/review/6393/Mon, 11 May 2020 21:37:15 ESTI used to love roasted barley tea, but I've since become gluten-free, and barley contains gluten, so I can no longer drink it. I decided to tack this onto an order from Maeda-en because I was hoping that it would be a good substitute. Now, to give you some perspective on where my review is coming from, I think buckwheat tastes a bit funky, even when it's fresh. It's a very strong, acquired taste, even under the best of circumstances. I didn't smell much of that when smelling the dry tea, but the wet ...http://ratetea.com/review/5796/http://ratetea.com/review/5796/Sat, 20 Oct 2018 18:54:38 ESTThis and the Maeda-en Gyokuro Grower's Select go hand-in-hand. This is the sweet one of the two while the Select is more savory/umami. Both brew well very consistently (which is great, considering that gyokuro is an expensive tea and not something you'd want to waste). I had good results with the following brewing method: Water: 300ml (I use a Hario teapot for this, which I had great results with as it allows a lot of room for the leaves to flow) Temperature: 75ºC Tea: 2 1/2 tsp (or more, if you'r...http://ratetea.com/review/5795/http://ratetea.com/review/5795/Sat, 20 Oct 2018 18:46:06 ESTThis and the Maeda-en Gyokuro Grower's Reserve go hand-in-hand, because one is more savory and the other is more sweet. One of my favorite things about both of these is that they brew well very consistently (which is great, considering that gyokuro is an expensive tea and not something you'd want to waste). I had good results with the following brewing method: Water: 300ml (I use a Hario teapot for this, which I had great results with as it allows a lot of room for the leaves to flow) Temperature: 7...http://ratetea.com/review/3827/http://ratetea.com/review/3827/Sat, 27 Sep 2014 23:58:06 ESTI should state off the bat that this was my first gyokuro, and I haven't had the chance to try any other brands since. Furthermore, gyokuro needs to be brewed at a lower temperature than most teas; the first time I made it I didn't realize this, and the tea wound up tasting rather bitter. Properly brewed, however, there's no comparison. The taste is full and light and delicate, a sensory experience that merits savoring; if you have yet to experience it, I think you've missed out.http://ratetea.com/review/665/http://ratetea.com/review/665/Sun, 30 May 2010 09:06:00 ESTA fairly strong, but light aroma, mostly of popcorn, a sort of light, toasty quality. Much less nutty than other genmaicha's. Very little tea presence in the aroma, even using a generous quantity of leaf and brewing longer than recommended. Flavor has an oddly strong savory (umami) quality...almost no bitterness and very little astringency. Although some people might like the smoothness and simplicity of this tea, I didn't like it. I prefer more depth, more bitterness and astringency, and a much mor...http://ratetea.com/review/534/http://ratetea.com/review/534/Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:46:41 ESTAroma mostly of sweet corn. There's a hint of roast in there too...but it's not always pleasant...it almost resembles the stale coffee aroma you get if you run hot water through a coffee machine that hasn't been cleaned in a while. Slightly sweet and also with some pleasant bitterness, and very little astringency. Totally lacks the grassy and seaweedy tones that characterize a lot of sencha. Also, unusually warm for a green tea and especially for a sencha. I find this one retains a similar overall c...