Reviews of Teas & Herbal Teas from Japan
Page 1 2 3 of 3 pages with 65 results
Japanese Black Tea from Simpson & Vail
Style: Black Tea – Region: Japan97 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Nov. 18th, 2022
I was really impressed by this tea. I found it delightful, and also easy to brew and easy to drink. Smooth, aromatic, and pleasing in flavor. I've only ever tried one other black tea from Japan, but this one was by far the better of the two, and ranks among the top-tier black teas I've sampled from any region.
The d...
"Ara Cha" Premium Japanese Green Tea from Takaokaya
Style: Aracha – Region: Shizuoka, Japan82 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Jul. 3rd, 2020
I purchased this at a Cantonese grocery store in Edison, NJ.
I really liked this. It is a high-end Japanese tea, but is unsorted, meaning that it also contains larger pieces of leaf and stem, something that is often missing from the higher-quality teas. As such I find it has a bolder flavor and more complex aroma.
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Japanese Matcha Gen-mai Cha Premium Organic from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Genmaicha – Region: Japan76 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Dec. 13th, 2018
An enjoyable, but not super interesting tea that struck me as a little pricey. One of my favorite genmaichas yet. Thank you to Upton, for throwing this in as a free sample with my order!
Dry leaf looks a dusty bright yellow color, much more yellowish than most Matcha. Aroma is very mild, mostly of the toasted rice.
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Green Tea (Ato-bi process) from ITO EN
Style: Green Tea – Region: Japan79 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
May. 23rd, 2018
This was quite a discovery. I purchased this at a Chinese market in Edison, NJ. I was surprised to see a Japanese tea for sale, but I grabbed it because I saw D. Gray had reviewed it and was eager to try it. I wasn't disappointed!
The dry leaf is a rich, yellow-green color, and pleasantly aromatic, smelling sweet an...
Hojicha from Harney and Sons
Style: Hojicha – Region: Kyoto, Japan89 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Feb. 26th, 2018
An excellent roasted twig tea, crisp flavor and complex aroma! Probably my favorite roasted twig tea (i.e. not roasted leaf tea) that I have ever had.
I tend to always like hojicha, but this was one of the more interesting batches I've tried in a while.
This one is a roasted kukicha (twig tea) and the roast look...
Organic Karigane from Mighty Leaf Tea
Style: Kukicha – Region: Japan76 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
May. 13th, 2017
Thank you to Mighty Leaf for this sample! Overall I haven't been as impressed with the green teas from Mighty Leaf as the black ones, but I like this one a bit more. This was a very atypical example of a kukicha / twig tea, much more full-flavored than I expected.
I was intrigued by how the leaf smells...it smells...
Organic Sencha from Mighty Leaf Tea
Style: Sencha – Region: Japan58 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 2/5
May. 11th, 2017
Thank you mighty leaf for this sample! This tea had a very pleasant flavor but was nearly aromaless, although what aroma it did have was nice.
Dry leaf initially doesn't smell great, but when I breathe in more deeply, there's a very pleasant smell that suggests sweetness. The leaf looks fairly large and also rathe...
Bancha from Harney and Sons
Style: Bancha – Region: Japan82 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Mar. 29th, 2017
This may be the best bancha I've ever tried. It's better than a number of lower-end sencha's I've bought in the U.S.
The dry leaf is green for bancha and has the most delightful aroma, the best yet of any bancha I've tried. It smells a lot like coffee cake, a sort of sweet, baked good smell with hints of cinnamon,...
Kagoshima (Kagoshima Sencha) from Harney and Sons
Style: Sencha – Region: Kagoshima, Japan80 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Jan. 9th, 2017
I usually think of tea as being more about the aroma than the flavor, but this tea was intensely flavorful, and I thought its flavor was what made it most interesting and enjoyable.
This tea was very similar overall to the Organic Sencha also sold by Harney & Sons. The main difference I noticed initially was that t...
Organic Sencha from Harney and Sons
Style: Sencha – Region: Japan83 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Apr. 29th, 2016
This was one of the best senchas I've had from a tea company that is not a Japanese company.
It smells amazing! The dry leaf is incredibly aromatic, and the aroma is rich, sweet, and very interesting. It has sweet vegetal notes which quickly develop into a warm, mellow, nutty, and slightly toasty aroma, hinting at ...
Japanese Sencha (Sachets) from Harney and Sons
Style: Sencha – Region: Shizuoka, Japan77 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Dec. 20th, 2015
An exceptional sencha from a tea bag; without a doubt the best sencha I've ever tried from a tea bag, and better than a lot of examples of loose-leaf tea.
The dry tea bag has a very fresh and pleasing aroma, like loose-leaf sencha of very good quality, suggesting sweetness.
Brews a very light-colored cup with a b...
Japanese Oolong Organic from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Oolong Tea – Region: Japan53 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
Dec. 9th, 2015
This is the first oolong tea I've ever tried from Japan, one of a few Japanese teas other than green teas that I've ever sampled. It has a classic oolong character, but I was disappointed, it just doesn't seem all that good.
The aroma of the dry leaf is pleasantly nutty, with light notes of roast. The dry leaf look...
Sencha Kagoshima from Octavia Tea
Style: Sencha – Region: Kagoshima, Japan73 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Dec. 21st, 2014
This sencha has large pieces of intact leaf, and looks and smells like a very typical sencha.
Brews up a yellow-green cup, so vibrant in color that it looks almost like it is glowing.
The aroma is spinachy and seaweedy, and the flavor is strongly umami, slightly sweet, and slightly bitter. There's a hint of corn...
Hojicha Dark Roast from Octavia Tea
Style: Hojicha – Region: Japan60 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Dec. 19th, 2014
An unusually smooth hojicha, not the strongest aroma, I thought on the weak side.
The dry leaf (which is a mix of stem and leaf) looks fairly roasted, but the aroma only has a light amount of roast. Instead, there are some interesting fruity notes, as well as some of the vegetal and grain-like qualities I associate...
Sencha (Sen-cha), Loose-leaf from Yamamotoyama
Style: Sencha – Region: Japan73 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Nov. 2nd, 2014
Thanks to Brytta Sopword for the sample!
A low-grade sencha that is remarkably enjoyable for what it is.
Flavor is bold, a pleasant bitterness (easily becoming too much if oversteeped), and slight sweet, sour, and savory qualities. Aroma toasty, with a strong warming quality, but also with vegetal notes and fain...
Genmai-Cha (Loose-leaf) from Yamamotoyama
Style: Genmaicha – Region: Japan70 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 4/5
Oct. 26th, 2014
A good genmaicha for a low price, a great everyday tea. Dry leaf has a lot of popped rice kernels in the mix, and has a mild, pleasingly toasty aroma.
Brews up a full-bodied cup with a bold flavor, with a light bitterness, light savory (umami) presence, and slight sourness. The base tea comes through a bit in the ...
Gyokuro Green Tea from Arbor Teas
Style: Gyokuro – Region: Japan70 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Jun. 19th, 2014
Relatively inexpensive among Gyokuro, especially for being organic. Pleasant, and easy to brew, but less aromatic than other samples of this type of tea I've tried.
Very long, straight leaves, very dark green. Dry leaf has a pleasant aroma, similar to some sencha, and a bit nondescript.
Brews up a cup that isn'...
Hojicha from Adagio Teas
Style: Hojicha – Region: Japan67 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
May. 19th, 2014
Thanks E. Alex Gerster for this sample! The leaf looks dark in color, but smells greener or lighter-roasted.
Brews up a dark amber color, lighter than I expected, with a greener character. Flavor is crisp, with a little bitterness or bite. There's only a light roast evident in the aroma when drinking, and there a...
Top Leaf™ Green Tea from Mellow Monk
Style: Sencha – Region: Kumamoto, Japan92 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
May. 16th, 2014
This is a mellow tea, and probably my favorite sencha I've ever tried, and I also think it is one that would have broad appeal. I found it very easy to brew, pleasantly aromatic, and relatively smooth in flavor, in every incarnation. I also found that it lasted through multiple infusions better than any other Japanes...
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Premium Japanese Green Tea from Choice Organic Teas
Style: Green Tea – Region: Japan57 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
Jan. 15th, 2014
This tea was surprisingly decent.
After being repeatedly underwhelmed with the teas I've tried from Choice Organic Teas, I wasn't expecting much, but this one turned out to be a surprise. My expectations were very low--not only because of this brand but because in general, I've had bad experiences with Japanese gre...
Japanese Sencha from Bare Tea
Style: Sencha – Region: Japan70 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Jan. 2nd, 2014
Definitely among the best senchas (if not the best) that I've ever had from a tea bag!
Flavor is mild and a little brothy. Aroma is slightly toasty, slightly seaweedy.
Easily brews two infusions...the first two cups are outstanding for a tea bag, although they have less of that pleasant sweet grass quality that ...
Houjicha Roasted Green Tea from Wegmans
Style: Hojicha – Region: Japan73 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Oct. 2nd, 2013
A surprisingly good-quality, but expensive hojicha with a light roast, woody aroma, and a sweet flavor.
Dry leaf has a lighter color and a "greener" character to the aroma...only a light roast, and moderate woody aroma, tones of malt or grain, and even a hint of the grassiness characteristic of sencha and other unro...
Organic Ryokucha Green Tea from Samovar Tea Lounge
Style: Genmaicha – Region: Japan73 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Sep. 26th, 2013
Dry leaf has a potent, cereal-like aroma.
First infusion brews a hazy, pale golden cup...it almost looks like there's a tiny bit of iridescent dust on top of the tea's surface.
Flavor is mild but delightful...sweet, crisp, and with a hint of a fruitiness that I can only describe as reminiscent of cola. It sort o...
Sencha of the Earth from Obubu Tea
Style: Sencha – Region: Kyoto, Japan80 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Sep. 16th, 2013
Very different from any other sencha I have tried. Complex, rich, and interesting. I would especially recommend this for people who don't like the fresh grassy and seaweedy tones of sencha, because it had the least of these characteristics of among any sencha I've tried. It was ever-so-slightly more oolong-like.
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Genmai Cha from Adagio Teas
Style: Genmaicha – Region: Japan67 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Aug. 30th, 2013
This was a very good genmaicha; the base is a dark, wiry green tea, seems like a sencha. Interestingly, I tried it fairly soon after Octavia's genmaicha, which is my current favorite; the two teas are like night and day. This one brews up a very clear, golden-colored cup. Octavia's is much pricier and I think has a ...
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