Reviewer: homais
✓ 21 teas reviewed
✓ 1 of Sencha
✓ 9 of Green Tea
✓ 3 of Aiya
✓ 5 from Japan
Review of Matcha Infused Sencha
February 8th, 2013
| Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
| 7 of 10 | 4 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 73 of 100 |
| Very Good | Good | Reasonable |
I played around with the brewing times on this one a bit, and find that I like it best a little 'overbrewed'. The website says to steep it at 176F for about a minute and a half, but that made it come out a little bland by my standards. Doubling the time to three minutes produced a bracing, umami type flavor I really liked. Even 'overbrewed' like this, it wasn't grassy, which was surprising to me. Instead it maintained a kind of smooth bitterness.
Reading the previous review, I wonder if I had the exact opposite reaction as the previous reviewer: he liked the base tea and not the infusion with matcha, whereas I was less a fan of the slightly floral-tasting base tea but loved rich-green color, energizing caffeination, and sharp, deeper flavor that came from infusing it with matcha.
In my case, based on my preference for a strong, 'overbrewed' flavor, I wonder if the subtlety and complexity that is supposed to be gained by infusing a high-grade sencha with matcha, was wasted on me. I enjoyed this tea a great deal, but doubt it's worth it to regularly buy a specialty tea like this, only to brew the complexity right out of it.
