Matcha Infused Sencha
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Commercial Description
A blend of traditional Japanese Sencha tea leaves and premium Matcha green tea.
Ratings & Reviews
Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews
73 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5homais (21 reviews) on Feb. 8th, 2013
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.
70 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5Alex Zorach (1453 reviews) on Dec. 12th, 2012
This is a totally different beast, in my opinion, from the matcha-infused Genmaicha from the same company, and was surprisingly different from their premium sencha as well.
Rich, nutty aroma, almost grainy or oatmeal-like. Somewhat dusty finish, but with a hint of floral tones like I have encountered in some pan-fired Chinese green teas. Some vegetal qualities but overall, little of the grassy or seaweedy qualities that I associate with most Japanese green teas.
Flavor is smooth, but the finish has a strange astringency, leaving a dusty feel in the mouth.
Part of me wonders if what I'm tasting here is that I like the base tea and am not crazy about the infusion with matcha.
Like all of Aiya's offerings, I found this one to be a very good tea, but on the pricey side. Also, Aiya's premium sencha is cheaper by weight (although hard to compare because they don't sell them in the same sizes), but I think it is a better tea and offers better value.
Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews
