Ippodo
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The color of the dried Matcha powder is a vivid dark green.
This Matcha is suitable for Usucha and Koicha.
Prepared as Usucha it foamed up really nicely with a very bright green foam.
Sipping this Matcha resulted in an overwhelming sharpness in the beginning that turned in a sweet and aromatic body and ended with a light umami aftertaste. Maybe I should mention that I’m very sensitive to sharpness. The texture was very smooth.
Prepared as Koicha this Matcha wasn´t my liking at all, too much sharpness.
Read the full review with photos:
http://matchaenthusiast.blogspot.de/2014/11/matcha-review-tsukikage-by-ippodo.html
Flavors: Seaweed, Spicy, Sweet
Preparation
I purchased the one-pot-size.
The dry needle shaped tea leaves were dark green and turned mushy with a small leaf size after steeping.
The fragrance of the dry tea leaves were sweetish vegetal. My Steeping Instructions were 10g per 90ml water, at 60-80°C for 10sec-2,5min. 4 Infusions were possible.
The liquor was slightly turbid and yellowish green with an umami-rich taste which was slightly salty and sweet, smooth and slightly viscous.
Conclusion: An umami-rich tea, which changes its flavor profile slowly.
After brewing this Gyokuro you can enjoy its used tea leaves by adding a little soy sauce and citrus juice.
My tea leaves were mild, a little bit sweet and a hint of seaweed was still there.
Preparation
One of the better and full Genmaicha teas I have experienced. Its soft and pleasant flavor of the quality sencha leaves balances out nicely against the round and full scent of the roasted rice.
Flavors: Caramel, Rice, Roasted, Sweet
Preparation
This similar to another tea I tasted. It did not taste fresh and smelled like old socks. It was not nice for me to drink and we wasted a lot of money for Shincha. As an experience tea drinker I was very unhappy with this purchase.
Preparation
Been drinking green tea from Japan for many years. Even had some decent tea from this company. My opinion of this tea was very poor no matter how I prepared it. Even with good quality bottled water this tea tasted and smelled like old socks. Unfortunately we purchase quite a bit because Shincha, or new Sencha, is usually tasty. This was not and we wasted a lot of money.
Flavors: Bitter
Preparation
Just like the Rimpo at the Kaboku Tea Room in Kyoto. :) I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to replicate the full-bodied umami taste at home, but Ippodo’s recommendations have been on point. My shiboridashi is smaller than the kyusu used for brewing at the tea room, but I used the same amount of leaf (10g) and brewed it same way. A lovely gyokuro for treating yourself on a relaxing afternoon.
Awesome tea. Really like the flavor and aroma. It also have a very low caffein level, so you can drink it whenever you want. Totally recommended!
Flavors: Earth, Hops, Roasted Barley, Tobacco
Preparation
Ummon-no-mukashi is the highest quality matcha by Ippodo.
To appreciate its flavor and aroma to the full, Ippodo recommends to prepare this tea as a thicker koicha.
It tastes best when served with sweets.
- Beautiful matcha, in appearance and quality and color.
- Foams easily and easy to sift.
- Deeply strong green aroma.
- Could be but not recommended as a daily matcha.
- Perfect to have some sweets after to take away the bitterness. (I have a chocolate covered cream and caramel I like to take afterwards.)
Another elegant matcha by Ippodo, it has the characteristics of the great elements you can expect in high quality. Ummon-no-mukashi is intensely richer, has more flavor packed with complexity, and is so much less bitter. There is more caffeine punch, definitely strong this one!
As for me, I love the creaminess and foam, the color, and fragrance. If your tastes goes more towards serious intense green and hints of bitter, then this is highly recommended.
Quantity of Matcha Powder:1.5 heaping of tea ladle/chasaku
Quantity of Hot Water: 60ml
Temperature of Hot Water: 80°C
Time of whisking: 15 seconds
Please see my full review with photos:
http://matchagirlparis.blogspot.com/2013/10/matcha-review-ummon-no-mukashi-ippodo.html
Preparation
Kimmo-no-mukashi is the 5th grade matcha from the top by Ippodo.
- Beautiful matcha, in appearance and quality and color. Aromatic.
- Foams easily and easy to sift.
- Green taste and strong. Not much sweet or floral aftertaste. More 1 dimensional.
- Do not recommend as a daily matcha, it is too bitter!
- It is good to try some sweets after to take away the bitterness. (I have a chocolate covered waffle I like to take afterwards.)
The texture is great and smooth but the bitter striking taste that hits every time is unpleasant for me.
I praise this matcha on its excellent quality, the beautiful color and texture, it is a very elegant matcha from Ippodo. On a personal note, I find it too bitter for my liking. Everything else is really perfect. If you can support bitter, then it will pass for you. If not, I would try the higher grades.
Quantity of Matcha Powder:1.5 heaping of tea ladle/chasaku
Quantity of Hot Water: 60ml
Temperature of Hot Water: 80°C
Time of whisking: 15 seconds
Please see my full review with photos:
http://matchagirlparis.blogspot.fr/2013/10/matcha-review-kimmo-no-mukashi-ippodo.html
Preparation
- Limited seasonal offer, a perfect way to welcome in the autumn.
- Tsukikage means “moonlight” in Japanese.
Very enjoyable and deeply impressed! It is a very nice bittersweet aftertaste and overall a delicious matcha. However, I would not recommend this for a daily matcha.
The powder has a wonderful strong aroma and the taste lingers for a long time, the smell of the matcha will fill the room for awhile, it smells so nice.
The color is brilliant deep dark green. I opened the matcha bag on a sunny day, the color in the bag really stood out. The powder is fine yet more dense, perhaps it is more moist.
Recommend it to those who do like little bittersweet and strong after taste. And those who enjoy a caffeine kick from their matcha.
Quantity of Matcha Powder:1.5 heaping of tea ladle/chasaku
Quantity of Hot Water: 60ml
Temperature of Hot Water: 80°C
Time of whisking: 15 seconds
Please see my full review with photos:
http://matchagirlparis.blogspot.com/2013/10/matcha-review-tsukikage-ippodo.html
Preparation
Tsukikage 20G Box
Expiration Date 14.01.2014
Distributed by Ippodo-tea.co.jp
Matcha:Tsukikage
Ingredients Green Tea (powered)
Country of origin: Japan
Distributed by Ippodo Tea Co.
Kyoto Japan
www.ippodo-tea.co.jp
Net wt: .7oz (20g)
Beautiful brown box that is marked in Japanese and English.
Cost is on par with high quality Matchas
Matcha comes in a foil pouch.
I cut open the pouch and put the powder in an empty matcha container.
I made a iced cup of Matcha.
This matcha, like other premium matchas I have tried, has tiny clumps that will need to be whisked up.
Matcha has nice green color.
I bought this tea in NYC location after reading the review at www.teaformeplease.com by Nicole Martin. Nicole has a great blog.
I find that adding water was not delicious as adding milk. With milk I feel it brings out the matcha flavor more. This is contrary to what Ippodo has mentioned on their website. There is not too strong of a matcha flavor, it is pretty mild. I recommend for those who love a sweet matcha au lait. Needs to stir vigorously to dissolve, it is not easy to dissolve with cold liquid.
I adjust the amount of spoons to my drinks, depending on how sweet you like your drinks. 2 or 3 tablespoons is a bit much for me.
Overall, I am impressed with Uji-Shimizu and my matcha au lait was enjoyable, it is not too strong or too sweet so I could say it is very easy to drink and simple to prepare.
Please see my full review and photos:
http://matchagirlparis.blogspot.fr/2013/10/matcha-drink-review-uji-shimizu-ippodo.html
Preparation
This is one I had already in the fall, and I found it very good. While waiting for the new season, I’ve been emptying my sencha stash, so as I ordered some special spring matcha (Nodoka) from Ippodo, I took also this delighting organic sencha.
Quite strong flavour, solid typical sencha type taste. I like the balance between grassiness, sweetness and umami. This one is very good when made relatively strong, without turning bitter.
Preparation
Maybe it’s been a while since I’ve had houjicha, but the aroma that came from the teacups was excellent, and mostly, a lot stronger than I expected. Usually I have to put my nose in the teapot to take in a nice aroma— here, it felt like the whole kitchen had been filled (at least momentarily) with a delicious roasted aroma.
And this houjicha is perhaps the best example I’ve had of a tea that has been successfully roasted to the point of caramelization. The first cup or two I drank hot, but used the majority of the kettle I brewed to make a big pitcher iced. It is delicious either way, but I almost think I prefer it hot, since the aroma is even better. Either way, this is definitely some of the best I’ve had.
As for Ippodo as a whole, this was my first order, and everything about them is really impressive. The way they wrap the teas, the info. packets they provide about brewing, about the company and products… they are all excellently and professionally made. You can tell they put a lot of care and thought to every detail.
I have been thinking about ordering some houjicha for the summer. It will be a nice change from all of the senchas I have been sucking back lately.
Glad to hear you were impressed with the co. I have thought about ordering sencha from them, but am not thrilled that they only allow EMS shipping and have no PayPal option at checkout.
But, who knows?
Best wishes,
sherubtse
Yes, only EMS will certainly limit the number of times I would potentially order from them, but I totally understand why they would chose to do that as a business. It is strange that they don’t allow PayPal, since that does seem to be a fairly standard option.
I often like to have another kind of tea around (other than sencha) so I can change things up…. houjicha, gyokuro, or some kind of unrelated black tea. Though, that sometimes means I just drink sencha and the other …. :-)
Sorry, what’s EMS?
Express Mail Service – the expensive option of shipping (I’ve only seen it from Japan but it may be used elsewhere); usually starting at 1200 JPY ($15). But it is fast and insured. Some Japanese companies offer only EMS as a shipping method because SAL (surfaced air mail) while cheap, can be unreliable.
Some companies (e.g., O-Cha) also offer 1st class airmail, which is my preferred shipping option. It is quick and (relatively) cheap.
Best wishes,
sherubtse
Ah, I didn’t know there was another type. (Or, I assume 1st class airmail is the same as SAL). I have ordered from O-cha and used the cheaper option before, I but I don’t believe it was insured.
The cheaper option from O-Cha is not insured. But it is quick, taking just 2-3 days longer than EMS. And, it is faster than SAL (albeit more expensive as well).
Best wishes,
sherubtse
Cool, thanks for the info!
Miss your musings, bud! Let me know if you ever decide to order from Ippodo again — there’s a laundry list of things I’d like to try but could never afford by my lonesome :)
Hey Cole! Mostly, I just use teachat now. I like steepster, but decided I didn’t enjoy it enough to keep writing. Wanted to just enjoy tea as it is without thinking about how I’d write about it. And on teachat, they have cool tea tasting initiatives where you get to try a bunch of teas for cheap. ‘OTTI’ it’s called – check it out!
The other of my two favorite matcha’s, along with Ito En’s Koto no Tsuki.
Perfect umami taste, and fair price at 1,500 yen. Fast shipping from Japan.
Highly recommended….
http://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/kyoto/shopf/goods/index.html?ggcd=132024&cid=matcha
(Of course for beginners, you really need to use a bamboo whisk… a Chawan (tea bowl) is desirable, but you can get away with using a pyrex or ceramic bowl, but without the bamboo whisk, the matcha really is not going to dissolve properly and won’t taste right)
Preparation
The name tatsu-mukashi is a play on words. Tatsu (辰) is the fifth earthly branch and corresponds to the dragon in the Chinese zodiac, the sign for the upcoming new year; mukashi (昔) is the formulaic word for matcha of a grade high enough for koicha preparation.
Tatsu-mukashi really shines in the koicha-style preparation. The advertised characteristics – gorgeous aroma, rich, full-bodied umami, and bright pale green – come across brilliantly. This brews an extremely aromatic bowl of thick tea. The aroma is strongly that of fresh tea, with faintly grassy notes, and an interesting, mildly herbal aftertaste.
Although it is said that all matcha can be prepared as usucha, I found that the thickness of the scent of tatsu-mukashi is somewhat overpowering when prepared as usucha. Furthermore this tea consists of larger than normal particles, so that the tea settles more quickly than usual after whisking.
