Japan Green Tea (Gyokuro and Matcha) - Ito En

This is one bagged tea that may rival many of the loose leaf teas I have in my collection. Ito En is a Japanese company that's famous for their quality Japanese green teas and tea beverages. I'll have to admit that my Chinese isn't really all that great, and my Japanese is practically non existant, but from what I could tell, the box describes this as Japanese Green tea that's a mixture of matcha and gyokuro. I came across this little gem from a relative in Hong Kong who has connections to somebody in Japan so I don't know if this product is available in the U.S.

Ito En Japanese green tea is sold in boxes of 10 individual foil wrapped tea bags. The tea bags are nylon mesh so you don't have to worry about the tea bag altering the flavor of the tea. The strings on these bags attach at the middle so the bags stretch into a diamond shape which gives the green tea leaves plenty of room to expand.

I was hit by a strong fagrant puff of matcha when I first opened the foil wrapper, which really isn't surprising considering the amount of powder that's in each tea bag. Getting the bag out of the package and into my cup without spreading the powder everywhere was a bit of a challenge.

This tea should be brewed like many quality green teas. Use water that's been cooled for several minutes after it's boiled and steep only for 30 to 60 seconds. Using this method I got two good steeps out of one tea bag while a thrid steep resulted in a less flavorful cup of tea. The flavor of this tea is dominated by the scent and flavor of creamy, buttery matcha that teases you to take just one more sip. Swish the tea in your mouth and you'll taste the floral perfume and saltiness of the gyokuro.

While this tea is definately a good quality tea, it is still a bagged tea that's been on the shelves for who knows how long. As such, it is expected that the flavor of this tea is just an approximation of what good quality matcha and gyokuro taste like. I won't be replacing my loose leaf green teas with this, but Ito En's Japanese green tea with gyokuro and matcha is definately my number one choice for a quality green tea on the go. In any case, it's sure to beat the stuff that's currently being sold as 'green tea' in American supermarkets.