Ippodo Tea

Hot and plain. Something about this cup didn’t totally agree with me this time around. The mouthfeel was excellent with a strong creamy/buttery quality but the taste felt a little watered down and more grassy in a sort of lawn clipping way that was different from my past experience. Quite strange!!

Hot with a nice splash of heavy cream!

Even though this is a pre-sweetened matcha mix I didn’t find it aggressively sugary tasting and the fresh, nutty and buttery notes of the matcha itself were still really present and prominent. I did add cream, so obviously there was some extra richness it taste and mouthfeel because of that and more of a milky note as well, but I got the sense this would have still tasted very creamy even without my addition. The colour was excellent too – just a very intense, vibrant green colour! I think I can fairly safely say this was one of the nicest matcha latte “instant mixes” I’ve tasted before.

Not surprising though, honestly. Ippodo’s reputation proceeds them, even with a product type such as this one.

Another hot, plain matcha savored slowly while at the office!

I had the weirdest experience whisking this one up because the moment the water hit the matcha powder it just smelled so much like gingerbread. Warming, cozy and definitely spiced with clear notes of allspice, cinnamon, and clove. Drinking it wasn’t that intensely spiced, but I did get some spice notes alongside the umami and nuttiness of the matcha. I liked it A LOT but it was almost a night and day experience from when I first tried this one…

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DNbRTGJp2UU/?img_index=1 (Sixth Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3FYY5L_bQA&ab_channel=FontainesDC

Of course while they were in Japan my two coworkers had to stop at the Ippodo store. They picked up a few things, but this matcha was one of them. I made a little matcha bowl of it yesterday afternoon, and it was just so lovely to whisk up with a smooth and glossy micro foam. The flavour was very umami foward but ultimately fairly soft and fresh, with a clean and grassy finish. So smooth!

Good balance.

Matcha is too smooth & subtle for me.

Somewhat of a letdown, though my expectations were perhaps too high to begin with. I bought this tea as a gift, so I only allowed myself a small serving to drink with the receiver. I prepared my cup in koicha fashion. As all of the other reviews say, it was umami and grassy, but it was not as layered as I hoped it to be. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I experimented with a greater variety of techniques. Very umami though. I’ll give it that!

Very solid sencha with a more mellow, less “stand out” flavor. I guess in coffee terms, this feels is a very nice blend as opposed to a very opinionated single origin. Very nice for a daily drinker.

Nice light gyokuro. Gentle enough to be a daily drinker, but complex enough to savor every day.

I believe this is what they serve at Ippodo retail locations if you order a standard Gyokuro.

Not for the faint of heart. Iribancha is a traditional Japanese specialty tea from the Kyoto region. It is VERY heavily smoked, with an intense “smokey/burned” smell reminiscent almost of cigarettes.

I’d say it’s an acquired taste that definitely grows on you over time. I used this as a daily drinker for a couple of weeks and definitely grew to appreciate it more over that time.

I will note that transporting this tea is pretty tricky, because it has an extremely smokey aroma that is not really contained by the paper-based bag it’s sold in. Expect your whole luggage to smell like it’s been in a smoker’s house. (I will say that the smell doesn’t stay and just airing out your luggage for a bit will be fine).

A single ziplock bag is insufficient to contain the smell of this tea. I currently have this stored in a ziplock bag within a large airtight Ikea plastic container. Even then, my cupboard smelled like this tea for about a week before the smell fully dissipated.

Nice genmaicha, but is less rich than the Ippodo Obukucha.

Great hojicha, but too strongly roasted / intense to be a daily drinker.

Great hojicha, but too intense of a roasted flavor to be my daily drinker.

Still struggling to “understand” Gyokuro tea. In general, they taste to me like a very umami-rich green tea, almost in the direction of being like a lightly savory green-tea soup.

This one is interesting – IMO, it’s a bit of an acquired taste (for context, I live in the USA and not Japan), but fairly intriguing. Very tricky to serve to guests, since once again, it’s somewhat of an acquired taste and you have to be open-minded and willing to try a somewhat unique/different tea.

For a first time taste, I’d recommend either going to the Ippodo Tea locations in Kyoto (excellent), Tokyo (also quite good), or New York City (never been) to get a freshly brewed cup by the staff, or try brewing it yourself cold brew. Brewing it hot is quite nice, but I’ve found that I enjoy it cold better. (Cold tastes kind of like a green tea flavored very light gazpacho?)

Almost a perfect green tea for me. Much lighter on the roasted-rice flavor, but mixed-in very tastefully w/ the green tea. They claim they use “higher-grade” green tea leaves and it’s definitely noticeable.

Great as both a daily drinker and whenever you want to be instantly transported back to being in Japan!

Really nice, light genmaicha. Genmaicha’s sometimes get the short end of the stick in terms of leaf quality but not this guy. The flavor is nice and complex, not too sweet or too bitter, and the roasted rice rounds out the flavor nicely. I’ll be eyeing Ippodo for genmaicha in the future.

Fantastic quality hojicha. Roasted teas can be a bit of an acquired taste and tend to be a bit one-note as a result of the roasting. That being said, the flavor profile and warm chocolatey notes from this are a treat.

Sipdown! (6 | 367)

One of the last of the teas I bought in Japan in 2019. The Ippodo storefront in Kyoto was so lovely, with kind and knowledgeable staff, plenty of tasty tea, and even a cute tearoom where we had tea and wagashi. I miss Japan, time to go back! :P

Anyway, I digress. This is a yummy hojicha, with a roast that’s a bit on the darker side. There’s just a whisper of woodsmoke in the background – not enough to make it taste like a smoked tea, just the right amount to give it optimal cozy, autumnal vibes. Predominantly woody with mineral and fallen leaf notes, perhaps a touch of roasted walnut as well.

Honestly, I don’t have a strong preference among different hojicha (aside from my favorite Kyobancha), so I don’t know that I would buy this specific one again. It’s more of a general toasty vibe to me, and I always have a plethora of Obubu options on hand from my subscription anyway. So farewell, tea with fond memories! :)

This is a great Sencha. I mostly cold brew it (5-10g/1000ml) and it’s so refreshing on a hot day. Subtle marine flavours like seaweed and ocean mist, as well as fresh grass. Not as strong as it would be if brewed hot.

Sipdown! (1 | 190)

Hi friends! Sorry it’s been a little while. I haven’t been drinking tea much (too much Diablo IV LOL) and now I’m trying to get back on the wagon. Starting off strong with my first sipdown for June!

This poor tea is from 2019, and yet I never opened it until last month. I actually bought this at the Ippodo storefront in Kyoto, while on my honeymoon. What a beautiful store, with kind and helpful staff and a cute little café to boot! Anyway, I digress. I don’t know much about this tea, it’s not offered on their website and the package doesn’t give much information. I assume from the flavor that it’s a kabuse sencha, as it has an almost gyokuro-like intensity and powerful umami. The leaves are a beautifully deep green color and have a lovely sheen.

Very delicious tea, you would never know it was four years old from the fresh and sweet vegetal flavor. Smooth, thick on the tongue with a creaminess that reminds me of kabocha, and an intense steamed spinach note. It does remind me quite a bit of gyokuro, it has that powerful “green” sort of flavor that makes you feel like you’re really absorbing all of the stored up energy from the tea plants it was harvested from. And then the finish has some nice lingering crisp grass and apple notes that are very refreshing.

Very rich, mild to no bitterness, with no sweetness. Dissolves and froths well. A nice introduction to matcha for me.

Sad sipdown!! would love to get some loose leaf sencha from Ippodo in the future, this tea bag just hit the spot every time!

This has been my daily drinker as of late. It’s delightfully refreshing! Grassy overtones and a silky smooth mouthfeel, I love this tea for fuss free drinking at work. I can usually get two good cups out of the bag if i pay attention to my steep times – I have found that 90seconds for steep #1 and 2 minutes for the second steep are ideal. So sad that their retail location uptown is closed! They had the best matcha lattes.

Horai is a light, delicious, refreshing matcha. As usucha, I found it to have the matcha-typical floral and grass notes, with a little twang of oranges. The aftertaste is long and sweet with hints of cherry.