Review: Aiya Matcha Green Tea
This is really my second adventure in matcha green teas, thus the lack of the review (click here for my first time with matcha tea). The folks at Aiya were kind enough to send me several samples of different grades of matcha tea, which was a pleasure to try. The tea is incredibly fresh to the taste, and is a treat to be able to try.
Brewing Instructions
Bring water to a boil (preferably purified or spring water). Rinse your Japanese tea bowl and bamboo whisk in very hot water. Dry the bowl. Scoop the matcha into the bowl, at the ratio of approximately 1 tsp for 3 oz hot water. You can vary this depending on how thick you like your tea. Pour just-under-boiling water over matcha tea, and whisk vigorously until a thick froth forms. For full preparation instructions, here is their guide to preparing a perfect bowl of matcha.
Tasting Notes
The tea arrived in three different sealed packets. The grades provided from left to right were: ceremonial grade, organic ceremonial grade, and premium grade.
Out comes my handy chasen. I found the tea, unlike my earlier attempt, very light and incredibly easy to froth. The dried powder is like the finest sifted powder, and practically glows brilliant green. The aroma is grassy and sweet, with an incredible visual-olfactory burst of grass and bright green.
The first scent when the water hits the matcha tea powder is a bright burst of seaweed and grass. It froths up into a beautiful spring green. The taste is vegetal, only slightly bitter. Overall, it goes down very smooth.
I tried this over several tea sessions, and am pleased to report that the tea is very consistent between multiple sessions. The color of the ceremonial matcha powder strikes me as a little brighter green to my untrained eye, with a great hint of a yellow undertone to the premium matcha tea. To my untrained palate, the teas were quite similar though apparently the premium matcha is a higher grade. Definitely a great tea to start your journey with matcha.
