Description
Price: $26.90
(as of Jun 24,2024 09:06:28 UTC – Details)
Experience the exquisite taste of Ippodo Tea’s Hosen Sencha in a convenient 80g bag. This medium and well-balanced green tea is carefully selected and expertly crafted to bring out the perfect balance of flavors. Enjoy a refreshing cup of this high-quality Japanese tea, known for its smooth and clean taste. Perfect for everyday enjoyment or special occasions, this Hosen Sencha is sure to become your new favorite tea.
CW –
quality to match the price
soothing tea high quality
Wesley –
Middle-grade Sencha (Light steamed) – 4/10 sweetness
Ippodo is one of the largest and most well known tea brands in Japan. They have been in business since 1717, so they obviously know a thing or two about green tea. The question is: is Ippodo really that good, or is it just popular because of name-recognition and history? Well, it’s a bit of both.This is a mid-level sencha, producted in the traditional Kyoto style – light steamed (asamushi) sencha. Light steamed senchas require longer steep times, produce a more yellow and less green infusion, and taste a bit less mellow than deeper steamed senchas.At supermarkets in Japan, a similar tea (without the Ippodo name) would probably cost you less than 1000yen (10 USD), and Ippodo’s pricing in Japan for 80g Hosen is only 1500yen (15 USD). Obviously shipping teas to the US increases the cost quite a bit, but the nearly 2x markup is a lot in my opinion. And as recently as last year, Ippodo sencha was packaged in 100g bags, they have now reduced it to 80g while maintaining the same price.The flavor:Mild, sweet, subtle. None of the flavors are particularly strong, but it is nicely balanced. Sweet aroma, but not very fruity. An excellent straightforward sencha, and if it weren’t for the price would make a great “daily drinker”, but lacks the potency and depth that higher grade senchas have.*Sweetness: 4/10*Umami: 3/10*Astringency: 4/10Steeping instructions: (Ippodo recommends 10g per 210ml, but I find this is too much)—Using 6.5 grams per 250ml —1st infusion: 165F for 60-90 seconds2nd infusion: 170F for 60 seconds3rd infusion: 212F for 10+ minutes, to extract all the EGCG and catechins, I don’t mind a little bitterness.Thoughts:Very nice tasting mid-level tea, but not quite intense enough sweetness for my preference. But still certainly a great introductory sencha. Unfortunately, Ippodo prices their mid-level teas as high grade teas, and I think there are better value teas available from other companies. For nearly 3000yen, you could get a good gyokuro or kabusecha, or a very high grade sencha. That being said, with Ippodo, you are almost certainly guaranteed of getting a good quality tea – it is a safe bet, and would make a great gift for any tea lover. It’s undoubtedly a delicious and drinkable sencha, just not the greatest value.**My bag expires 08/31/2022, which is quite soon. This tea is obviously from last year’s harvest (2021). Shincha and new teas are harvested in April to May, and I would try and make sure when you order that it is from the more recent 2022 harvest.
Katawampas –
Excellent Sencha
This is excellent sencha tea. The tea has a medium body, is very balanced with sweetness & umami and very little astringency. This is a green tea I could happily drink all day. I brewed using the instructions on the bag â 2 Tablespoons of tea with about 7 ounces of water at 176F for 60 seconds. I brewed these tea leaves 3 times & had lovely cups of tea each time.Sencha is the most popular tea in Japan. It is a steamed, green tea which prevents oxidation & locks in the beautiful green color & the fresh flavor.Ippodo is a venerable tea company founded in 1717 in Kyoto, Japan. If you visit Kyoto, it is worth a stop to visit their original shop. It is incredible and not far from the Imperial Palace. I learned a lot about tea in that visit.
Hunter Warrior –
Excellent sencha
This sencha is pretty amazing. It has the attributes of a high-end tea. I followed the instructions and steeped this in 175°F hot water for 1 minute. It has a well-balanced and elegant taste. It is mildly sweet and mellow, and slightly astringent. The aroma is bright and wonderful. It can be re-steeped up to 3 times.This comes packaged in a resealable, foil-lined PET bag. The loose tea leaves look fresh and clean, and have a bright, slightly bitter aroma to it, which is wonderful for sencha. It is produced and packaged in Japan. Overall, I really enjoy this sencha. Excellent flavor profile and a wonderful aroma. It is a little pricey but worth it for the excellent quality. I would recommend giving it a try.
KixyCat –
My 1st Sencha!
I love Green Tea and find that the ones from Japan and Korea are my favorite. This is the 1st time I tried a Sencha tea and I am surprised how great this kind of tea taste. No bitterness but refreshing indeed. Despite the green tea leaves my tea gave out a nice golden yellow color and I have poured water on my cup 3x and still have that awesome flavor and color.I know this is pricey but for the quality and the taste, I feel it is worth it. The small bag may seem not enough but the fact that you can use the same leaves a few times and enjoy the same taste makes it worth it.I am now making bigger batch instead and keep it in the fridge coz this taste good hot and cold.As a 1st time user, I am very happy that I get to try this tea.
H. Lam –
Mild flavor
I love sencha and I always look for more sencha options. Came across this one and I decided to give it a shot. This is sort of mild, while I hoped it was stronger. It takes a longer time to brew to the flavor that I like. The taste of this sencha tea is actually quite good after brewing for 5 minutes. It is a bit pricey but I may still come back for it again.
Jay S. –
Very mild and healthy green tea, reminds me of mallow a bit
I like the mild taste and the benefits of this green tea it actually reminds me of mallow. Like little mallow, Sencha tea is believed to have numerous health benefits. It is a common believe that it helps fight chronic disease, increases energy, protects the immune system, stimulates brain and cognitive abilities.When brewed it turns into a golden cup of tea with a delicious flavour.It is very soothing and reminds me when we used to be a little mellow or cheese weed if we had an infection this tea is not processed which helps maintain its health benefits period.I loved this Sencha green tea so much that I ate some of the leaves. I highly recommend it.
Lottie –
I love it!
This sencha is delicious. I’m a huge fan of Japanese green tea and this product did not disappoint. Will definitely be buying more!