Saturday, February 7, 2009

Uji Shimizu

Tea: Uji Shimizu
Vendor: Ippodo
Price: 300 Yen / 150g
Vendor Description: An original Ippodo creation, Uji-Shimizu is a matcha-based beverage developed in 1924. It combines matcha powder and sugar to provide an easy to prepare, easy to drink tea for those who prefer their matcha a bit sweeter.

Leaf: This is a very lightly colored powder. It is very light and fluffy with a pale shade of green. There is a light sweet aroma to it. The color is light enough that it was very difficult to photograph well. (Hence the lack of photo for this tea)

Infusion Parameters: 3 Tbs (37g), 12oz water, Refrigerator temp

Infusion: Despite the very light color of the powder the infused tea is actually very dark in color. It is a deep shade of green (which happens to blend quite well with my tablecloth, again no good picture). It is very sweet, although it is in a good combination with the matcha powder creating a good mix for a matcha latte type beverage. The flavor is very smooth, which is not unexpected considering no steeping involved.

Rating: 6/10

Conclusion: This is a pretty good tea beverage mix. It doesn't feign to be anything grander or anything less. The price is appropriate for what it is, although the price of shipping from Ippodo is a bit steep. If you like things like matcha lattes order a lot in one shipment, it'll be cheaper. This won't be replacing a nice warm bowl of matcha, but it's a nice quick drink to have when you're in a hurry.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

One way to have Uji shimizu that's popular in the actual city of Uji is sprinkled on top of green tea flavored soft ice cream, as if it were powdered sugar. My personal favorite way to drink Uji shimizu though, is in a drink called "Matcha milk." To make this, all you do is substitute full fat milk for the water, stir, and enjoy! It's also great as an alcoholic drink (if you like white russians, or Bailey's, for example, this is one drink to try)! Unfortunately, I'm unsure of what sort of alcohol is used in an alcoholic matcha milk... I would assume its something sweet... :/

Tea Galaxy said...

Just tried this tea for the first time. I got a shipment from their new New York location. I posted a review as well. I found it really sweet even with just water. It also was very filling compared to the other delicate green teas I normally drink.