Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Shi Zen
Tea Description:
Our green tea is grown on family farms located in small villages in the foothills of Mount Fuji. This remote Hyuga region of Shizuoka Prefecture enjoys the perfect combination of clean air, pure water, and fertile soil only found in this area of Japan.
Enjoy the taste and convenience of our pesticide-free green tea powder while taking a full advantage of its health benefits. When you brew green tea, you are drinking only 30 percent of its nutrients and throwing away the rest. With our green tea powder, all of its health benefits will be packed in your water bottle. Perfect for today’s busy but health conscious parents who are always on the go. On your way to the daycare, work, or yoga studio, just dissolve 2 sticks of our powered green tea in your 16-oz water bottle and take it with you. Along with all the benefits of regular green tea, it’ll also give you Vitamin E and dietary fiber you wouldn’t get from brewed green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The more I have of these green tea powder packets from Shi Zen … the more I like them. Today, I’m trying the Pesticide-Free Japanese Green Tea Powder Packets from Shi Zen. It’s deliciously sweet and invigorating to sip.
I start with a small bottle of water (16.9 ounces) and I open two packets of the powdered green tea. I pour one packet at a time, and give the bottle a good shake in between adding the packets, just to get the tea well incorporated and hopefully to avoid getting clumps of tea in my drink. And at first, I did get some clumps … but, after some vigorous shaking, the clumps dissolved and I’m left with a really delicious beverage for on the go.
The tea is really refreshing … I like this better than one of the bottled ready-to-drink teas that you can buy in a convenience store, because it’s not all sugar and corn syrup. I can taste the goodness of the green tea in this. I taste the grassy, vegetative tones and the sweet, lush flavor. It is sweet … there is absolutely no bitterness here. There is also virtually no astringency to this – that is to say, I can’t detect any astringency to this at all. It’s just smooth and easy to drink … whether you’re sipping or guzzling it down!
I like that this is pesticide-free. I like that this is pure green tea that’s been pulverized into a powder, and that once you’ve shaken it up … it stays incorporated. You don’t have to keep shaking in between sips. It’s a great way to stay hydrated on warm summer days like this one, and far tastier (and healthier!) than the RTD teas that you’ll find. This one gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from me!
Organic Green Tea Powder from Shi Zen
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Powdered)
Where to Buy: Shi Zen
Tea Description:
Our organic green tea (sencha) is grown on family farms located in small villages in the foothills of Mount Fuji where farmers pride in their commitment to only harvest crops grown in the way Mother Nature intended. Due to its high elevation, this remote Isagawa-Izumidaira and Kawane region of Shizuoka Prefecture enjoys the perfect combination of clean air, pure water, and fertile soil only found in this area of Japan, which allows for pesticide-free farming.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was surprised at how much this Organic Green Tea Powder from Shi Zen frothed up when I prepared it! I had not expected this kind of performance from a powdered Japanese Sencha tea. From a high quality Matcha – of course! But not from a powdered Sencha! This frothed up as much as a very high quality Matcha, and that froth stayed atop the liquid until I reached the bottom of my bowl! My last sip of this tea resulted in a tea foam mustache!
And I really enjoyed this powdered Sencha. Sure, it’s not Matcha. And it doesn’t taste like Matcha. It tastes like a creamier version of a high quality Japanese Sencha tea … but with perhaps more of a vegetal edge to it. It is sweet, grassy, smooth and creamy. A hint of bitterness hits the palate right around mid-sip, providing a contrast to the sweeter tones. There are some notes of a buttery-like flavor to the bowl that are reminiscent of Matcha.
And it tastes good … even though it isn’t Matcha. It is tasty and it’s invigorating; nice for that mid-day slump when you need to recharge! It’s tasty prepared as a traditional Matcha would be – whisked in a bowl with hot water – and it also tastes great in ice-cold smoothies (or milkshakes! I had some of this in a rich, chocolate-y milkshake the other day and it was so yummy!)
This is a really great product … and I love that it’s organic!
Sakura Komachi Green Tea from Shi Zen
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Shi Zen
Tea Description:
Ceremonial Grade “Matcha” Blended with Cherry Blossom Leaf
Our green tea is grown on family farms located in small villages in the foothills of Mount Fuji. This remote Okabe region of Shizuoka Prefecture enjoys the perfect combination of clean air, pure water, and fertile soil only found in this area of Japan. This premium Matcha is the 1st harvest Matcha, which is considered one of the finest grade Matcha in Japan.
These cherry trees grow on the Izu region of Shizuoka Prefecture, and their cherry blossoms leaves are hand-picked in the spring and ground with a traditional Japanese stone mill.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow … ok, so this Sakura Komachi Green Tea from Shi Zen is different! But, different is good!
The Matcha here is very beautifully, BRIGHT green – the way a high quality Ceremonial Grade Matcha should be. The Matcha been blended with stone ground cherry blossom leaves to impart a pleasant cherry blossom flavor.
The Matcha froths up really beautifully, and produces a liquid that resembles some of the finest Matcha teas that I’ve had the opportunity to taste. The color is bright jade green … and the powder remains incorporated as I drink … I didn’t experience the sediment at the bottom of my chawan!
Having never actually tasted the powder from a cherry blossom leaf before tasting this powdered green tea blend, I have no experience with which to compare what I’m tasting now. However, I have had quite a few experiences with very high quality Matcha – and so I’m going to pick out what I’m tasting now that is different from other Matcha I’ve tried and work under the presumption that these “new” tastes are from the cherry blossom leaf.
The overall flavor is vegetative. It has a very “spring-time” like flavor to it – evoking thoughts of trees covered in pretty pink blossoms and the air filled with their scent. It has a creamy texture and taste, slightly buttery and very smooth on the palate. The Matcha flavor stands out over the flavor of the cherry blossom leaf, which is not what I’d call “delicate” but, it is softer than the flavor of the Matcha. There is a slight sharpness from the cherry blossom leaf – it’s slightly “floral” tasting, and I find that this floral note rests upon the palate in the aftertaste.
It’s quite an enjoyable experience, this Sakura Komachi, and I’m really glad I had this opportunity to try it. It’s a bit like drinking the splendor of spring-time!
Japanese Organic Green Tea Powder Packets from Shi Zen
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Shi Zen
Tea Description:
Our organic green tea (sencha) is grown on family farms located in small villages in the foothills of Mount Fuji where farmers pride in their commitment to only harvest crops grown in the way Mother Nature intended. Due to its high elevation, this remote Isagawa-Izumidaira and Kawane region of Shizuoka Prefecture enjoys the perfect combination of clean air, pure water, and fertile soil only found in this area of Japan, which allows for pesticide-free farming.
In fact, to preserve this way of farming they’ve maintained for centuries, these villages have adopted a strict policy and guidelines on organic farming, and not only tea farmers but also fruit and vegetable farmer’s of this region strive to provide the safest and best quality pesticide-free produce to their customers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Cool “iced tea” refreshment doesn’t get any easier than these Japanese Organic Green Tea Powder Packets from Shi Zen! Seriously … all you have to do is take a smaller water bottle (500ml size) full of freshly filtered water – or if you’re on the go and you’re buying one of the bottles from the convenience store, that works too! – open the bottle, pour in the fine, powdered green tea from two of the little pixie style packets and then screw the cap on tight and give it a really good shake!
That’s it! No measuring and no special tools required for preparation. All you need is a small water bottle full of water and two of these packets. (For 8 ounces, just use 1 packet of the green tea powder!) These are great for on the go, and it’s not only tasty but it’s also much healthier than any of those sugar-laden soft drinks that you might reach for when the weather turns warm and you need re-hydration.
The powdered green tea becomes instantly incorporated (there was no sediment at the bottom, and you don’t have to keep shaking the bottle to make sure it stays mixed!) and the flavor is delightful. There’s no sugar added to this and no artificial flavors, so you’re getting pure, green, Japanese Sencha tea and all the benefits of the whole leaf!
The taste is sweet, vegetative and slightly buttery. It tastes light and crisp. This is not Matcha – although it might look like it (and I did categorize it as Matcha because it is a powdered tea leaf), and it doesn’t have that characteristic thick, creamy texture that I’d often associate with Matcha. This tastes and feels lighter … fresher! It’s really refreshing and it is very invigorating too! It’s a great way to “recharge” at mid-day when you’re starting to feel a little tuckered out … and because I prepared it in cold water … it’s really easy to chug down to quench the thirst.
This is my first experience with a tea from Shi Zen … and it’s a good one. I’m looking forward to trying some of their other teas!