As I just got my first chawan I obviously need some matcha right away. I will probably also be getting the Japanese made chasen that O-cha sells as I hear the Chinese stuff isnt really good, or maybe it is for a beginner? If so I can get one at my grocery store for $12. Anyway this matcha is what seems to interest me. Seems to be alot of bang for the buck. Anyone had it and have any recommendations on a whisk for a beginner?
http://www.o-cha.com/green-tea/uji-matcha-kiri.html
Thank you!
Sep 11th, '08, 22:44
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Sep 11th, '08, 22:56
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If you're not especially worried about anti-mildew agents that may or may not be in your chinese whisk, there's really no other good reason to spend the extra $$ on your first one.
Granted the quality of the japanese-made chasen seems to be better. I have one of each, and they both work fine, but you can tell that the made in China one is not going to last nearly as long. If I were an expert whisk-er, I could probably get much more life even out of the cheap whisk.
What's the price differential? My chinese whisk was $4 at Daiso, and my Japanese one was a steal at $17 at Uwajimaya.
That being said, I probably won't buy another chinese made chasen when the two I have wear out.
Granted the quality of the japanese-made chasen seems to be better. I have one of each, and they both work fine, but you can tell that the made in China one is not going to last nearly as long. If I were an expert whisk-er, I could probably get much more life even out of the cheap whisk.
What's the price differential? My chinese whisk was $4 at Daiso, and my Japanese one was a steal at $17 at Uwajimaya.
That being said, I probably won't buy another chinese made chasen when the two I have wear out.
Sep 11th, '08, 23:07
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My first matcha was Organic Matcha "Kaoru Supreme" and it was a good one.
Ippodo's matchas (Extra premium at 1500Y for 20g) are great too and also suitable for koicha but if you don't place a large order, shipping costs will be high.
Just get sure to get a high quality matcha to have the real taste of matcha.
Ippodo's matchas (Extra premium at 1500Y for 20g) are great too and also suitable for koicha but if you don't place a large order, shipping costs will be high.
Just get sure to get a high quality matcha to have the real taste of matcha.
Sep 12th, '08, 14:56
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Good advice with the whisk, Thats what I tell people when they ask for a pu recommendation. gotta start cheap to appreciate, ohhh, nice rhym!Pentox wrote:My first real matcha was some Yugen from Koyama en, pretty good stuff.
I'd suggest going with the chinese one. it'll give you more reason to appreciate the japanese when you move up to it. Otherwise it would be like starting matcha with koicha grade tea and never knowing any diff.
That proves it, you're the evil twin.olivierco wrote: My usual advice is quite the opposite: always start with the very good stuff. French idiosyncrasy I guess.
See, I figure if you go that way though you're going to be stunned by the sticker shock. That and you're less likely to be stuck with something you don't like. If you did that with pu you might end up buying a rather expensive pu cake and then be like omg this is gross, and have an expensive pu cake on your hands. But if you start cheap you learn it's bad and you only have some cheap stuff sitting around.
My Chinese went from bamboo too a weak plastic type material after about 4 months of everyday whisking. My Japanese one is still going strong after 7 months. I think its worth it to get one by a skilled artisan. Always stick to the country is what I live my tea ways by as they generally know what there doing a bit better.
Sep 13th, '08, 09:51
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I got a Chinese chasen last night for $13, The Japanese one that I wanted would have been $26. I just got it to "play" with making matcha. I also got a little bag of Wegmans matcha, pretty darn good stuff! 30 grams for $10. I will defiantly keep at matcha and be getting some Japanese stuff at some point
Sep 13th, '08, 11:12
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Ordered some matcha from Ippodo last night. Yeah, shipping is a killer, costing nearly as much as the matcha. But I figured I'd either be picking up another tin of the Ippuku matcha ($27) this week, or for the same price I could order from Ippodo and give that a try.
I didn't go for the Wakamatsu, instead ordered one step down, the Horai and the very inexpensive Kimmo. I guess I'll find out if it was worth it, since I really liked the Ippuku. It seems to me that the price gap is just too wide, and the Ippodo matchas will be unlikely to measure up, but based upon the good reviews here, I hope I am wrong.
I was going to order from O-Cha, but am somewhat put off by the packaging of all except the Manten (too much $$ for my price/benefit gut-check) and the Kaoru. I will probably try the regular Kaoru next.
Anyone try Den's Matcha Kaze? Very inexpensive, so I'm curious. I started with Tao of Tea's, and thought it was absolutely awful. I suppose I could have been doing it wrong, but then as soon as I tried the Matcha Kin from Uwajimaya, it was so much better...
Someone asked what was the most expensive tea (oolong), well for me, this is it. I'd like to find a cost-effective daily tea (why I'm trying the lower cost Ippodo's) because I do drink it every morning.
I didn't go for the Wakamatsu, instead ordered one step down, the Horai and the very inexpensive Kimmo. I guess I'll find out if it was worth it, since I really liked the Ippuku. It seems to me that the price gap is just too wide, and the Ippodo matchas will be unlikely to measure up, but based upon the good reviews here, I hope I am wrong.
I was going to order from O-Cha, but am somewhat put off by the packaging of all except the Manten (too much $$ for my price/benefit gut-check) and the Kaoru. I will probably try the regular Kaoru next.
Anyone try Den's Matcha Kaze? Very inexpensive, so I'm curious. I started with Tao of Tea's, and thought it was absolutely awful. I suppose I could have been doing it wrong, but then as soon as I tried the Matcha Kin from Uwajimaya, it was so much better...
Someone asked what was the most expensive tea (oolong), well for me, this is it. I'd like to find a cost-effective daily tea (why I'm trying the lower cost Ippodo's) because I do drink it every morning.
Shipping from Ippodo is expensive unless you buy many items. For my last order (four matcha tins and three packages of sencha) it cost 2200Y so about 3$ per item, not too expensive if you consider it was sent by EMS. If you compare with o-cha: 4.25$+2$ for each additional item (not EMS) the price isn't that high.GeekgirlUnveiled wrote:Ordered some matcha from Ippodo last night. Yeah, shipping is a killer, costing nearly as much as the matcha. But I figured I'd either be picking up another tin of the Ippuku matcha ($27) this week, or for the same price I could order from Ippodo and give that a try.
I didn't go for the Wakamatsu, instead ordered one step down, the Horai and the very inexpensive Kimmo. I guess I'll find out if it was worth it, since I really liked the Ippuku. It seems to me that the price gap is just too wide, and the Ippodo matchas will be unlikely to measure up, but based upon the good reviews here, I hope I am wrong.
By the way do you drink your matcha as usacha or as koicha?