the contenders:
1) Hibiki-Ans "Matcha Super Premium"
2) Ippodo's "Unmon-no-Mukashi"
Right off the bat I could tell a difference in quality just by looking at the color of the tea and the aroma. Hibiki-An's was a really nice GREEN, and compared to everything else I've tried it was quite verdant in appearance. that is, until I compared it to the Unmon. Holy Crap! The Unmon was unbelievably green and the aroma was quite complex, rich, earthy and sweet. definitely a heavier aroma than Hibiki-An's (and Hibiki-an's is no slouch).
KOICHA:
I made them both side by side and compared them directly. I used 4 chashaku for each and sifted the matcha into identical bowls (pre-warmed). I heated the water in a Japanese tetsubin to boiling, then let it cool off a bit in a clay kyusu. I added just enough water to wet the tea, then kneaded it into a consistent thick mixture, adding a bit more hot water to bring it to the right consistency. For the first time I was able to get what I perceived to be the right "thickness" of koicha with the Unmon from Ipppodo. I wasn't able to get quite the same thickness of tea from Hibiki-an's, though I would still call it koicha.
Winner: Ippodo's Unmon-no-mukashi. while Hibiki-an's was pretty good, it was still a bit jarring... no bitterness at all, but it felt a bit of a chore to drink it. the Unmon by contrast was THICK, and actually delicious, strangely savory with a hint of refined sweetness. it had real flavor to the tea which lingered on the palette afterward. the first time I've ever enjoyed Koicha.
USUCHA:
I finished off approx 2/3rds of each koicha, than added more water and wisked each bowl to make usucha. I still can't get my usucha to form without some bigger bubbles here and there... I guess it's all in the wrist/elbow.
winner: Ippodo's Unmon-no-mukashi. I find hibiki-an's to be better and more drinkable as usucha than koicha. the Unmon however again beat it hands down. Unmon had a distinctly different flavor as usucha, lighter, less sweet, but still complex and enjoyable.
Conclusions:
I've been drinking matcha for some time now, having first started with matcha from Ito-En, then moving up to Hibiki-an which I thought was pretty good at the time.
However for the first time I can honestly say that I ENJOYED drinking matcha with Ippodo's Unmon-no-mukashi... both as usucha AND koicha. In fact I enjoyed doing them both at the same time as usucha seems like a perfect way to end a session of koicha. It would be hard for me to use anything lesser than this grade of tea now after experiencing the difference... everything else feels like ice cream topper to me now
and yes, I am freakin' wired!!!
