Ito En Oi Ocha

[Katmandu]

has anyone tried this bottled tea from Ito En? How was it? Any specific recommendations besides the yummy matcha? Hope every one is chillin comfortably in their ' tea zone'

[Space Samurai]

I didn't like it and was rather unimpressed with it. I think their other bottled greens are better.

[silvermage2000]

I have never tried I't. But, I have hear that republic of tea has some good bottled teas.

[Pentox]

Oi Ocha has it's time and place. The taste is ok, it doesn't compare to anything that I would ice and carry around, but combined between availability / quality it's pretty good.

[Katmandu]

Ok how about just a general question about Ito En- are they good for their loose teas? Ive just never used them before and am intrigued ...

[Chip]

They are best when you can visit their posh teashop in upper Manhatten. They have a huge TeaFridge, and will show you just about any tea. Oh, they will brew anything for you as well.

Many teas are not on their site including limited availablity teas.

[Space Samurai]

I have never tried I't. But, I have hear that republic of tea has some good bottled teas.

Those things are pretty noxious, the oi ocha is super ichiban qualtiy in comparison.

I kind of agree with Chip, as online shopping goes, there are probably better options, but I would love to spend some time in their actual store.

On the subject of Ito en's RTD teas, their Dr. Weil line is quite good. The darjeeling is the best bottled/canned black tea I've ever had. But its 2+ bucks for a small can that uses about $.10 worth of actual tea.

[Chip]

I kind of agree with Chip, as online shopping goes, there are probably better options, but I would love to spend some time in their actual store.

On the subject of Ito en's RTD teas, their Dr. Weil line is quite good. The darjeeling is the best bottled/canned black tea I've ever had. But its 2+ bucks for a small can that uses about $.10 worth of actual tea.

Dr. Weil thanks you!

The store is very cool and a must visit if you possibly can.

I experienced my first $$$ kyusu there. Had no idea. Picked up this cute little one around 150 ml, it weighed about as much as a feather, seriously light and thin walled, pretty basic looking red clay. As I was holding it casually one handed, I saw the $365 price tag. Aack, lol....my hands started to shake and I put it down with both hands.

[ryan]

I have had the Oi OCha and the plain green variety. I found them both good. The best part about these is the only ingredients are water, green tea, and a simple preservative (don't remember which). There is NO sugar added which is rare in tea drinks available at most grocery stores.

[chingwa]

if you really must have green tea while you are out and about, OiOcha is about as good as any other bottled tea out there... maybe a bit better actually...

but it still sucks. just like all the others it just tastes manufactured.

As far as the ito-en store goes, it's a really nice little boutique shop. It's crazy expensive for tea wares but the mood is nice. I haven't been very impressed though with the ito-en loose leaf teas... even buying direct from the store I always seem to be disappointed with the flavor.

[joelbct]

I think the ito en bottled tea's beat out any other bottled tea you'll find in the states. Just the fact that they don't have Sugar makes them stand out...

As far as their high-end loose-leaf, they are one of the top Sencha and Matcha suppliers out there... personally recommended as a Matcha supplier by the Tea Master at the New York Urasenke Tea School, along with Ippodo and that Maraku Koyaeman place. Their prices and quality are superior or comparable to any other green tea supplier that markets to the US...

And in my experience, if you call the store, they will hand select whatever they have available, as opposed to just ordering what is up online.

I recommend:

Chiran Kagoshima Sencha

Megami Kagoshima Sencha

Koto Matcha

Also, when available, highly recommend the Kago and Shizuoka Shincha (spring tea) and the Kawane Sencha. The gyo is great too but i'm not a huge gyokuro person...

[Katmandu]

Thanks for all the replies! I ordered some of that Koto Matcha you mentioned, Joel. I decided against the bottled oi ocha ...no need really to even go there...

[inspectoring]

I kind of agree with Chip, as online shopping goes, there are probably better options, but I would love to spend some time in their actual store.

On the subject of Ito en's RTD teas, their Dr. Weil line is quite good. The darjeeling is the best bottled/canned black tea I've ever had. But its 2+ bucks for a small can that uses about $.10 worth of actual tea.

Dr. Weil thanks you!

The store is very cool and a must visit if you possibly can.

I experienced my first $$$ kyusu there. Had no idea. Picked up this cute little one around 150 ml, it weighed about as much as a feather, seriously light and thin walled, pretty basic looking red clay. As I was holding it casually one handed, I saw the $365 price tag. Aack, lol....my hands started to shake and I put it down with both hands.

I had a similar experience only mine was about 2-3 oz capacity with the tag of 500$.

[silverneedles]

just came from ItoEn in Manhattan,

the Weil cans have been discontinued ... (
expensive, but they were the tastiest... esp the DJ

[edgar_k]

I spotted a new Oi Ocha varietal last time I was in Whole Foods -- a "dark green" version (matching label) with "bolder taste."

I picked up a bottle but seeing that I've been on such a sakura sencha kick lately it's still in my fridge. Hopefully "bolder taste" will mean "less manufactured-tasting."