I recently received my first canister of Uji-Shimizu Sticks from Ippodo Tea Co. The company is from Japan and has just opened their first tea store internationally in New York City.
My Review of Ippodo’s Uji-Shimizu Sticks:
I have to say I am impressed with the taste, look, and convenience of this tea. Uji-Shimizu is strictly a creation of Ippodo Tea Co. It is a form of matcha tea that is sweetened using granulated sugar. For newbies, matcha tea is a fine powder green tea that is stirred into hot water. It is one of the only teas where the whole leaf is consumed.
Uji-Shimizu Sticks hold a single serving of Uji-Shimizu in a convenient packet that you can take anywhere. You then pour the mixture into hot or cold water (or milk) into roughly 150 ml of water and mix with a spoon. I ended up warming up water to 170 degrees and mixing in the powder, which took little time.
As far as taste, this tea was strong, very sweet, frothy, and just plain enjoyable to drink. If you like a bold green tea with a sweet flavor, I would definitely recommend it. If you like a delicate flavored tea, this tea is not for you. I liked the flavor so much that I drank the whole thing in about 5 minutes. I could even see non-tea drinkers enjoying this one.
As far as looks of the tea, it is one of the greenest teas I have seen. Here is a photo:
As far as the smell, the powder itself smelled grassy and reminded me of the smell of sencha. The smell of the brewed tea reminded me somewhat of wheatgrass. This is my first experience with teas by Ippodo, but I will definitely be trying more of their teas in the future.
Here is a link to their site: https://ippodotea.com/products/uji-shimizu-sticks
