Hosen - 100g Bag

I started drinking the Hosen variety of green tea when I lived in Japan; I love the refreshing, clean flavor. This is the pure flavor of tea: add nothing but water that has boiled and then cooled just a bit. The Hosen I bought online in the U.S. seemed just as fresh as when I would buy it in Japan and bring it back in my luggage on business trips.

It is very good. I don't drink any other tea except for Ippodo's tea.

I'm originally from Kyoto area. Whenever I visit Japan to see my family, I bring back Ippodo teas. I was so excited to learn that I can buy them in the United States! Hosen is my favorite green tea (I also drink hojicha). Well balanced and delicious. It's expensive, but you only need to use small amount. The shipping was pretty fast. I will purchase again.

This is my favorite sencha of all time. Actually, it's my favorite tea of all time. I haven't found anything that has quite the same balance of freshness, richness and what I would describe as a "mild and lovely bitterness." I like to brew myself a cup to start my work, and also when I want to relax with a good book.

The instructions on the package worked well for me. Using the proper water temperature is especially important. Another hint: the tea leaves can be re-steeped up to three times, but when you pour the water in for the second and third time, don't let them steep for more than 5 seconds. If you wait longer, your cup can taste a little "off". I learned this hint from the helpful folks at the NYC location.

This is a great daily tea, and was my first purchase of sencha. My friend (who is much more into Japanese greens than I am, I'm more of a Chinese tea drinker) has let me taste a lot of his more rich and umami-packing senchas, and this is pleasantly mild compared to them. This is a good tea for those who are unsure if they like the deep, rich taste of sencha. I shared it with my non-tea drinking, "coffee only" lifestyle coworkers and they enjoyed it.
My recommendation is that you use 5g instead of 10g. Using the full 10g and steeping it for 60s resulted in an unpleasant bitterness and overly strong brew. I also steeped it for closer to 45 seconds rather than 60. Of course, all palates are different, but I hope my feedback can provide some options for those who may not have experience brewing green teas.