Kimberley's Kyusu

Hey there Teacups… Happy Matcha Monday! I’m back today with another Let’s Talk Tea post and this time around I’m going to be reviewing Seein Matchas – Organic Matcha. Tea team over at Seein Matcha that are based in Korea very kindly sent me some of their matcha to try and some of their black tea along with a matcha bowl an bamboo whisk, a bamboo matcha spoon and a whisk stand. I deffinelty wasn’t expecting them to send that much but it was such a pleasant surprise and I really enjoyed using all of my new teaware for this tasting session. I’ll deffinelty be reviewing their black tea at some point In the future and if you would like me to review any of the teaware they sent as well just let me know. For now though let’s get back to this review..

Here’s what Seein Matcha themselves have to say about this matcha over on their website: This organic green tea is sourced primarily from traditional tea agricultural systems in Korea’s Hadong and Jeju regions, using traditional harvesting methods. The natural properties contain numerous benefits with a refreshing taste. These areas are culturally significant, as the Hadong region is designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) while the Jeju region has been given the rare UNESCO Triple Crown for Global Geopark, Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage. 

Tea Tasting Notes

Before doing this tasting session I’m all but certain I had never tried a Korean Matcha so I wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to trying this. I was instantly able to notice that the matcha itself was a bit lighter in colour than the Japanese matcha I am used to having, but it was still quite a nice light green colour. In terms of the aroma of the matcha before adding water it smelt vegetal  and grassy but there was also a sweet creaminess to it and an ever so slight floral note (almost non existent because it was so light but I thought it was still worth mentioning).

Once I added my water the aroma quickly became much more vegetal and grassy, the slight creaminess and sweetness still reminded but where much more in the back ground and the floral note disappeared completely. I quickly noticed that the tea seemed to look much thinner than my matcha  normally would even though I used the same amount of water and matcha as I do each time I have it. This meant that while I did manage to build quite a good froth initially it unfortunately it didn’t hold once I transferred it to my tea glass.

For this tasting session I tried this matcha 4 ways, firstly on its own with absolutely nothing added to it, then I had it iced again with absolutely nothing added to it and then I added half a teaspoon of honey. After that I tried this as a latte with half a teaspoon of honey and some alpro soya milk.On it’s own this is quite a bit different that the Japanese matcha that I’m used to because overall it’s much lighter in terms of vegetal/grassy notes and mouthfeel. It still has the classic matcha flavours that we all know and love but I can certainly tell the difference between the two. The sweetness and the creaminess that I picked out in the initial aroma were nowhere to be found sadly but this is still very smooth and easy to drink. This is definitely much more of a savoury matcha than I’m used to and the even though they are lighter than with Japanese matcha the vegetal/grassy/seaweed notes are what its whole flavour profile consists of.

On its own iced this deffinelty wasn’t my cup of tea as it made the vegetal notes stronger and it was too much for me. If I were to have this on its own again I would deffinelty use just a little bit more matcha than normal to get the strength that I like. I do deffinelty prefer this with around half a teaspoon of honey though it just adds a nice sweetness that I think this matcha needs. With soya milk and honey added into this it truly does shine it adds the sweetness and the creaminess that this matcha was missing when I tried it on its own. The vegetal notes were still able to come through but all in all it just tasted more well rounded as a latte and that’s probably what I will use this matcha for going forward. If you are going to try this matcha and you have it as a latte I would deffinelty suggest using a bit more matcha than you normally would just to make sure that strength is still there. I also wouldn’t recommend having this as an iced latte it’s much better hot and its make for a nice cosy way to get your energy in the morning to power you through your day.

Overall Teacup Rating: 4.98/5

If you want to find out more about Seein Matcha and purchase any of their teas yourself, you can do both here. As always if you have any questions at all either stick them in the comments or send them to me on Twitter/Instagram @teaisawishblog and I’ll do my best to answer them all as soon as I can.

Speak to you all again soon. Happy Steeping – Kimberley