Matcha Kōmyō

Jo******, 2023-06-01 22:03 JST, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

I had hesitations on buying this, but the previous review convinced me I should try it out and I don't regret it. I get walnuts and crisp autumn leaves in the body and fresh cream in the aftertaste. The fresh cream helps mellow out the harshness from the body, but there’s not enough of it to add much substance to the aftertaste beyond this. It has an edge that I interpret as kind of “round”. It fills the whole palate and has a snap you without being astringent. Depending on how you prep this it CAN have a bit of a drying astringency after swallowing, separate from this snap. At around 85°C, you'll get more of a drying texture and the dried autumn leaf, with a slight nuttiness. There’s a bit of cream that mellows its slight astringency but not a whole lot. The snap and slight astringency is noticeable. At around 90°C, there’s a nuttier taste with less of the dried leaf quality, and a creamier aftertaste that balances out the snap and drying astringency quite well. The bolder body also mixes well with the snap, drawing the focus away from it. This is my preferred temp, it’s very well-balanced here but still lacking a bit in the aftertaste. If you drop to 75°C you’ll have a bad time unless you really enjoy snappy and astringent matcha. Dried leaf is predominant here and there’s little cream to balance out its snap. The astringency has a bite that makes my face scrunch up. It’s a fun matcha experience for sure. Listen to the 85°-90°C suggestion and you’ll have a great time. I would have liked to see a bit more cream in the taste, I think that would have given it a bit of sweetness it’s otherwise lacking.

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Ri******, 2023-03-29 04:51 JST, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

I was intrigued to try this matcha after trying and falling in love with the Maruyasa Jiko (which I have purchased 5 or 6 tins of since its release). I was reluctant to purchase this because of the description of it being an "edgy" matcha as I anticipated a very savory matcha (which I find less enjoyable). While this matcha does possess a nutty character, it's a lot more subtle than other matchas with this flavor profile. It has a very prominent creaminess to go along with a sweetness at the end that makes it enjoyable and surprising at the same time. While I personally prefer the Jiko due to its more pronounced sweetness, this matcha is a worthy counterpart and really distinguishes the Maruyasa brand among the matcha offerings on Sazen. I hope other blends are released in the future - the quality you get for the price is almost criminal.

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