Organic Gyokuro | Loose Leaf - 85.0 g | Shaded Green Tea from Japan - First Flush | USDA - JAS Organic By Pantenger.

Final review: I received the new batch of gyokuro from the vendor, and I must admit it has the same lack of flavor and nose as the last. There's really no umami at all. It tastes as though I'm basically drinking warm water with a vague hint of of a grassy finish. Unfortunately I can no longer vouch for this brand, which I had once considered the best variety of gyokuro on Amazon. I don't know what happened to the production quality over the last few batches, but what I can say is that I've been fond of gyokuro for over a decade and the last two batches have had such a lack of nose and flavor that I wondered if they were even gyokuro at all. That's not to say I doubt the integrity of the vendor, but I do wonder what's going on at the farm where two batches from what I was told were different fields have absolutely no flavor, brew to a very faint green, and where there's much more dust and broken down tea particles than prior batches. After the last go-around I won't be buying from this vendor any longer as I am concerned that the farm(s) they are sourcing from have undergone changes that seem to preclude them from producing the same level of quality they had before. It's quite a disappointment, as this was a fantastic product at one point. ----- Prior updated review (to be updated): I reached out to the seller and they offered to send me a new batch. They said the batch I wasn't satisfied with was from a different field, and that the current batch is from the same field that the batches were from. I will update this review as I have more info, but I am happy to get the reply I did and the resolution offered. They said it would take about two weeks. Second review: Was the best I've had on here, but the latest batch tastes like stale sencha, with very small bits of leaves that are more dry. The umami is completely missing. I can't believe the contrast between this and the last batch. Different cultivar? Different harvest? Mislabeled sencha? I've been informed by Amazon that this item isn't eligible for return so I've reached out to the seller in hopes of some help. ----- First review: Very pleased with this tea. It's fresh, flavorable, has a nice umami finish and it's quite green, with the sort of light grassy tones that suggest it really is first flush. The tea itself is quite beautifully preserved, and the container it comes in can easily be reused for other teas or other storage. It's quite nice.

This vs other teas: I like the subtle grassy notes of sencha green. Just tossed a bag of bitter/metallic himalayan green tea out after 3 tries. This gyokuro green is as perfect as I've tried...my favorite. The tea itself is 5...maybe 6 stars. Packaging: I don't need a fancy metal tin for every purchase, which may be a part of the premium price. I drink tea. I do not collect pretty little tins. Reason for repurchase: Frankly I'm only buying this again (over more reasonably packaged/priced Guyokuro options) because I can get it tomorrow, and the recent tossing of the bitter/metallic Himalayan has left me green tea-less. (Oh the first world problems). 7 stars if they could perhaps leave the price the same, add an ounce, and package it in an ugly non-permeable bag.

The tea is meh, about half of it was just powder and tiny bits. Still, I do like the tin and I do know where to get better tea so…

They have pantry pests inside the bottles! Ok listen guys - so I have been drinking this tea since May. I just ran out. Right now as I am making my purchase online again I decided to read the reviews, and one of the reviews said that there was a bug so I decided to shine my flashlight on the 1 teaspoon that I had left that I was about to make and sure enough I found a little tiny dried pantry bug inside of it. I googled it and it is a very common thing for tea to have these pantry bugs. They’re tiny and I only found one, but it was there kind of gross considering I actually drink the entire jar over the course of a few months. I really like this tea too. It was very calming. Had a great taste and it was very well put together. The company must either be extremely organic or dirty.

Great taste, great packaging, the price is high .