Gyokuro Premium (100g/3.53oz) Reviews

Author	Michael Nelson (United States)
Review	(sound of exuberant and loud clapping....) First, BRAVO! Hibiki-An! This is the best Gykuro I have had, period. That I am aware of, for this amount of money, and for this quantity of tea, there is NOT any competition. Consider a competitor that I have reliably used for years, here in the U.S., Teavana. Not to insult them, but I just finished a 2 Ounce bag of Teavana's "gyokuro Imperial green tea" which costs $15 USD. There is absolutely no comparison between these two teas at all. Hibiki-An's Gyokuro Premium is THE benchmark, or standard, by which I judge any and all others. I would encourage anyone who is reading this to try the cheap Teavana stuff first, just to get an understanding of just how good, and how vastly different this Gyokuro Premium really is. I received my Gyokuro Premium today (july 14 2009) and I literally ordered it on either july 5 or 6! Very impressive service and shipping, I only paid for the cheapest shipping option, which was still lightning fast! Upon opening the bag, which is beautifully packaged by the way, the smell of this level of Gyokuro is incomparable, I was stunned by the smell alone. I made the tea with purified and filtered water, which I heated to right at 150 degrees farenheit, then I steeped the tea for right under 1 minute, about 45-50 seconds. The aroma is exquisite and the color of the tea is like clear jade paradisical ocean water! The taste is something that amazed even me, to describe it as a lightly sweet "Umami" delicacy would be to negate the true experience of this tea's taste! Try some, it is that excellent. I do want to thank Hibiki-An for including a very special gift with my order, a bag of "Matcha Karigane Pinnacle", as part of their 5th year anniversary celebration. Unbelievable... This Gyokuro Premium is what gyokuro is supposed to be, a rare tea that is not reproducable anywhere else, at any price. I can hardly wait to try the Gyokuro Super Premium and also the Pinnacle grade. Teavana has needless to say lost a long time, decade-plus customer. Now that I have found the quality of Hibiki-An, I will be spending my money for tea here. Excellent tea!
Rating	Very bad... Bad... Very bad... Ordinary... Good... 5 of 5 Stars!
Date	July 15, 2009

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