A Shizuoka Green Tea for only 128 yen!

As someone who has enjoyed his fair share of Shizuoka tea, I have enjoyed a wide range of tea of different price points. Those on the cheaper side were around 300 yen for a bag of 100 grams of tea, and on the high end, there was some tea around 1,000 yen for the same amount. While the flavours and quality certainly differed, there was never a bag of tea that was disappointing. They all offered the deep delicious taste I expect from Shizuoka green tea.

Then, I came across this tea...

128 yen plus tax for a 100 gram bag of Shizuoka green tea!

This was shockingly affordable, and of course, I was also quite suspicious of it when I picked it up.

The tea was sold by Hagino Shouten company in Saitama but manufactured in Shizuoka City. The packaging was quite simple and did not give much information on the tea farm it came from. With the lack of information, I was not sure what to expect except that this was the cheapest Shizuoka tea I have ever come across.

When I opened the bag, I gave it the very first sniff test. The tea was very... well, green tea! While it does lack the complexity of more expensive tea, it was a very clean and pleasant green tea smell that I associate with the traditional Japanese drink.

The tea leaves were bigger in pieces, and there were pros and cons. The negative was that it took more time to get the flavours out of the tea from soaking, but the positive was that fewer leaf bits got out of the mesh and into the tea, which made it easier for me to drink using the tea ball.

After a few minutes of soaking the tea in hot water, I gave it the first sip. Meanwhile, I was keeping in mind the entire time the price of this tea. Thinking about how affordable it is, this was a very delicious tea with a deep and delicious flavour. The bitterness was not overpowering, but it lasts in my mouth.

While some Shizuoka green tea I have tried in the past were great to be enjoyed on its own or with a light snack (rice crackers, especially), this tea is one that goes really well with most Japanese meals. I had it with some sushi, and the warmth of this tea and the taste really helped cleanse the palate in between bites. I would recommend having this tea while eating.

Overall, considering that this Shizuoka green tea was 128 yen plus tax for this whole bag, it is one of the easiest tea for me to recommend!

This post is supported by Shizuoka Green Tea Guide, one of City-Cost's Supporters helping City-Cost bloggers to enjoy life in Japan and engage in new experiences.