Kirin is a beverage giant in Japan. Aside from alcoholic drinks (Kirin beer in particular), they have large lines of soft drinks as well. This tea comes from their popular Gogo no Kocha (Afternoon Tea) line, and was a "special" version of their regular milk tea.
The back of the bottle (mostly obscured by the label with the translation of the ingredients, as I bought this in the US) said that it was made with Assam tea and milk. I read online that the "special" version here had creamier milk and a more robust tea base. It's been a little while since I had the regular version, so I can't make a comparison.
The tea was very refreshing, with a complex, slightly floral flavor. It wasn't too sweet or too rich, and did taste special. The Assam tea was present, but not strong, which I enjoyed. It definitely worked well as an afternoon tea for that reason. Of course, no matter what time it is, my father likes his tea black and almost over-steeped, so those with tastes like his would not care for this.
The drink certainly wasn't sickeningly sweet by any means. I assume that it was a limited edition release in Japan, but I would certainly drink it again. I will have to try the regular version to see if there are any detectable differences.
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Kirin Website
5 comments:
I love these types of tea in Japan, but they have far too much sugar in them for regular consumption (by me). They're always rich and full with a lovely floral taste to them. That is one reason I love the Lipton cartons (as well as the Kirin ones), but it's such an indulgence that I only have them about 3x a year.
By the way, I don't think this is limited edition, though I'm not sure. The web page for this tea doesn't mention limited availability. I think it's just "special" because it uses Assam tea and is richer than the regular milk tea, but I could be wrong!
This is my favourite tea of all time! I fell in love with it the first time I went to Japan.
Wow, that bottle is so cool too.
You know I've always wondered exactly what kind of tea they use. And it was only recently that I found an "assam" tea in a department store and realised it was the same tea.
Have you tried the Koucha Kaden? That is another royal milk tea from Japan that is really nice, but gogo is still my #1.
I'll have to see if I can find this somewhere around me!! You've lit a fire under me now!!
(funny how when I went to type the word verification the word was "reji" as if they could hear the 'kaching' of registers as I go buy gogo tea...)
Orchid64 - The recommended serving size was a quarter of the bottle, making the whole bottle a whopping 200 calories, so I definitely see what you mean. And that'd be fantastic if this was a regular product - I couldn't really tell one way or the other.
Kelly - I know, isn't it fantastic? My sister always liked it, but I was more into milk coffee beverages. I have never tried Koucha Kaden, but I will look out for it!
I like milk tea but kinda hard to find these in Manila :( I hope they can export them in the Philippines. The only brand I see here in MINESHINE, which is from Taiwan.
Kirin Special tea is stronger than Kirins ordinary Afternoon milk tea. Beside Assam tea it also contains small amount of smoked tea (Lap san sou shong), you can feel it if you know it. And yes it is too sweet, but no sweater than coke, and so much more enjoyable. It is not limited edition, but more difficult to find compare to the more "watery" ordinary Milk Tea. I guess asian customers, used to green tea, usually dont want this stronger kind of taste.
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