Last weekend, I decided to pick up Costco’s Kirkland brand of green tea. It was surprisingly very good green tea. The tasted reminded me of the green tea served at authentic Japanese sushi restaurants.
It turns out the teas are Japanese grown green tea and packed by Ito En. According to Ito En, out of Japan’s 47 prefectures (provinces), there are only three major tea producing regions. For a small island nation where space is a premium, growing tea must be something they cherish.
It is definitely good green tea. Even when steeped for a long time, the green tea never gets bitter. It reminded of the green tea I got from Two Leaves and a Bud, but so much cheaper. Being that it was 100 bags for around $12. They are also available at Amazon for slightly more.
The tea is packed in flat nylon mesh bags. At first thought, maybe this contributed to the taste of better tasting tea. As the material is suppose to encourage a better infusion. Many “gourmet” packaged tea have been using these nylon tea bags for the past decade.
The downside to the nylon bags is that it’s not biodegradable. And at the rate of 100 bags per customer, that’s a lot of nylon bags being thrown in the landfills.
I also don’t feel so safe (health wise) about exposing the nylon bags to the high temperature of my water.
Due to these reason, I can’t get myself to purchase the teas again. I would suggest they change to tea bags made from natural fiber. Even the cornstarch based mesh tea bags are biodegradable, but they are still made with GMO- based material.
