Marukyu Koyamaen Yugen review
MS Rating
Community Rating
Flavor Profile
Product Details
- Brand
- Marukyu Koyamaen
- Origin
- Uji, Kyoto
- Grade
- Premium
- Cultivars
- Unknown
- Sizes
- 20g, 40g, 100g
- Description
Mysterious depth, mid-upper tier, good umami-sweet balance
Expert Review
No Matcha Spot Expert review yet!
Where to Buy Yugen by Marukyu Koyamaen
Get it from the official producer or trusted vendors
Sold out? Get notified when Marukyu Koyamaen matcha restocks via Matcha Alerts
Share your experience with this matcha
Sign in to leave a reviewCommunity Reviews (4)
meli55Hmm... not sure how I feel
Yugen is one of those that I keep going back and forth on. Some cups are great, smooth and well balanced, and other cups feel kind of hollow to me?? Maybe that's a me problem with my prep. The grassy aroma is great but it doesn't have the flavor depth I'd expect for the price.
Better as usucha than latte
Tried Yugen mostly because the price-to-grade ratio looked good. Personally found it works better straight than in a latte. The grassy aroma and the lingering sweetness get muted when milk goes in. Whisked thin it's well balanced, mild bitterness, light umami. Not my latte first pick now. I'd repurchase if I'm doing more usucha that month.
Soft and pretty 🌸
Yugen has the softest aroma when you open the tin, a little floral and grassy at the same time. As usucha it's well balanced. The sweetness lingers on the finish which I love 💕 I'll say it doesn't have the depth of Choan or Tenju but for the price it's a really nice middle-tier Marukyu pick.
Nutty as heck
I was caught off guard when I first took a sip of this as a latte. The first thing that came to mind was its distinct nuttiness. Yugen is extremely nutty (reminiscent of a walnut), almost dominantly so. Although it tastes single noted in its nuttiness at first, there is a savory aspect to it. Yugen is bold and full bodied, cuts through milk, and has a slight astringency but little bitterness. It is not as creamy as Isuzu. I'd even say it's slightly grainy in comparison to the two. Yugen is delicious as an usucha as well. The absence of milk reveals hidden flavors that I at first thought didn't exist in the face of such overwhelming nuttiness: a gentle grassiness and faint sweetness shines though, mingling pleasantly with the nuttiness in a way that makes it feel more subdued. At first I thought that the nuttiness somehow appeared stronger in a latte and then mellowed out as an usucha— instead, I realized that the milk drowns out Yugen's more delicate flavors, making it taste more one-sidedly nutty! Truly, usucha is the way to go for higher tier matcha. It was a bit of a wake up call for me, a person who usually drinks lattes :) Overall, this blend tastes much more balanced as an usucha as opposed to its dominate walnut form as a latte. But still it is enjoyable as a latte, so try it for yourself and see which you prefer. Oh, and many people recommend Yugen as a cheaper alternative to Wako, but I find the two to have completely different flavor profiles!
Matcha similar to Yugen by Marukyu Koyamaen
Kanbayashi Shunsho Usucha Biwa No Shiro
Same Uji, Kyoto origin
Nakamura Tokichi Global Hiroha-No-Shiro
Same Uji, Kyoto origin
Kanbayashi Shunsho Usucha Konomi No Shiro
Same Uji, Kyoto origin