Sazen Haul
I am in the US and had been ordering my matcha domestically from Ippodo’s US store and The Steeping Room to avoid customs and tariffs for the past year. However, I’ve been itching to branch out and try different matcha, and with the tariff exemption for green tea, I finally decided to take my chances by ordering from Sazen.
I placed my order on April 19, and I finally received it today on May 8. I chose to ship via FedEx instead of DHL for $1 more, because I heard DHL is holding packages for additional “processing fees” or still applying the tariff in some cases. The DDP amount seemed too high, so I elected to take my chances and pay later. I’m glad I did, because I was never charged local taxes or any additional fees to receive my package. However, my package was held in customs-purgatory for 10 days, so while I don’t know if I made the better decision by choosing FedEx, I’m not mad about it.
Side note, Sazen is amazing to work with, and they are so responsive if you have any trouble with documents for customs clearance.
All of these are new to me, as I made one big order for matcha I’ve been wanting to try but have trouble purchasing domestically (Ippodo’ Seiun in the photo was a separate purchase):
Kanbayashi Shunsho (purple tins)
Mozumu
Biwa no Shiro
Momoyo no Mukashi
Matsukaze Mukashi
Sazumi Mukashi
Maruyasu (all gold tins)
Seiro
Shimizuoto
Hekisuien (black tins)
Chiyo no Sakae
Daigyoku
Yamamasa Koyamaen (gold tin with green cap)
Yomo no Kaori
Altogether $187 USD for 350 grams of matcha, and I loved having so much variety to choose from. Assuming no further international trade restrictions, I’m happy I can resume ordering matcha from Japan after a year long hiatus.