Café Sepia

Product Type:Tea: Alternative; Container: 8 oz can
BevNET Review: Ito En's "East Meets Latte" is a blend of matcha (aka Japanese ceremonial green tea) and milk (aka latte) that has a nice yin and yang feeling to it. It's light and creamy, with pale green hue to the blend of milk and tea. The product finishes up with a mellow green tea flavor, complete with a slightly grassy finish. Overall, we think they've done a superb job of creating something that's authentic but mainstream. The only question mark is the packaging, which feels rather stark in comparison to the high quality of what's inside the can. Still, it's definitely worth a try.Reviewed on: 8/22/2007

Product Type:Tea: Alternative; Container: 8 oz can
BevNET Review: For this flavor, they've blended premium Assam black tea from India with milk to create a flavor that will likely be familiar to most American consumers. On the other hand, it also feels a lot more pedestrian (and less interesting) than its counterpart, Matcha Latte. Same goes for the packaging which, with its beige color, its much less attractive than the green of the Matcha. Good, but we'd stick with the other flavor. Reviewed on: 8/22/2007

Product Type:Coffee Drinks; Container: 6.2 fl oz (183 ml) metallic bottle
BevNET Review: Sepia's Mocha flavored coffee is a well done RTD coffee beverage. The flavor is clean and full bodied, and doesn't have the artificially thickened body found in other competing products. Designed to be served hot or cold, the 6.2 ounce metallic bottle is probably a bit too small for the US market. Plus, it dents very easily, resulting in a product that looks less than appealing. And last, but not least, the closure can be very difficult to remove. Overall, the fluid on the inside is good, but the packaging is going to make this product a tough sell. Reviewed on: 6/6/2006

Product Type:Coffee Drinks; Container: 6.2 fl oz (183 ml) metallic bottle
BevNET Review: Like its Mocha counterpart, Sepia's House Blend is packaged in a 6.2 ounce metallic bottle that's simply too small relative to the competition. The value proposition of being able to serve this product is somewhat weak, given that a hot cup of coffee is hardly difficult to find in this country. That being said, we're going to evaluate this as an iced coffee product -- and it's purely mediocre. The metallic package is less than pleasing, giving the product a tinny feeling in your mouth and a less than appealing look in your hand. The closure is on extra tight, making it difficult to open. Overall, we think that this product has good intentions but fails to deliver.Reviewed on: 6/6/2006