Iroha Zen Matcha Review: So Close, Yet So Far From Perfect

Design

The design of this toy fully has my heart. I love matcha anything, as lame as that sounds. I also adore it when toys are a more natural color, so the light, earthy green of the Matcha is perfect for me. It’s designed to fit nicely in your hand before the end of the toy bows out into the head. The body and head of the toy are ribbed, adding dimension and texture. The soft pillow silicone on the top of the toy is beyond lovely. I’ve only seen this on one other toy and can’t get enough. It’s so soft to the touch that it feels almost life-like, and it molds around your body, softly delivering vibrations. There’s one button on the bottom of the toy that controls all functions, very easy to use. To insert the batteries, unscrew the black cap (where the button is) and pop them in. Pay attention when putting the batteries in. There are small indicators showing positive and negative that are easy to miss. At first, I thought the toy wasn’t working until I found these and fixed the batteries.

Experience

Once I sorted out the batteries and got the toy working, I zoomed through the intensity settings to see what each felt like. That’s when I noticed the lack of power. Everything about the design of the toy sets it up for success, but you can’t fake intensity. At first, I thought it must be me, I really like a powerful toy. But after seeing other reviews on Iroha’s website, I saw that across the board people are asking for more power. Its maximum intensity is around a two on a standard vibrator. It’s a lovely toy to use with a partner. It’s rather easy to use in any position and adds a little spice to a partner session. Personally, though, it just wasn’t enough. As much as I wanted to love this toy, it just didn’t do it for me.

Quality

This toy feels as high quality as pillow soft silicone toy can. It’s a well-crafted toy, especially compared to the battery-powered toys I’ve seen. The give on the soft silicone head, I feel, is misleading when determining quality, only because I’m so used to smooth but hard-to-the-touch silicone on toys. Part of me was surprised this toy is waterproof; it doesn’t feel like it should be, but so far, it holds up. Iroha claims this is dust-free silicone. I’ve never encountered that before but I also haven’t seen my toys get dusty. Its run-time, at full power, with two fresh batteries, is 4 hours–which is really disappointing when you typically use rechargeable toys. Instead of plugging the toy in, you have to get batteries.

Price

For $39, this is a fine purchase so long as you don’t need a powerful vibrator. If you usually use your vibrator at the lowest setting anyway, I think the soft head and ribbed body make it a good buy. It’s lacking in quality, though, for the price.

Performance

Iroha Zen Matcha’s biggest downfall is its lack of power. There’s no way around it. Design features and simple functions are great, and I love the choices Iroha made her, but you’ve gotta give me at least 2 more notches of intensity if you want my recommendation. I was so excited about a Matcha toy, but it just fell flat.

Packaging

The toy comes in a sweet, hexagonal box that resembles packaging for a matcha wand or specialty tea. It’s beautifully designed but not very discreet, with a photo of the toy on its front. Inside are two batteries, and instructions are printed on the back of the box.

Materials and care

With the ribs, be sure to clean thoroughly, as it’s easy to miss things in the grooves. The toy is waterproof and easy to clean. Just make sure the battery port is fully sealed.