learning about tea daily

[TimsMom]

Hi, I'm new here. I have purchased a gaiwan cup due to my son talking about his. I am learning more about tea even though I've drunk it all my life of 68 years. Any suggestions very welcome. Tims Mom

[Chip]

Welcome TimsMom to TeaChat, we are glad you have joined us!

Please share with us some details about your long TeaJourney, and we can share with you too.

[Poseidon]

Welcome Tim's Mom! There is an endless amount of knowledge on this site so prepare for an overload of information. As for suggestions, what tea do you like to drink? With that information we, teachatters, will reccomend TONS of teas to dive into!

Again, Welcome!

[TimsMom]

I would like to know more about Japanese tea.

[Poseidon]

I would like to know more about Japanese tea.

Search google.

http://www.thefragrantleaf.com/guide-to-japanese-teas Heres one that does an ok job.

[TimsMom]

Thank you, Poseidon. I may actually try that one with brown rice in it.
TimsMom

[Chip]

I would like to know more about Japanese tea.

Since it is Shincha Time, here is an explanation for you on Japanese greens ...
Many may not know what Shincha is, so, here is Shincha 101. This is Japanese tea terminolgy. Chinese has a much more convoluted set of terms.

Shin cha...literally means new harvest tea in Japanese. It is always first flush, but not all first flush is Shincha. Shincha is packaged for immediate sale upon final processing of the leaves. Shincha is traditionally off the store shelves by July.

Ichiban cha is simply first flush Japanese tea. Not all ichibancha is shincha. Much of ichibancha is placed into cold storage as aracha in very large airtight bales. Ichibancha goes through final processing throughout the year to provide consumers with the freshest teas possible.

Ara cha is commonly refered to as farmer's tea. It is tea that is fully processed up to the final sorting of the leaves. So, it will have all sizes of leaf and as well as leaf stems and veins. Most ichibancha is placed into huge cold storage rooms as aracha. Aracha is usually the very first tea to be consumed by tea farmers and fortunate consumers since it is the first tea to be completely processed.

When I receive a parcel of heat sealed Japanese tea, I place it into cold storage...aka, the TeaFridge. This will keep fresh sencha freshest for extended periods of time. Once the heat sealed bag has been opened, it is not recommended to place it back into cold storage, but it can be done with proper sealing of the opened bag. It is critical to keep tea that has been placed into the fridge away from odors, tea leaves are magnets for odors.