Wednzzzday, TeazzzDay 3/26/08

BYOT! Enter TeaChat here, you never know what you may find!


Shincha, New Harvest, is this the highlight of the TeaYear for you?

YES!!! I am sooo psyched about Shincha and/or Spring harvest Tea
10
21%
Yes, I am looking forward to the new harvest Tea
10
21%
Yes
2
4%
Shincha, what is that?
12
25%
No, I do not really care about harvest times, as long as I can get good tea
11
23%
No opinion/other
3
6%
 
Total votes: 48

User avatar
Mar 26th, '08, 16:17
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Been thanked: 2 times

by Chip » Mar 26th, '08, 16:17

tenuki wrote:I was searching for the 'I don't care about japanese grass clippings option', but couldn't find it. :(


Drinking some 2006 Spring Wuyi Zheng - Yen 'Ban Tian Yao' from Hou De.
:lol: But master tenuki, you are quite sensitive to harvest times for Taiwan oolongs if my memory serves me correctly....

Speaking of Taiwan oolong...I used my gaiwan for the first time to brew a green Taiwan oolong...2008 Winter Li Shan. If there was no Japanese grass clippings to brew, I could definitely fall back to Taiwan oolong.
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!

User avatar
Mar 26th, '08, 18:37
Posts: 485
Joined: Feb 2nd, '08, 19:32

by TimeforTea » Mar 26th, '08, 18:37

Chip wrote:
Teasweetie wrote:As a newbie, I don't know anything about shincha but am eager to hear more. :D
I see in the poll, some responders indicated they 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 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.

Today, sencha Fukamushi Superior is in my cup so far. Delicious. This is ichibancha sencha, but not shincha, that is 11 months post harvest but has been properly cared for throughout this period. In a month or so, I will be able to purchase this tea as shincha!
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this all, Chip!! Much appreciaTEAd!!! You certainly have a plethora of tea knowledge!! :D

User avatar
Mar 26th, '08, 18:52
Posts: 2299
Joined: Oct 23rd, '06, 19:46
Location: Seattle Area
Contact: tenuki

by tenuki » Mar 26th, '08, 18:52

Chip wrote:you are quite sensitive to harvest times for Taiwan oolongs if my memory serves me correctly.....
True true. It makes a big difference doesn't it. Right now I'm just thankful to Brandon for steering me in the right direction regarding Wuyi. I'm getting through to the spring harvest via some interesting exploration of wuyi tea. :)

Tung Ting in my cup now. Will have some Den's Sencha with my supper.
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )

User avatar
Mar 26th, '08, 19:10
Posts: 727
Joined: Dec 22nd, '07, 21:02
Location: the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy

by Sydney » Mar 26th, '08, 19:10

I just blew a ton on Chinese first flush greens. Now I wait for the next cash exfusion come sencha time.

User avatar
Mar 26th, '08, 19:52
Posts: 479
Joined: Feb 10th, '08, 23:28

by RussianSoul » Mar 26th, '08, 19:52

I am looking forward to Shincha. While I am definitely a newbie, I already managed to fall in love with Sencha. I have not tried a Sencha that I didn't like yet. So I anticipate Shincha to be a treat and will absolutely get a bag or two.

Had Assam Melody in the morning. Then proceeded to make a third and forth steep of yesterdays Guricha, that I couldn't finish last night. Yes, I am a naughty girl, I drained the leaves and let them stay overnight. The forth steep had an interesting tartness to it.

In the middle of all this my husband and I went out and got us some excellent scones. So I made us a nice pot of Paris blend and we ate the scones with Devon cream - yum!

User avatar
Mar 26th, '08, 20:07
Posts: 8065
Joined: Jan 8th, '08, 06:00
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Southern CA
Been thanked: 2 times
Contact: Victoria

by Victoria » Mar 26th, '08, 20:07

RussianSoul wrote: ... Then proceeded to make a third and forth steep of yesterdays Guricha, that I couldn't finish last night. Yes, I am a naughty girl, I drained the leaves and let them stay overnight. The forth steep had an interesting tartness to it.
hummm tempted ... but I won't go there. :twisted:

Finishing a 2nd steep of TGY, and wishing my work day was over.

User avatar
Mar 26th, '08, 22:03
Posts: 1046
Joined: Jan 15th, '08, 19:24
Location: Syracuse, NY

by Cinnamon Kitty » Mar 26th, '08, 22:03

Yes, I am happily anticipating Shincha. I am excited about the existence of new teas but that does not prevent me in buying other teas before Shincha as long as those teas taste good.

I have decided that I end up drinking more tea when not on break than when I should have time to enjoy more teas during break. I made a quick travel mug of Kyoto Cherry Rose Sencha to hold me through running errands with Mom this afternoon. After dinner, I decided on some White Tip Oolong which I am on the second steep of now. I'm still impressed by this tea. It does three solid infusions using an infuser basket and a 16oz mug and has a very smooth peachy taste.

User avatar
Mar 26th, '08, 22:33
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Been thanked: 2 times

by Chip » Mar 26th, '08, 22:33

Finished 5 steeps of Guricha...I think there might be one more steep in those leaves.

I also have the LiShan oolong from earlier today sitting in my gaiwan with boiling water...smells sweet.

Nights are better when I have some leftover soggy leaf offering yet more tea into the well into the evening.

I also started a batch of prehistoric Houjicha that has been laying around for years...still very tasty. I go through periods when I like these roasted Japanese types, then I won't want it again for...years.

User avatar
Mar 26th, '08, 22:56
Posts: 1559
Joined: Jan 28th, '07, 02:24
Location: Fort Worth, TX

by Space Samurai » Mar 26th, '08, 22:56

I'm looking forward to the new harvest. Will buy a bag here and there as different prefectures become available.

No tea today. :cry:

User avatar
Mar 27th, '08, 00:16
Posts: 344
Joined: Jan 23rd, '08, 00:59
Location: Williamsburg, VA

by TaiPing Hou Kui » Mar 27th, '08, 00:16

I am excited for the new harvest but not jumping at the gun to shell out money for some of it right now.....I have plenty of 2007 sencha I still need to finish up before I worry about the current harvest!

-All day today has been Wu's 2006 Reserve Ripe Pu

-Nick (TaiPing)

User avatar
Mar 27th, '08, 01:55
Posts: 552
Joined: Aug 23rd, '07, 00:42
Location: Somewhere in the wilds of Montana, but never without a teacup.
Contact: skywarrior

by skywarrior » Mar 27th, '08, 01:55

Oddly enough, I never really paid much attention to shincha -- and yet, and yet, here I have a first flush Darjeeling in my possession.

Go figure.
It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes -- Douglas Adams.

User avatar
Mar 27th, '08, 02:25
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Been thanked: 2 times

by Chip » Mar 27th, '08, 02:25

skywarrior wrote:Oddly enough, I never really paid much attention to shincha -- and yet, and yet, here I have a first flush Darjeeling in my possession.

Go figure.
Shincha, super fresh oolong, first flush Darjeeling... :wink:

The poll results were pretty interesting today...I plan to revisit this topic again very soon. On paper, the results seem so black and white on how TeaChatters feel about this topic. Yeas and nays are dead even.

This oolong just keeps on giving. I have no clue how many steeps, lost count a couple steeps ago. Green oolong in a gaiwan is the way to go. I have not didicated my day to it either...just keep going back to it from time to time for a couple more steeps.

User avatar
Mar 27th, '08, 08:58
Posts: 8065
Joined: Jan 8th, '08, 06:00
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Southern CA
Been thanked: 2 times
Contact: Victoria

by Victoria » Mar 27th, '08, 08:58

Chip wrote: This oolong just keeps on giving. I have no clue how many steeps, lost count a couple steeps ago. Green oolong in a gaiwan is the way to go. I have not didicated my day to it either...just keep going back to it from time to time for a couple more steeps.
Yeah oolongs are like that;

User avatar
Mar 27th, '08, 13:31
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Been thanked: 2 times

by Chip » Mar 27th, '08, 13:31

Victoria wrote:
Chip wrote: This oolong just keeps on giving. I have no clue how many steeps, lost count a couple steeps ago. Green oolong in a gaiwan is the way to go. I have not didicated my day to it either...just keep going back to it from time to time for a couple more steeps.
Si!!!

Locked