TeaChat

Mmmm. Looks nice.

Currently drinking Ippodo Nichigetsu.
When I took my first sip of this tea, I immediately thought "now you know why there's such a big price gap between this and the Kaboku", as the Kaboku is truly excellent.
However, that doesn't mean that I am disappointed with the Nichigetsu at all. In fact, I am really enjoying it and I am likely to buy it again.
This is the last tea from my first ever Ippodo purchase and I was satisfied with all the teas that I tried. Very good teas for someone looking for that typical Uji/Kyoto sencha flavor.

I'm drinking my favorite Sencha, Karigane Otsuusan from O-Cha. I've been brewing it in a different small pot everyday so that none of my teaware is neglected. My Seong-il onggi Hobin is definitely the best match for this tea.

Loving some fine Tsuen Aoi sencha from O-Cha, emerald green and gorgeous stuff even brewed on the road in my kamjove thingie.

I have finished my last cut of matcha Manten this morning



http://matchagirlparis.blogspot.com/201 ... anten.html

But on the upside I have started my first Ippodo matcha

I'm drinking tons of matcha and delicious sencha.

Stentor wrote:

Chip wrote:I had a bag of Shincha SM from Kagoshima from O-Cha sitting here and decided to give this a go with the adjusted parameters. Outstanding!!! Better than any previous attempts with O-Cha's Kagoshima SM.

I would say that the Shizuoka offering is more veggie while the Kagoshima offering is sweeter. Both really good but different!

Sounds good! I have a bag of O-Cha's Kagoshima Sae Midori here just waiting to be opened.

I have brewed this a couple of times now. I have not quite nailed it yet. Sae Midori fukamushi has always been a little difficult for me to get just right.

Chip, would you mind sharing your exact brewing parameters, not just ratio but exact grams and ml/fl oz.?
I have noticed in the past that some teas seem to require a certain minimum amount of leaf to be good; i.e. a tea brewed at 1:1 with only 1 g wouldn't work, whereas 1:1 with 3 g it would turn out fine. Have any of you noticed the same?

Long Jing - 2013.
I have tested this batch several times with proper attention, probably next spring I will buy few kilograms if it will be the same

Today's first tea is Karigane Gyokuro Asa-giri from O-Cha. I used to brew it in my gyokuro set but today I tried it in my Andrzej Beros shib and clearly this shib has met its tea mate.



The shib is unglazed on the inside and has the same bluish-grey glaze as the Hobin I purchased at the same time. My 'excuse' for my next teaware purchase will be cups that shine next to these pots.

Maiko Karigane from the Shincha OTTI. Down to my last two samples from that, why do I always have Shincha around so late in the year? I still have the NOTTI offerings as well. I best get to work on that Shincha.

Asatsuyu still working on that Shincha Supply. I am going to miss it when its cone, but I want to drink it while it is still somewhat fresh.

AdamMY wrote:Maiko Karigane from the Shincha OTTI. Down to my last two samples from that, why do I always have Shincha around so late in the year? I still have the NOTTI offerings as well. I best get to work on that Shincha.

That's been my morning cup since the Shincha OTTI. I bought half a kilo and put it in the freezer. So far it's been keeping very well. Man, I love that tea.

Just opened some Kagoshima Sae Midori (O-cha). Ahhhhhhh.

This is the tea I always return to for morning sencha. I'll drink others for a time, but this one is Old Reliable as far as I'm concerned.

I've been trying to work out the right brewing parameters for me for O-cha's Kagoshima Asamushi Sencha, but I haven't nailed it yet -- it keeps coming out too astringent for me. I'm wondering if that's just the characteristic of the tea. It does have some wonderful properties and can give a very satisfying feeling on drinking it.

I always return to O-Cha Karigane after trying regular sencha. There's no bitterness and each one has a character of its own. Today I enjoyed a session with the Asa-giri, which is a gyokuro karigane, brewed in my Beros shib. When I first joined tea chat I suspected that the yixing collectors were imagining the differing impact of each pot on teas, but since I began purchasing artisan tea ware I've become a believer. This karigane is better in this shib than in any other pot I've tried, and this tea is the one most enhanced by using this shib. Not only do I gain more enjoyment from the tea, but I've got an excuse to collect artisan tea ware!

More Tsuen Aoi sencha from O-cha in a yurt in a campground in Oregon. Vegetal, sweet, lovely.