2011 Official Shincha Ordering Topic

[iannon]

Both Maiko and Den's Tea have opened for pre-orders.

OOh..Maiko here i come

[Stentor]

It's hard not to over-order.
Then again, I'm running out of sencha since I've been trying not to buy any of 2010's harvest since January.

I pre-ordered some from O-Cha and will order mofe from when Miyabi is availabe.
I might buy some from Ippodo. I was going to try some of their teas anyway.
Hmm, Maiko? It's all so tempting.
Shopping for tea when you hardly have any left at home is like ordering food when you're really hungry. It's very likely that you order too much

[iannon]

It's hard not to over-order.
Then again, I'm running out of sencha since I've been trying not to buy any of 2010's harvest since January.

I pre-ordered some from O-Cha and will order mofe from when Miyabi is availabe.
I might buy some from Ippodo. I was going to try some of their teas anyway.
Hmm, Maiko? It's all so tempting.
Shopping for tea when you hardly have any left at home is like ordering food when you're really hungry. It's very likely that you order too much

I relaly like their Kinari (Maiko's that is)..only available at Shincha time.

[Stentor]

Good news for some of us:

Will try samples of Sae Midori and Yutaka Midori tomorrow, should have those out as shincha in the next week...stand by!

I relaly like their Kinari (Maiko's that is)..only available at Shincha time.

Uh oh, now you've got me interested Can it be compared to any of their other teas?

[Teacup1980]

According to Sugimoto(SA)'s blog, now Shincha is ready for harvest! Tea fields are changing color to gorgeous green

http://sugimotousa.blogspot.com/

[iannon]

Good news for some of us:

Will try samples of Sae Midori and Yutaka Midori tomorrow, should have those out as shincha in the next week...stand by!

I relaly like their Kinari (Maiko's that is)..only available at Shincha time.

Uh oh, now you've got me interested Can it be compared to any of their other teas?

mmm...no

[shinobicha]

Iannon -
I've had Maiko's Maruyama (actually have just a bit left of the 100g I ordered from them back in March). Anyway, while I've enjoyed it, I wasn't at all convinced. However, people seem to rave about it, so I'm wondering if I'm brewing it wrong - do you (or anyone else) have any recommended parameters?

(4g for 4oz water, 150 or 155 for 1 minute or 1 min 15 seconds; that was after a lot of experimentation).

Second, it sounds like Kinari is very different - I guess I shouldn't judge other Sencha products (by Maiko) based on my experience w/ Maruyama?

[nickE]

Iannon -
I've had Maiko's Maruyama (actually have just a bit left of the 100g I ordered from them back in March). Anyway, while I've enjoyed it, I wasn't at all convinced. However, people seem to rave about it, so I'm wondering if I'm brewing it wrong - do you (or anyone else) have any recommended parameters?

(4g for 4oz water, 150 or 155 for 1 minute or 1 min 15 seconds; that was after a lot of experimentation).

Second, it sounds like Kinari is very different - I guess I shouldn't judge other Sencha products (by Maiko) based on my experience w/ Maruyama?

I remember liking the Kinari significantly better than the Maruyama which I thought was just decent.

[Chip]

Shincha Kinari is always quite good, year after year. Abundant flavor and high notes.

Maruyama is a great everyday sencha, easy to brew, hard to mess up ... I found it softer than Kinari in 2010. This is fine as far as I am concerned.

If you want higher points in your flavor, upgrade to the next level.

[brlarson]

Iannon - I've had Maiko's Maruyama ... do you (or anyone else) have any recommended parameters?
...
(4g for 4oz water, 150 or 155 for 1 minute or 1 min 15 seconds; that was after a lot of experimentation)...

Maruyama is showing really well for me with 5 grams in 5 oz at 140F for 90 seconds. The lower temp and longer brew time bring out more flesh and sweetness. I've tried it with higher leaf ratio, higher temps, shorter brew times, but 1:1 140F 90 seconds really hits it for me.

[iannon]

Iannon - I've had Maiko's Maruyama ... do you (or anyone else) have any recommended parameters?
...
(4g for 4oz water, 150 or 155 for 1 minute or 1 min 15 seconds; that was after a lot of experimentation)...

Maruyama is showing really well for me with 5 grams in 5 oz at 140F for 90 seconds. The lower temp and longer brew time bring out more flesh and sweetness. I've tried it with higher leaf ratio, higher temps, shorter brew times, but 1:1 140F 90 seconds really hits it for me.

That's right about at how I prep it as well 1:1 at 140-145 for 90 full seconds. I enjoy it at least. But yea...kinari is bigger brighter bolder.. To me at least..your mileage may vary!

[bambooforest]

Just ordered two bags of kunpu and one bag of Houryoku from Dens.

And... in the process of ordering a kyusu and some tea from Maiko.

From Maiko: a couple bags of their standard shincha and a single bag of their kinari.

From my past experience I remember preferring their "lower end" shincha. But since the Kinari is being spoken so highly of on this thread, I opted to include a bag of it in my order.

If it ends up not to my liking, blame will be administered to those responsible.

It's also worth noting that Kinari is steamed for less time than their standard shincha... so you have to like the effect less steaming has on the final taste.

ShinchaClause will be leaving Kyoto soon.

I for one am excited.

[brlarson]

ShinchaClause will be leaving Kyoto soon.

That's an understatement.

I just pre-ordered four shincha from Hibiki-an, and that brings my pre-orders to about 1000 grams That will be it for me with shincha. I've done my part to help the Japanese economy, at least for the near term

[shinobicha]

Shincha Kinari is always quite good, year after year. Abundant flavor and high notes.

Maruyama is a great everyday sencha, easy to brew, hard to mess up ... I found it softer than Kinari in 2010. This is fine as far as I am concerned.

If you want higher points in your flavor, upgrade to the next level.

Thanks Chip; I will keep Kinari in mind... if it is still available in a month or two, or next year. I never found Maruyama bad, but so far the best thing about it is the aroma of the leaf (dry or wet) in the warmed kyusu. The tea itself has been fine, but nothing I'm going back to. Glad to know their others (at least Kinari) are worth trying...

[shinobicha]

Iannon - I've had Maiko's Maruyama ... do you (or anyone else) have any recommended parameters?
...
(4g for 4oz water, 150 or 155 for 1 minute or 1 min 15 seconds; that was after a lot of experimentation)...

Maruyama is showing really well for me with 5 grams in 5 oz at 140F for 90 seconds. The lower temp and longer brew time bring out more flesh and sweetness. I've tried it with higher leaf ratio, higher temps, shorter brew times, but 1:1 140F 90 seconds really hits it for me.

That's right about at how I prep it as well 1:1 at 140-145 for 90 full seconds. I enjoy it at least. But yea...kinari is bigger brighter bolder.. To me at least..your mileage may vary!

Thanks for your suggestions brlarson and iannon. I will definitely try it at this lower temp for a bit longer.
--

So for Shincha this year, I've pre-ordered:
Kirameki and YM Kaoru LE - first order from O-cha!

Moriuti Yoshio Asamushi, Sugimoto Hariuchi Asamushi, Shincha (Asamushi) Kunpu, and Shincha (Fukamushi) Houryoku - from Shirakata Denshiro Shoten

(Den's tea only offered just 2 shinchas this year--though I ordered them both, I was hoping for more, so I ordered from their parent company in Japan directly!)