Official Shincha 2013 Ordering topic

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Apr 27th, '13, 12:48
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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by victoria3 » Apr 27th, '13, 12:48

rdl wrote:you may wish to see this from Horaido: bottom of left hand side "To keep tea well"
http://www.kyoto-teramachi.or.jp/horaido/greentea.htm
Have you had success with freezing, instead of refrigerating?

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Apr 27th, '13, 13:39
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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by Chip » Apr 27th, '13, 13:39

I have never frozen tea, but I understand it is practiced in China and Japan.

I set the TeaFridge for 33-34* F.

I do not go to any further precautions regarding packaging other than the foil lined bags that the teas from Japan come in.

It cannot hurt to add layers ... I just don't unless it is a bag I have already opened.

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Apr 27th, '13, 14:12
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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by victoria3 » Apr 27th, '13, 14:12

Chip wrote:I do not go to any further precautions regarding packaging other than the foil lined bags that the teas from Japan come in.

It cannot hurt to add layers ... I just don't unless it is a bag I have already opened.
OK, thanks for the heads up. Since I don't have a dedicated refrigerator, I'll add the extra layers to block food smells from migrating into the tea. As a test, I'll also place in the freezer an unopened bag of very bitter Aracha I have.

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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by sherubtse » Apr 27th, '13, 17:25

victoria3 wrote: As a test, I'll also place in the freezer an unopened bag of very bitter Aracha I have.
Interesting ....

I am thinking of procuring some aracha. Where did you get yours'?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by Chip » Apr 27th, '13, 17:32

Shincha OTTI cometh ... biggest and best ever!!!

Keep an eye of the OTTI/NOTTI forum of TeaChat!

http://www.teachat.com/viewforum.php?f=74

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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by Poohblah » Apr 28th, '13, 00:18

Oh excellent. I am currently debating my Shincha/spring harvest 2013 purchases. A full load from Ippodo is a prime candidate at the moment, as are spring 2013 gaoshan oolongs. But the Shincha OTTI is also very very tempting. Hmmmmm...

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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by victoria3 » Apr 28th, '13, 01:22

sherubtse wrote:
victoria3 wrote: As a test, I'll also place in the freezer an unopened bag of very bitter Aracha I have.
Interesting ...
I am thinking of procuring some aracha. Where did you get yours'?
Thanks.
Best wishes,
sherubtse
Hi, I got Aracha at my local Nijia Market and really loved the first two bags and then bugged the owner to please get more, unfortunately one of the three subsequent bags I got was really bitter no matter what I did. So disappointing! Anyway, it turns out the company makes a select and premium blend so there is still hope. I got the 'select' so plan on trying the 'premium' next time. Actually, I'm going to call them to see what's up.

Takaokaya: Aracha Deep Steamed Green Tea
http://takaokayausa.webstorepowered.com ... archSize=1
AraCha - Premium 7.0 oz Loose Whole Green Tea
Item No. 61165, Price:$23.20

http://takaokayausa.webstorepowered.com ... B004FXHVX2
AraCha - Select 7.0 oz Loose Whole Green Tea
Item No.61166, Price: $12.50

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Apr 28th, '13, 02:42
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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by Poohblah » Apr 28th, '13, 02:42

I'm looking for Shincha 2013 recommendations... I strongly prefer asamushi and I want high quality/price ratio. Ippodo would be the perfect vendor but I have just been informed that they do not release the new year's tea to the Western market until fall.

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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by rdl » Apr 28th, '13, 09:31

victoria3 wrote:
rdl wrote:you may wish to see this from Horaido: bottom of left hand side "To keep tea well"
http://www.kyoto-teramachi.or.jp/horaido/greentea.htm
Have you had success with freezing, instead of refrigerating?
i have had perfectly fine results freezing. a tea fridge i imagine is perfect since it can be set as chip stated just above freezing. my concern is not to loose the moisture in the tea as time passes. i don't know how long you intend to store your teas but if it is for long term and they are still sealed, i prefer freezing (which i don't do often as i don't often over buy and i will refrigerate if it is just for a few months).
since you asked the question, i wanted to know what other vendors thought of this and found what i consider is helpful from verdant tea:
"If you have a vacuum-sealer, you can feel free to thoroughly seal your tea in a moisture-free environment, and store it in the refrigerator on a colder setting, or the freezer. This is a contentious point in the tea community, because improperly-sealed tea stored in a freezer will be damaged. However, all Chinese tea vendors store their green teas and Tieguanyin vacuum sealed in large freezers. If you have the resources, feel free to do the same. This will extend the freshness of the tea from four months to about a year.

http://verdanttea.com/how-to-store-tea/
maybe chip should do a SO Tea Fridge :D... fine teas deserve the best :lol:

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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by Stentor » Apr 28th, '13, 10:16

Poohblah wrote:I'm looking for Shincha 2013 recommendations... I strongly prefer asamushi and I want high quality/price ratio. Ippodo would be the perfect vendor but I have just been informed that they do not release the new year's tea to the Western market until fall.
My favorite asamushi teas come from Maiko and Tsuen (and possibly Ippodo, whose teas I have only recently started drinking). I'm not sure if you've had their teas but if you haven't, they're probably a good place to start.
Tsuen teas are a bit pricey but the teas are high quality. What kind of quality/price ratio are you going for?
Maiko doesn't do shincha versions of their regular senchas, they have two "special" shincha teas instead which are only available during shincha season. How these teas turn out will probably vary from year to year so I can't tell you how they are this year. In general, their teas are very good, though, even the lower priced ones.

I have not tried all the vendors in the world so I hope others will chime in and give you more recommendations.

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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by edkrueger » Apr 28th, '13, 10:41

Poohblah wrote:I have just been informed that they do not release the new year's tea to the Western market until fall.
I suspect it will be out mid May like usual. Is it possible there was a miscommunication? I think they start blending a year's harvest into their non shincha teas in fall.

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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by Chip » Apr 28th, '13, 11:41

edkrueger wrote:
Poohblah wrote:I have just been informed that they do not release the new year's tea to the Western market until fall.
I suspect it will be out mid May like usual. Is it possible there was a miscommunication? I think they start blending a year's harvest into their non shincha teas in fall.
Although I have posted this in years past ... this is from Miwa of Ippodo back in Spring 2007.

1) I have read that you offer special releases of shincha.
Can you tell me when that will be?
It will be around the middle of the May, it may be
around 15 or so this year. It was around 18th of May last year.
so a little bit early but not that early as we actually
expected before. Weather in March in Kyoto area was actually
not that warm although it was very warm in February.
I am sure I will let you know it is ready by email!
2) I have also heard that your regular sencha listings are
changed over to 2007 but not sold as shincha since
these are your regular offerings through out the year.
Can you tell me when this occurs? And how will I know
that these have been changed over to 2007?
Thank you for your deep understanding to our Ippodo tea.
Ippodo tea has to be in a certain quality and keep the
taste for the whole year, so we actually try our best
not let our people who drink our tea notice
when was the time to change.
But anyway, usually it is around after summer.
These is a reason for the timing, after one summer,
it means early autumn, the tea becomes more and more
" full-bodied" (even Sencha, not just Gyokuro and Matcha).
That is the time to add the year's May harvested tea
to our regular Sencha gradually. " Time " and (blend)
makes our tea more mature and mild. And in the end
whenever you drink our tea, the taste is constant.
So, they do offer a single Shincha special edition sencha each year. Their regular listings typically do not change over to newest harvest until after Summer. They do this I believe to maintain consistant tastes for each of their selections year round instead of wild swings from season to season. This is a bit of a different philosophy than we are used to ... :mrgreen:

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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by Poohblah » Apr 28th, '13, 14:17

Ah! There was a miscommunication then. Looks like I'll get my shincha from them this year after all. 8)

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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by victoria3 » Apr 28th, '13, 14:19

Chip wrote:........ this is from Miwa of Ippodo back in Spring 2007.
Thank you for your deep understanding to our Ippodo tea.
Ippodo tea has to be in a certain quality and keep the
taste for the whole year, so we actually try our best
not let our people who drink our tea notice
when was the time to change.
But anyway, usually it is around after summer.
These is a reason for the timing, after one summer,
it means early autumn, the tea becomes more and more
" full-bodied" (even Sencha, not just Gyokuro and Matcha).
That is the time to add the year's May harvested tea
to our regular Sencha gradually. " Time " and (blend)
makes our tea more mature and mild. And in the end
whenever you drink our tea, the taste is constant.
So, they do offer a single Shincha special edition sencha each year. Their regular listings typically do not change over to newest harvest until after Summer. They do this I believe to maintain consistant tastes for each of their selections year round instead of wild swings from season to season. This is a bit of a different philosophy than we are used to ... :mrgreen:
That is a very good explanation for how they maintain consistent quality and flavor in Sencha throughout the year. Nice, thanks.

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Apr 28th, '13, 15:01
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Re: Official Shincha 2013 topic

by victoria3 » Apr 28th, '13, 15:01

rdl wrote:
victoria3 wrote:Have you had success with freezing, instead of refrigerating?
i have had perfectly fine results freezing. a tea fridge i imagine is perfect since it can be set as chip stated just above freezing. my concern is not to loose the moisture in the tea as time passes. i don't know how long you intend to store your teas but if it is for long term and they are still sealed, i prefer freezing (which i don't do often as i don't often over buy and i will refrigerate if it is just for a few months).
since you asked the question, i wanted to know what other vendors thought of this and found what i consider is helpful from verdant tea:
"If you have a vacuum-sealer, you can feel free to thoroughly seal your tea in a moisture-free environment, and store it in the refrigerator on a colder setting, or the freezer. This is a contentious point in the tea community, because improperly-sealed tea stored in a freezer will be damaged. However, all Chinese tea vendors store their green teas and Tieguanyin vacuum sealed in large freezers. If you have the resources, feel free to do the same. This will extend the freshness of the tea from four months to about a year....
OK, that makes sense in a properly sealed container freeze for long term, and refrigerate for under 12 months storage to maintain freshness of leaves. The trick for someone like me using a food refrigerator/ freezer will be to find a "properly sealed container" to make sure smells don't migrate in. So as a test, I'll place water in a larger Tupperware container and see if any water leaks out. I think this should work.

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