Recommend me a sencha from O-Cha

[Groucho]

When I drink green tea, I've mostly gone for Chinese tea. However, I just started augmenting this with the Sencha Fukamushi Premium from Hibiki-an (http://www.hibiki-an.com/product_info.p ... cts_id/601) and like it ... although I still prefer some Chinese teas like Lu Shan Yun Wu from TeaVivre. I see there's a love here for O-Cha and Dens. Is there a better (cost or taste) but similar tea from O-Cha or Dens that you'd recommend?

[Chip]

Perennial, personal faves from O-Cha include Yutaka Midori, Sae Midori, and AOI though I have not had any of the 2014 editions ... yet !

[gunbuster363]

Chiran Sencha. Period.

[jayinhk]

I'm really enjoying my green tea right now--might have to give O-Cha a try!

[Groucho]

Perennial, personal faves from O-Cha include Yutaka Midori, Sae Midori, and AOI though I have not had any of the 2014 editions ... yet !

According to O-Cha, Sae Midori is easy to brew. Does this mean that it is less dependent upon temperature and time? As this tea will be brewed at work (where temp is hard to get accurate), that would be a good thing. Is Sae Midori a step up from the Sencha Fukamushi Premium from Hibiki-an that I current drink?

[Chip]

I believe by easier, O-Cha means it is more forgiving. Still I have found with last year's edition, it still had a "sweet spot" that for me was best/easiest found consistently via weighing and thermometer and timer.

[AdamMY]

Perennial, personal faves from O-Cha include Yutaka Midori, Sae Midori, and AOI though I have not had any of the 2014 editions ... yet !

According to O-Cha, Sae Midori is easy to brew. Does this mean that it is less dependent upon temperature and time? As this tea will be brewed at work (where temp is hard to get accurate), that would be a good thing. Is Sae Midori a step up from the Sencha Fukamushi Premium from Hibiki-an that I current drink?

To add on to what Chip said, yes, by more forgiving it means it can better withstand temperatures that are not right, or times that are not right. Most likely meaning that the tea is less likely to get extremely bitter from too much heat or too long of a steep.

[Groucho]

Well, I bought and finally tried this year's Sae Midori from O-Cha. For me, the Sencha Fukamushi Premium from Hibiki-an is preferred. I wish I hadn't bought two bags of the Sae Midori....

To each their own.

[Pig Hog]

What you might find is that, not having had it before, your brewing methods may be slightly of with that tea. The same thing happened to me with a fukamushi Kagoshima sencha that I bought in Japan.

I wasn't too impressed but one day, I made it in a certain kyusu, used a different yunomi than usual and left the water a little hotter than before, and all of a sudden it was a different tea.

So play about, change things up and don't judge too early on. Besides, stick the second packet in the fridge and buy something different to open in between and then you'll be glad to go back to it after.

[Pig Hog]

Also, personal preference and all that, but I've never understood the whole 'this tea isn't as good as that tea, therefore I don't want it' thing.

Sure, I have a few favourites that I enjoy going back to every now and again but I could never pick out one tea to drink over and over.

Why I enjoy (Japanese) tea so much is being able to try something new each time, and the different flavours and experience (good or bad) each one brings.

It's like having a whole drawer full of underpants but only wearing the blue ones. Sort of.

It's seems that a fair number of people here like to stick to what they know but to me, everything else is just so tempting. If I haven't tried it, well why not?! I want to!

I like malt whisky for the same reason. Just speaking my mind...

[Groucho]

If all you want is diversity, you can buy FAR cheaper (usually seen as low grade) teas. It's not that I don't like the Sae Midori, it's just that I strongly preferred the other tea for its flavor, "thickness" (very swampy in the cup), and ease of preparation (not too particular).

[Groucho]

By the way, Pig Hog, how do you like to prepare the Sae Midori (time, temp, # of infusions)?

p.s.
-I already have the second bag in the fridge.
-I think I'm even more partial to Chinese green teas; I'm currently in love with Lu Shan Yun Wu.

[Bef]

I also recommend that you try different leaf ratio, temperature, and infusion duration.

I hated Sae Midori the first times I brewed it, but ended up liking it when I found the combination I liked. It's been a few months now, but I think that I was using 3g, 100ml, 70°C ; 1st infusion: ~60s, 2nd infusion: ~5s, subsequent infusions: 60s++ (duration and temperature increased in each subsequent infusion).

[Pig Hog]

I've not had ocha's saemidori, so I can't really say!

I too learnt that expensive teas aren't the be all and end all of things. It's nice to splash out but there's still a lot of fun to be had with lower prices teas.

[debunix]

Late reply, and this is not necessarily like the Fuka you mentioned, but I love love love the Tsuen Uji Asamushi Sencha "Aoi". Sweet, vegetal, mellow, just enough astringent edge to avoid insipidity.