Sencha from SpecialTeas.com?

[JD]

I've been getting my senchas from specialteas.com, and they've been pretty good, but I'm curious about the quality in comparison to other shops? Is specialteas.com a good place for sencha, or should I get it elsewhere?

I get my oolongs there too, and so far have been happy with them.

Oh, and this is my first post here.

[Chip]

I've been getting my senchas from specialteas.com, and they've been pretty good, but I'm curious about the quality in comparison to other shops? Is specialteas.com a good place for sencha, or should I get it elsewhere?

I get my oolongs there too, and so far have been happy with them.

Oh, and this is my first post here.

Welcome to the forum JD, be sure to introduce yourself under Introduction and visit TeaDay to share what is in your cup.

I had my first good sencha from SpecialTeas, but then the next year, it was not good at all. The first year's was a nitro flushed sealed bag direct from Japan, future offerings were not and it showed. So, I moved on. If you are happy with it, that is what is important.

There are a lot of topics under green tea about Japanese greens, especially the 2008 Shincha topic.

[PolyhymnianMuse]

I was always curious about the same thing but not packing and storing japanese tea the right way is going to hinder what you get in the cup. I might have to get a sample of their sencha's with my next order to see. Thats the great thing about Specialteas, very affordable samples.

[devites]

I have not bought anything from special teas, but I can tell you that O-cha provides the best Japanese teas that are not only amazing tasting but extremely fresh. As for the oolongs a lot of people here buy from Hou De, I have a shop near me for my oolongs so I can not say on the quality, but it seems everyone praises them so I would give them a try.

[JD]

I usually put my teas in air-tight masonry jars, much like my coffee beans. The kind of jars with the really tight clamp on the side. No air's gettin in or out. Though the tea's usually all drunk up by either half-way through or at the end of the month, so it doesn't have to keep fresh for long.

[Chip]

I usually put my teas in air-tight masonry jars, much like my coffee beans. The kind of jars with the really tight clamp on the side. No air's gettin in or out. Though the tea's usually all drunk up by either half-way through or at the end of the month, so it doesn't have to keep fresh for long.

I would suggest that you keep the jars in a cupboard since light can affect tea freshness as well.

Light
Moisture
Air
Temp

These all affect freshness of tea leaves...in case you were not aware.

[PolyhymnianMuse]

I usually put my teas in air-tight masonry jars, much like my coffee beans. The kind of jars with the really tight clamp on the side. No air's gettin in or out. Though the tea's usually all drunk up by either half-way through or at the end of the month, so it doesn't have to keep fresh for long.

The thing is with Specialteas, who knows when the tea was harvested, how long its been sitting in the warehouse, what kind of conditions their warehouse has, etc. Of course you could email them and ask them about things like that.

Also they don't exactly use foil packaging which is ideal for japanese tea. It's really all about freshness (although I remember someone saying something about japanese tea that is aged for a bit)

[Chip]

I usually put my teas in air-tight masonry jars, much like my coffee beans. The kind of jars with the really tight clamp on the side. No air's gettin in or out. Though the tea's usually all drunk up by either half-way through or at the end of the month, so it doesn't have to keep fresh for long.

The thing is with Specialteas, who knows when the tea was harvested, how long its been sitting in the warehouse, what kind of conditions their warehouse has, etc. Of course you could email them and ask them about things like that.

Also they don't exactly use foil packaging which is ideal for japanese tea. It's really all about freshness (although I remember someone saying something about japanese tea that is aged for a bit)

All quite true...