Maeda-en sencha
Anyone have any experience with this company? Looking at their website, I see alot of different sencha: select, reserve, gold, grower's, blender's, traditional etc... It's all very confusing. If anyone has any info, comparisons, or know how fresh their teas are, it'd be great to know. Thanks!
Oct 23rd, '08, 16:54
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Geekgirl
Their shincha genmaicha with matcha was the best genmaicha I've had. Granted, I've only tried a few, but all of very good quality. Their shincha was quite good and fresh for the price, but in the future I would not buy it again since I don't drink much shincha/sencha (thus I can afford to be extra-picky for this type,) and will likely buy from O-cha instead, even though it's more expensive.
I agree with Geek. I got their 2008 Shincha this year from a local asian market, and it was my first sencha/shincha. I had such a difficult time brewing it, I almost gave up on greens. After ordering from O-Cha, I got much better at brewing and so I went back and gave the Maeda-En another try, and it was quite nice... just a very tempramental one to brew! But, to me it was "pretty good" as compared to the nice ones I got from O-cha which were "WOW". If budget was a big issue, it was certainly cheaper, but not really cheap, so for the price, I'd rather get the O-Cha.
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Oct 23rd, '08, 17:12
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Haha, I'm not sure I'd want to drink a tea called "asamushi"... maybe it's a different "mushi" but I'd interpret that to mean "morning bug." Tasty!
Come to think of it, somewhere I saw a bunch of teas with the 'mushi' at the end. Maybe it can mean something else.
Ah okay, so it can also mean 'steaming,' which is probably the intent. However...
Come to think of it, somewhere I saw a bunch of teas with the 'mushi' at the end. Maybe it can mean something else.
Ah okay, so it can also mean 'steaming,' which is probably the intent. However...
I would not recommend O-Cha.com ... they are pricey for the quality.Chip wrote:A new bookmark for me.
I cannot offer any advise on this vendor but can 2nd Geek's O-Cha recommendation!
I would recommend that you order your japanese green tea directly from japanese vendor (like Ippodo, Horaido, Maiko, Kaburagien). Much better value and quality for your money IMHO
Oct 27th, '08, 20:31
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Your disdain for O-Cha has been frequently and duly noted. Clearly they are not your style. I find they are my style, and I have no issues with their prices. You are clearly in a tiny minority as far as O-Cha bashing goes.
How is a vendor pricey for its quality when they offer what many regard as THE best sencha(s) for a very fair $25 US, +/- ? Because it is not asamushi, your argument is groundless.
I frankly tire of your constant attempts to disparage them simply because you want asamushi and not fukamushi, and you have a personal vendetta going back to arguments on the Green Tea Forum a long time ago.
If you do not like them, fine, but many here do. Perhaps you should simply comment positively on vendors you do like. If everyone here commented negatively on every vendor or tea they did not like constantly, the quality of the forum would greatly diminish.
How is a vendor pricey for its quality when they offer what many regard as THE best sencha(s) for a very fair $25 US, +/- ? Because it is not asamushi, your argument is groundless.
I frankly tire of your constant attempts to disparage them simply because you want asamushi and not fukamushi, and you have a personal vendetta going back to arguments on the Green Tea Forum a long time ago.
If you do not like them, fine, but many here do. Perhaps you should simply comment positively on vendors you do like. If everyone here commented negatively on every vendor or tea they did not like constantly, the quality of the forum would greatly diminish.
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!
O-cha specializes in Chumushi sencha which is mid-steamed.
As someone who drinks more sencha than any other tea, I can tell you that mid-steamed sencha is my favorite. I find that it has the best balance. Asamushi is very lightly steamed and fukamushi is very deep steamed.
Chumushi, however, is mid-steamed and the best tasting of the bunch in my opinion.
O-cha's selection of chumushi sencha is 2nd to none in my opinion.
Where as many Japanese vendors can't scour Japan for the teas they find best, o-cha can.
I like Ippodo tea, but remember - it's all asamushi and it's all Ippodo.
O-cha has teas from different regions and the purveyor of o-cha can start carrying any Japanese green tea he wants. That's a huge advantage.
And all things considered, the prices are very competitive.
As someone who drinks more sencha than any other tea, I can tell you that mid-steamed sencha is my favorite. I find that it has the best balance. Asamushi is very lightly steamed and fukamushi is very deep steamed.
Chumushi, however, is mid-steamed and the best tasting of the bunch in my opinion.
O-cha's selection of chumushi sencha is 2nd to none in my opinion.
Where as many Japanese vendors can't scour Japan for the teas they find best, o-cha can.
I like Ippodo tea, but remember - it's all asamushi and it's all Ippodo.
O-cha has teas from different regions and the purveyor of o-cha can start carrying any Japanese green tea he wants. That's a huge advantage.
And all things considered, the prices are very competitive.
Last edited by bambooforest on Oct 28th, '08, 00:46, edited 1 time in total.
