OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by **JRS22** » Jul 18th, '11, 19:01

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by JRS22 » Jul 18th, '11, 19:01

Drax wrote:JRS22 -- How much leaf and water did you use...? That could be part of it. And brewing vessel...?

I used my small Gyokko tokoname kyusu. It holds 5 ounces of water so I used 5 grams of tea. Maybe it was too much for me, even though it's the ratio that Chip recommends.

by **Chip** » Jul 18th, '11, 19:19

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by Chip » Jul 18th, '11, 19:19

JRS22 wrote:
Drax wrote:JRS22 -- How much leaf and water did you use...? That could be part of it. And brewing vessel...?

I used my small Gyokko tokoname kyusu. It holds 5 ounces of water so I used 5 grams of tea. Maybe it was too much for me, even though it's the ratio that Chip recommends.

Could be, I am a long time addict and have had to increase my dosage steadily over the years. It is fortunate that it did not kill you!!! :twisted:

I do like this one brewed a little hotter and longer that other teas of this type. And I actually go a little over a gram per ounce as well. :mrgreen:

by **Drax** » Jul 18th, '11, 21:12

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by Drax » Jul 18th, '11, 21:12

Hooray! Shincha arrived today safe and sound!

I decided to start at the beginning, so I went with #1 and brewed up ~3.5g in my ~3oz shiboridashi from Petr Novak. The first brew at 43s (~165F, no preheat) yielded a light green/yellow liquid into my Sendai cup. What a wonderful grassy and buttery aroma! It tasted just as lovely, fading slightly floral.

The next steep, at 167F at 20s was a slight increase in flavor. Smooth, no bitterness.

As I shifted into the 3rd (60s, 180F), 4th (90, 190F) and 5th (180s, 212F), the butteriness dropped a little, and a slight bitterness kicked in, but not overwhelming.

Very nice through the 5th steep!

by **IPT** » Jul 18th, '11, 21:49

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by IPT » Jul 18th, '11, 21:49

Chip wrote: Could be, I am a long time addict and have had to increase my dosage steadily over the years. It is fortunate that it did not kill you!!!

I have the same problem. I have to remember to lower the dosage when brewing tea for others.

by **gargoylekitty** » Jul 18th, '11, 23:32

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by gargoylekitty » Jul 18th, '11, 23:32

Shincha arrived! Have had #1 and #4 so far, both ~2g in my 2 oz. kyusu. Will have to have #4 again to form an opinion as I started feeling sick from an unrelated matter halfway through

but #1 was pretty tasty.

A nice citrus undertone in both the scent and taste. Grassy, though not overly so, and with a bit of sweetness. Got three good steeps out of it(started off at ~170F w/ preheated kyusu and cups and a 45s steep. Let the water cool without really checking it through the next two steeps, though both were about 20-30s) then two more less grand ones, though still enjoyable.

Thinking of either going back to #4 or moving on to #3 after a break from it, been drinking sencha all day(not that that's a bad thing).

by **Chip** » Jul 19th, '11, 01:35

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by Chip » Jul 19th, '11, 01:35

It is great to see everyone jumping right in with their tastings, great reads!

We are all looking forward to hearing everyone's impressions of these shincha. :mrgreen:

by **IPT** » Jul 19th, '11, 05:29

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by IPT » Jul 19th, '11, 05:29

by **Chip** » Jul 19th, '11, 08:10

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by Chip » Jul 19th, '11, 08:10

... once you get it ... :mrgreen:

by **Xell** » Jul 19th, '11, 08:38

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by Xell » Jul 19th, '11, 08:38

Some additional information on Ureshino and Yame shincha, i just confirmed and both of them are 100% Yabukita tea tree breed. This breed is really common in Japan, though taste can vary quite a lot, sensitive to right harvest time.

It's quite fun and exiting to read reviews

by **twinofmunin** » Jul 19th, '11, 08:40

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by twinofmunin » Jul 19th, '11, 08:40

Errrrgh, got mine Saturday morning right before going out of town, and haven't had time to try any...! Cracked one open at random to smell -- sooooo good.

I can't wait!

by **JRS22** » Jul 19th, '11, 09:44

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by JRS22 » Jul 19th, '11, 09:44

Chip wrote:
JRS22 wrote:Maybe it was too much for me, even though it's the ratio that Chip recommends.

Could be, I am a long time addict and have had to increase my dosage steadily over the years. It is fortunate that it did not kill you!!!

I do like this one brewed a little hotter and longer that other teas of this type. And I actually go a little over a gram per ounce as well.

So maybe in the interest of tea science, AND for my own safety, I should do the opposite of what Chip does - less leaf and lower temperature :idea:

by **lkj23** » Jul 19th, '11, 10:17

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by lkj23 » Jul 19th, '11, 10:17

Just received my package, this afternoon going to try some of them mmmm can´t wait!!

Edit: impressive packaging, nice samples, now nap and then try good stuff

by **Nenugal** » Jul 19th, '11, 11:23

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by Nenugal » Jul 19th, '11, 11:23

lkj23 wrote:Just received my package, this afternoon going to try some of them mmmm can´t wait!!

Edit: impressive packaging, nice samples, now nap and then try good stuff

I got it today too, looking forward to try them

by **puerhking** » Jul 19th, '11, 12:37

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by puerhking » Jul 19th, '11, 12:37

I started with #3...because I cheated and looked. 1.8g leaf to 70ml water @ 155* in a gaiwan for 60 sec. Wow...very grassy with a touch of asparagus.
2nd @ 160* 5 sec grassy with more asparagus and some umami....more balanced and a hint of astringency....nice.
3rd @ 165* 10 sec. a further mellowing and harmonizing...tasty.
4th @ 165* 30 sec. (meant to go higher) slightly weakening...but only slightly....some of the original base flavors are falling away and a bit of sweetness is creeping in.
5th @ 175* 45 sec. herbal notes show up out of nowhere...and the usual flavors of a spent green tea.
I very nice example. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I also got a nice theanine/caffine/radiation buzz.

couldn't help myself.

by **teaisme** » Jul 19th, '11, 14:21

Re: OTTI 10: SHINCHA 2011

by teaisme » Jul 19th, '11, 14:21

Received mine yesterday, brewed roughly half the pack (1) in a 200mlish porc pot. Great stuff. Nice to have some sencha again, its been almost 4-5 months.

Went 4 infusions, each one was strikingly different from the other. This is also one reason why I enjoy the fuka teas a lot. With the asa's the flavours don't seem to shift so drastically infusion to infusion (at least the ones I have tried). It was almost like drinking a different tea each time. 1 and 2 were savoury and delicious. The 3rd was really interesting...some notes of cherry/rose something? The last infusion ended more grassy vegetable.
Was cooking for my parents at the time so a couple of infusions were drank colder. But with a little bit of swirling in the faircup it was still very delicious. Approving nod from my parents too :mrgreen:

Thanks chip and xell!