Suggest me a sencha from Yame or Kagoshima

by **Fireflower** » Oct 20th, '11, 10:09

Suggest me a sencha from Yame or Kagoshima

by Fireflower » Oct 20th, '11, 10:09

hello everybody, is quite time to order new tea for me, it will be the first afterh the tsunami and if i understood right, tea from yame and kagoshima are absolutely safe, can you confirm this?
so i like to try a sencha from this places, the only thing is that i like asamushi, can you suggest me something?

by **shinobicha** » Oct 20th, '11, 12:27

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by shinobicha » Oct 20th, '11, 12:27

I haven't tried all of their stuff, but Thes du Japon is great:
http://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_3

There are several options (one Yame, several Kagoshima) for asamushi teas. Go to the bottom of that list - I recommend those 3 (Sencha from Sayama) - they aren't from the area you're looking into, but the current teas up for sale are from the 2010 harvest, so are completely unaffected by radiation concerns.

I have also sampled their Sencha from Yame, and it too, is excellent. It isn't super-light-steamed, but it isn't fukamushi either.

Den's Tea is another great vendor, but their Sencha Zuiko (from Honyama) is one of my favorite teas. But they are all Shizuoka, so for you, I guess nevermind ... ;-)

by **Tead Off** » Oct 22nd, '11, 12:42

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by Tead Off » Oct 22nd, '11, 12:42

shinobicha wrote:I haven't tried all of their stuff, but Thes du Japon is great:
http://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_3

There are several options (one Yame, several Kagoshima) for asamushi teas. Go to the bottom of that list - I recommend those 3 (Sencha from Sayama) - they aren't from the area you're looking into, but the current teas up for sale are from the 2010 harvest, so are completely unaffected by radiation concerns.

I have also sampled their Sencha from Yame, and it too, is excellent. It isn't super-light-steamed, but it isn't fukamushi either.

Den's Tea is another great vendor, but their Sencha Zuiko (from Honyama) is one of my favorite teas. But they are all Shizuoka, so for you, I guess nevermind ...

One of the things that has prevented me from buying tea from this vendor is the fact that most of the teas are 1.5 years old. Personally, I like to buy green teas from the present year's harvest. I'm not saying that these teas are bad, but, green tea for me is about being fresh, being part of the spring cycle and more delicate than oolong and black teas which can handle more aging without losing its flavor and aroma.

by **entropyembrace** » Oct 22nd, '11, 14:34

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by entropyembrace » Oct 22nd, '11, 14:34

O-cha has organic asamushi from Kagoshima....I haven´t tried that particular tea myself though.

by **David R.** » Oct 22nd, '11, 16:14

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by David R. » Oct 22nd, '11, 16:14

Tead Off wrote:
shinobicha wrote:I haven't tried all of their stuff, but Thes du Japon is great:
http://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_3

There are several options (one Yame, several Kagoshima) for asamushi teas. Go to the bottom of that list - I recommend those 3 (Sencha from Sayama) - they aren't from the area you're looking into, but the current teas up for sale are from the 2010 harvest, so are completely unaffected by radiation concerns.

I have also sampled their Sencha from Yame, and it too, is excellent. It isn't super-light-steamed, but it isn't fukamushi either.

Den's Tea is another great vendor, but their Sencha Zuiko (from Honyama) is one of my favorite teas. But they are all Shizuoka, so for you, I guess nevermind ...

One of the things that has prevented me from buying tea from this vendor is the fact that most of the teas are 1.5 years old. Personally, I like to buy green teas from the present year's harvest. I'm not saying that these teas are bad, but, green tea for me is about being fresh, being part of the spring cycle and more delicate than oolong and black teas which can handle more aging without losing its flavor and aroma.

5/15 are from 2010, most of them (3) are sencha from Hiruma-san and are still very enjoyable (and kept airtight).

2011 Asatsuyu is a must as far as I am concerned.

by **Tead Off** » Oct 24th, '11, 00:18

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by Tead Off » Oct 24th, '11, 00:18

Let me clarify my statements regarding this vendor. My intention is not to cast a negative eye on him or influence anyone from not buying teas there. I actually want to buy teas from them but a few factors prevent me from doing so.

Normally, my preference is to buy organic teas. I don't see any listed on the site, at least the ones that I was interested in.

You are correct that many of the teas are 2011 harvest but it just so happened that some of the ones I was interested in were 2010. On further perusing, I found many teas from Shizuoka and Saitama, current harvest, where there is confirmed radioactive cesium contamination in the teas. For me, too many roadblocks this season to buy teas from Flo but I do wish him the best.

by **David R.** » Oct 24th, '11, 06:24

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by David R. » Oct 24th, '11, 06:24

I understand, don't worry. You are right about the fact these teas don't appear to be organic. As a matter of fact, I have noticed that handmade teas, made by artisans or by "tea masters" are not often labelled organic. I know that for some little producers, the reason is that the cost of the certification is too high, but also I am wondering if traditional techniques are all compatible with the organic specifications.

A friend of mine is a renowned Calvados maker. He is doing his alcohol the way his grandfather taught him, knowledge he had himself inherited from his parents... Somehow, his making is incompatible with the organic certification, even if he doesn't use any pesticides.

by **Fireflower** » Nov 6th, '11, 07:22

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by Fireflower » Nov 6th, '11, 07:22

what can you tell me about zencha takumi and kiwami?
they are chumushi, more asa or fuka oriented?

by **Stentor** » Nov 6th, '11, 08:12

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by Stentor » Nov 6th, '11, 08:12

Fireflower wrote:what can you tell me about zencha takumi and kiwami?
they are chumushi, more asa or fuka oriented?

Takumi is definitely like a fuka. I have not had the Kiwami. Aren't all their Yame teas fuka, though? Maybe not this year, I haven't checked.

You should consider O-Cha's Organic Kirishima Sencha. I think the "Gold" version is excellent (have not had "Silver"). They have other new organic options as well, in all price ranges. I have ordered some of those but have yet to try them.

by **Chip** » Nov 6th, '11, 12:01

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by Chip » Nov 6th, '11, 12:01

Stentor wrote:
Fireflower wrote:what can you tell me about zencha takumi and kiwami?
they are chumushi, more asa or fuka oriented?

Takumi is definitely like a fuka. I have not had the Kiwami. Aren't all their Yame teas fuka, though? Maybe not this year, I haven't checked.

You should consider O-Cha's Organic Kirishima Sencha. I think the "Gold" version is excellent (have not had "Silver"). They have other new organic options as well, in all price ranges. I have ordered some of those but have yet to try them.

The Yame from Zencha are Chumushi, and lean towards fuka in character ... IMO. Certainly worth trying, but does not fit the bill here as they do not resemble asa. Of any of them, the Kiwami is most asa-like based on last years.

I recently purchased the "Silver" version of Kirishima from O-Cha. I believe Kevin says this is somewhere between asa and chu. Sounds about right. It took a few brews for me to "understand" this organic. It wants to be sweet. Quite nice. Not strongly veggie nor grassy.

by **rdl** » Nov 6th, '11, 12:01

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by rdl » Nov 6th, '11, 12:01

a while back i received this information from zencha:
"I’d like to inform you that:
All teas from Shizuoka are deep steamed.
All teas from Yame are mid steamed.
All teas from Uji are light steamed."

by **michaelb3600** » Nov 7th, '11, 09:32

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by michaelb3600 » Nov 7th, '11, 09:32

I had really liked this one:

http://www.yuuki-cha.com/organic-yame-fukamushi-sencha

by **Chip** » Nov 7th, '11, 10:32

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by Chip » Nov 7th, '11, 10:32

... except the OP is looking for asamushi. There are lots of Kyushu Island fuka and chu, not so much asa.

Another possibility ... Guricha, aka Tamaryokucha is a nice alternative to asamushi. It is lighter steamed and the ones from Xell, aka http://japantea.org/tamaryokucha are quite nice, nice veggie character.

Den's also has a Guricha but it is mellower and not so veggie.

by **sherubtse** » Nov 7th, '11, 18:46

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by sherubtse » Nov 7th, '11, 18:46

In the Guricha vein, as suggested by Chip above, I would also suggest having a look at the 2 from ToJ - one is a steamed Tamaryoku-cha and the other a pan-fired Tamaryoku-cha:

http://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php? ... &cPath=1_5

Best wishes,
sherubtse

by **shinobicha** » Nov 8th, '11, 19:17

Re: suggest me a sencha from yame or kagoshima

by shinobicha » Nov 8th, '11, 19:17

sherubtse wrote:In the Guricha vein, as suggested by Chip above, I would also suggest having a look at the 2 from ToJ - one is a steamed Tamaryoku-cha and the other a pan-fired Tamaryoku-cha:

http://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php? ... &cPath=1_5

Best wishes,
sherubtse

I've sampled the kama-iri cha (pan-fired) Guricha from ToJ - it was awesome! I am tempted to get a full 100g. It is different from normal Sencha, but it still is close enough it just feels like a fun detour.