I would like some advice/suggestions/help, please. I know I like Japanese greens as I have enjoyed all the different teas I've had in Japan (well, except for the matcha at my friend's tea ceremony but I was predisposed not to like it as I had been told by all my friends that no one actually likes it). Other than the fact that it was most likely all sencha I was drinking, I have no idea what specific teas I've tried.
So far, I've had Adagio's kukicha and sencha which were lovely and the genmaicha which was good but made me feel like I need to be in a bar munching on osembe.
Anyway, short story long, now I'm basically looking to expand my experience w/ Japanese greens by getting some samples of other goodies. Can y'all recommend some of the different senchas, etc I should try and what vendor would be best to get them from?
Give me your knowledge, oh mighty green tea drinkers!
Apr 16th, '08, 10:03
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auggy
Well, for shops based in Japan
www.o-cha.com (all shincha, top gyokuro and top matcha)
www.hibiki-an.com (premium grades and above)
www.ippodo-tea.co.jp/en/tea/index.html
www.kaburagien.co.jp
For sencha, you should wait a few weeks for the shincha.
www.o-cha.com (all shincha, top gyokuro and top matcha)
www.hibiki-an.com (premium grades and above)
www.ippodo-tea.co.jp/en/tea/index.html
www.kaburagien.co.jp
For sencha, you should wait a few weeks for the shincha.
For a few US shops:
Lupicia
Den's Tea
Personally I love Lupicia, low minimum for free shipping, 50g bags, and huge selection. They're a Japanese based company that opened a US division.
*begin shameless self promotion*
If you want to read through my opinions on a lot of different senchas try reading my blog. Me And My Tea
*end shameless self promotion*
Lupicia
Den's Tea
Personally I love Lupicia, low minimum for free shipping, 50g bags, and huge selection. They're a Japanese based company that opened a US division.
*begin shameless self promotion*
If you want to read through my opinions on a lot of different senchas try reading my blog. Me And My Tea
*end shameless self promotion*
Apr 16th, '08, 12:33
Posts: 995
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Location: Fort Worth, Texas
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auggy
Pentox, I'm really enjoying your blog. Great reviews!Pentox wrote:*begin shameless self promotion*
If you want to read through my opinions on a lot of different senchas try reading my blog. Me And My Tea
*end shameless self promotion*
auggy wrote:Pentox, I'm really enjoying your blog. Great reviews!Pentox wrote:*begin shameless self promotion*
If you want to read through my opinions on a lot of different senchas try reading my blog. Me And My Tea
*end shameless self promotion*
w0000 yipeee
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Apr 16th, '08, 15:21
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Apr 16th, '08, 15:57
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chamekke
Re: Where to start?
What didn't you like about it? I wonder whether it's possible you were served matcha that was (a) stale, (b) low-quality, (c) prepared incorrectly, or (d) some combination of the above.auggy wrote:I would like some advice/suggestions/help, please. I know I like Japanese greens as I have enjoyed all the different teas I've had in Japan (well, except for the matcha at my friend's tea ceremony but I was predisposed not to like it as I had been told by all my friends that no one actually likes it).
I know exactly what you mean about being predisposed. My tea group gives regular public demonstrations, and one of our speakers has a tendency to recite, "We eat a sweet before drinking the tea because matcha is bitter-tasting." Talk about generating enthusiasm! I will concede that sometimes people may find the tea a little astringent - but it should never be bitter.
In fact, good matcha does not need a sweet to cover up its taste. The best matcha (in my opinion anyway) has a degree of natural sweetness and is genuinely delicious on its own. I enjoy drinking it that way, in fact.
Of course, not everyone manages to develop a taste for matcha even when the quality is high. I'm so hard-core that my favourite way to drink it is koicha ("thick tea") ... which has the consistency of paint. Lovely stuff
Apr 16th, '08, 16:23
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Re: Where to start?
I didn't know you were such a matcha babe, chamekke, they are my favorite style of woman.chamekke wrote:Of course, not everyone manages to develop a taste for matcha even when the quality is high. I'm so hard-core that my favourite way to drink it is koicha ("thick tea") ... which has the consistency of paint. Lovely stuff
Rock on!
Does anyone else do koicha around here? I have not yet tried it yet. I may load up the bowl with my regular (cheap) stuff and see if it works.
Apr 16th, '08, 16:41
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chamekke
Re: Where to start?
Normally, for koicha, you buy matcha that is expressly intended for koicha. As you might expect, it's more expensive You need to use a lot of it, and the tea leaves from which it's made are sweeter (and higher quality in general - allegedly hand-picked, too, but I'm not sure about that bit). When it's made properly, it is seriously yummy. I think so, anyway!Salsero wrote:I didn't know you were such a matcha babe, chamekke, they are my favorite style of woman.chamekke wrote:Of course, not everyone manages to develop a taste for matcha even when the quality is high. I'm so hard-core that my favourite way to drink it is koicha ("thick tea") ... which has the consistency of paint. Lovely stuff
Rock on!
Does anyone else do koicha around here? I have not yet tried it yet. I may load up the bowl with my regular (cheap) stuff and see if it works.
Often we're told that you can use koicha matcha to make usucha ("thin tea"), but I don't think I've ever heard of usucha matcha that's good enough for koicha. So your experiment may not be all that successful - although you're welcome to try!
I know there are some other chanoyu practitioners on here, and I'll bet they have more experience than I do... so hopefully they'll chip in (and correct any careless misstatements I may have made, too ).
Apr 16th, '08, 17:09
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auggy
Re: Where to start?
Yeah, I got that bitter line a lot before trying it. Even my friend that was doing the tea ceremony said that to me!chamekke wrote:What didn't you like about it? I wonder whether it's possible you were served matcha that was (a) stale, (b) low-quality, (c) prepared incorrectly, or (d) some combination of the above.auggy wrote:I would like some advice/suggestions/help, please. I know I like Japanese greens as I have enjoyed all the different teas I've had in Japan (well, except for the matcha at my friend's tea ceremony but I was predisposed not to like it as I had been told by all my friends that no one actually likes it).
It's been years, but best I can remember, the consistency was a bit weird for me (foamy and thick) but I can't remember specifically what I didn't like about the taste. Of course, that was also after I had been there just a month so most days around that time were kind of foggy and my tastes had changed considerably by the end of the year so I might have liked it had I had it at the end of the year. I couldn't stand miso when I first had it, but by month 6 I was drinking it like water during meals.
Mmm. Miso.
The kit costs 3 dollars "for the shipping" but than you get 3 dollars off your next order from Den's, so technically it is free as long as you plan on buying something to get your 3 dollars back. You also get some nice information booklets/pamphlets on japanese tea.Wesli wrote:I second the notion recommending the Den's Green Tea Kit. It's cheap(free?) and comes with two (four?) good samples.
In fear of shameful self-promotion, I won't link my blog. But you can still check it out by clicking the WWW button below.