Your Everyday Green Tea?

Made from leaves that have not been oxidized.


User avatar
Sep 27th, '08, 06:55
Posts: 727
Joined: Dec 22nd, '07, 21:02
Location: the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy

by Sydney » Sep 27th, '08, 06:55

Great every day budget green?

Genmai. Works every time.

User avatar
Sep 27th, '08, 08:23
Posts: 3348
Joined: Feb 8th, '08, 02:10
Location: France

by olivierco » Sep 27th, '08, 08:23

I don't have one daily green tea, I prefer some diversity:

Miyabi sencha, Otsuusan sencha, karigane gyokuro (ocha), Bancha, houjicha, houjicha karigane, kumpu or kaboku sencha (ippodo), SP sencha (hibiki-an)...

Price from 0.5$ to 1.2$ per session

User avatar
Sep 27th, '08, 09:05
Posts: 236
Joined: Feb 1st, '08, 19:08
Location: Oslo

by Selaphiel » Sep 27th, '08, 09:05

Any sencha tea, which one it is varies. Still haven't found a sencha that is too expensive to have every day. That's one of the nice things of living in an expensive country, tea bought on the internet is cheap compared to other products.

At the moment it is Sencha Yutaka Midori from O-Cha. When I finish that it will be Sencha Miyabi and then the new asamushi from O-Cha.

User avatar
Sep 27th, '08, 12:34
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Been thanked: 2 times

by Chip » Sep 27th, '08, 12:34

When I think everyday tea, it has to meat two criteria for it to work for me. Relatively lower price, but not necessarily cheap. And I MUST like it a lot. If it hits the mark on both points, it has a lot of VALUE for me.

Sencha in general, but I never have the same ones open all the time.

Currently Chiran Sencha Supreme is hitting the mark on both points. A little higher priced than some of my everyday teas, but it is still less than 18 USD for 100 grams. 18 cents a gram is pretty inexpensive for something this good. A dollar a session, but only 20 cents a steep.

During Shincha season, I throw all of the above out the door and go for the gusto with each tea. Then I settle down a bit over the course of the rest of the year.

I do have some cheaper sencha that also meet both criteria. I actually enjoy the challenge of finding these everyday teas, but I do not get obsessed about it.
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!

User avatar
Sep 27th, '08, 12:41
Posts: 411
Joined: Jul 22nd, '05, 16:48

by bambooforest » Sep 27th, '08, 12:41

Here are some that may fit the bill:

Fukamushi Cha Superior from hibiki-an. When brewed to my liking, I do enjoy this tea - a lot.

Hosen from Ippodo Tea.

Maruyama from Maiko Tea

And, as Chip cited, the Chiran may also fit the bill, and it's excellent in taste.

Sep 28th, '08, 01:31

by Photiou » Sep 28th, '08, 01:31

olivierco wrote:I don't have one daily green tea, I prefer some diversity:

Miyabi sencha, Otsuusan sencha, karigane gyokuro (ocha), Bancha, houjicha, houjicha karigane, kumpu or kaboku sencha (ippodo), SP sencha (hibiki-an)...

Price from 0.5$ to 1.2$ per session
Just to note that Otsuusan from O-cha is not very good value - it is from Tsuen tea shop which sells it 1050yen/140g = 7$/100g. O-cha.com price for Otsuusan is 19$/100g. Nice margins :shock:

http://www.tsuentea.com/eng-jp-shohin.htm <- English names
http://www.tsuentea.com/shohin.htm <- Prices
http://www.o-cha.com/green-tea/uji-sencha-otsuusan.html

User avatar
Sep 28th, '08, 01:50
Posts: 3348
Joined: Feb 8th, '08, 02:10
Location: France

by olivierco » Sep 28th, '08, 01:50

The problem is that Tsuen doesn't sell directly unless you are in Japan.

Sep 28th, '08, 01:59

by Photiou » Sep 28th, '08, 01:59

olivierco wrote:The problem is that Tsuen doesn't sell directly unless you are in Japan.
Of course, but I would not pay that much for shipping of low level tea... only for absolute top level teas.

User avatar
Sep 28th, '08, 02:02
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Been thanked: 2 times

by Chip » Sep 28th, '08, 02:02

Not exactly a fair nor a complete analysis. Retail internet specialty mark up is frequently 2-3 times the wholesale cost for the product. I have a lot of specialty market experience.

Also, the price you quote is if you fly to Japan to pick it up, they do not sell outside of Japan.

Tsuen does not to the best of my knowledge sell to other internet vendors. I know a significant time expence has gone into creating this priviledge to sell Tsuen products via the internet. A quick google search lends some credence to this.

If we had every wholesale cost for every tea we buy from Japan, we would find a lot of similar margins. Even more so from China where product can often be purchased for pennies on the dollar. A lot more goes into a pricing structure beyond the actual wholesale cost.

I find the cost to quality ratio of O-Cha teas is very good when I compare their teas to others I have tried. Many of their teas are simply the best in their style for the price.

Sep 28th, '08, 02:54

by Ed » Sep 28th, '08, 02:54

I've always felt that O-Cha had a considerable markup, but some of their teas are still worth the price, I think. I haven't found any fukamushi that's on the same level as Fukamushi Supreme for the same price or less. So, that makes it worth the markup. If you look at any online tea shop, you can see that good tea is never cheap. The shops that sell directly from the farm tend to have some good deals but the selection is somewhat limited to the teas that are popular in their region, etc..

Sep 28th, '08, 12:37
Posts: 1978
Joined: Jan 14th, '08, 18:01
Location: CA
Contact: Pentox

by Pentox » Sep 28th, '08, 12:37

One thing I wonder is that it looks like Tsuen has a few B&M retailers in Canada. I wonder what their pricing is like.

User avatar
Sep 28th, '08, 14:15
Posts: 1051
Joined: Jul 7th, '07, 01:37
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Portland, OR
Contact: ABx

by ABx » Sep 28th, '08, 14:15

For a Chinese green you might try Lu An Gua Pian. This was one of my favorites, though I haven't had any in a while.

+ Post Reply