2010 Official Shincha Review Topic!

[iannon]

Ok..Fuji lasted me through 7 steeps. last steep was at 175 for about 2 minutes. nice frefreshing slightly astringent tea water to end the session. Very nice longevity on this one for me at least.

[teaisme]

tried this out 3 times so far and I am pleased.
The last infusion with boiling/near boiling really stood out to me, they seemed more full bodied, pure and light, but not overly simple. Final steep is actually looked forward to.
Brewed .75/oz, 1/oz., 1.25/oz
I pushed the 1.25 for 1m 30ish seconds on the first just to see how it would do brewed strong and it was a delicious powerful kick.

[iannon]

2nd Shincha to hit the house this week and second for the season is Zencha's Premium Takumi. A delicious Yame of the Gokou varietal.
Same packaging I remember from last year...same fresh grassy aroma wafting out on the first rip open of the bag too!


Definately another deep steamed tea


Steep 1 waiting in my Cobalt Blue Kazuwa Touichi
(160 for 1 min)
Nice clean taste...fresh grassy nice astringency here mixed with some sweetness. More of a balance than the Fuji which leaned more sweet to my tastes.


In the pot..tried my sasame filtered pot..much care in pouring


Steep 2..theres that swamp green tea color we all adore.
(165 for 20 seconds)

[LauraW]

That's a beautiful cup - I love the shape! (and the tea looks great too!!!)

[Chip]

Shincha is in now in my posession!

The Sae Midori from O-cha that is. First impression: pretty damn good cup of tea. The leaves are very thin, almost like hairs, and it smells very spinach-y, the aroma explodes from the bag. Thank God I like spinach!

The brew is very green, beautiful really. And it tastes...like real good green tea. It's got a fine, thick but subtle taste, not too astringent, not too fruity. I like it.

Thanks verus! Still waiting here since it was tied to YM. Can't wait.

[puerhking]

I received my Takumi shincha and have tried it three time. It is fantastic. Grassy, umami, asparagus yumminess with a hint of astringency on the second and third infusion. Top notch.

[Chip]

I received my Takumi shincha and have tried it three time. It is fantastic. Grassy, umami, asparagus yumminess with a hint of astringency on the second and third infusion. Top notch.

Ewww, grassy and asparagus. OK, sounds pretty good.

Thanks puerhking and iannon.

[puerhking]

I received my Takumi shincha and have tried it three time. It is fantastic. Grassy, umami, asparagus yumminess with a hint of astringency on the second and third infusion. Top notch.

Ewww, grassy and asparagus. OK, sounds pretty good.

Thanks puerhking and iannon.

I meant vegetal......vegetal.

[iannon]

I received my Takumi shincha and have tried it three time. It is fantastic. Grassy, umami, asparagus yumminess with a hint of astringency on the second and third infusion. Top notch.

Ewww, grassy and asparagus. OK, sounds pretty good.

Thanks puerhking and iannon.

I meant vegetal......vegetal.

but i likez asparaguz

[Chip]

I received my Takumi shincha and have tried it three time. It is fantastic. Grassy, umami, asparagus yumminess with a hint of astringency on the second and third infusion. Top notch.

Ewww, grassy and asparagus. OK, sounds pretty good.

Thanks puerhking and iannon.

I meant vegetal......vegetal.

but i likez asparaguz

*luvs asparagus* and love this in a tea.

[CynTEAa]

On a second infusion of Kagoshima Yutaka Midori, recommended by Chipster.

First infusion was vetegal - somewhere on the spectrum between sweet peas and asparagus (there they are again) with a umami - "meaty" finish.

Second is a tad less "meaty" with floral and fruity notes under the vegetation. Fresh grassiness throughout. Computer dictionary does not like "umami" or "grassiness." heh!



Forgot to add the term "YUM!"

[Chip]

Computer dictionary does not like "umami" or "grassiness." heh!

"YUM!"

For umami, check alternate spelling, YUMami, filed somewhere on the other side ... of the ShinchaZone!

For grassiness, well, it should just be spelled shincha and be done with it.

With Mom's Day this weekend, I happened to wonder why she never thought to give us our veggies via shincha infusions! Oh right, it was unobtanium back then!

[brlarson]

Takumi shincha. Both thumbs up!

(You will all have to excuse me for setting the bar so low with this review, because I don't have time to be complete.)

I've brewed Takumi three times since opening the bag on Thursday.
(1) 4 grams in 100ml at 140F for 60 secs in a pre-heated porcelain hohin.
(2) 5 grams in 180ml at 140F for 60 seconds in a pre-heated banko kyusu
(3) 6 grams in 180ml at 140F for 60 seconds in a pre-heated banko kyusu

(1) the flavors was so concentrated that they were almost `dumb'. The brew tasted under-infused so I increased the temp to 155F for the second infusion for 30 secs and more fullness came through. Try lower concentration of leaf next time. (Boy, it is nice to have fresh green tea in the house.)

(2) Decided to try a lower than normal concentration of leaf, so I needed a larger pot and decided to use a 180ml banko kyusu. This brew was perfectly infused and a little light as you would expect given the leaf to water ratio. Umami was pervasive, not heavy and oily but light and not quite fragile. Predominant vegetal flavor is asparagus tips: fuller tasting than young tips yet without the high iron taste from mature tips. Two surprises from this brew are the way that its seemingly simple flavors seem to reach every taste-sensing part of your mouth, and finish lingered for many minutes after the tea was gone.

(3) Increased the leaf ratio but kept everything else the same. Similar experience as with brew number 2 but tea had more meat. Umami was heavier and flavors were more concentrated. Another excellent brew. Infusion number three started to show some astringency which appeared as a slight cardboard-iness, but clean tasting so not in a bad way.

Banko seems to agree with this leaf.

Over the next few days I'll need to brew this in red clay and again in porcelain. I wish I had a Hagi kyusu to brew this in

[iannon]

Shincha from Maiko. Shincha Kinari!

nice touch gthe paper wrapped around the regular foil Maiko bag. Special instructions attached to the bag.

nice looking Asa needles

yellow clean infusion..fresh grassy taste. quite refreshing
6g or so at 150 for 1 min

[iannon]

so I upped the leaf to water ratio as per Ed's gongfu shincha parameters..of course it did change the taste quite a bit. Much more umami/oceanic/astringent.. different than my first which was less oceanic and more refreshing mellow less astringent. I liked both ways TBH.