Shincha questions

[gigglestick]

...The second steeping was so wonderfully murky! Imagine the worst fog you've every seen... Now paint it green and drink it!

Yes, I noticed that too with the YM shincha from O-Cha that I received. It's almost magical...

I did need to work with the parameters a bit to get a brew that I really enjoyed with this tea. I use a bit less leaf than with other senchas and also a little cooler temp. But I definitely notice that I am developing a yen for astringency.

[Rainy-Day]

I got YM and fukamushi (?) from o-cha yesterday, and I have a question now.. I think I saw someone mention that shincha should be aired out when first opened, how long should I do that? thanks!

[Chip]

NOOOOOO ...

Open the bag, put it into whatever container or whatever you are going to use for storage/everyday use, but do not air out per se.

Sometimes I swear the tea is better after being opened a day, possibly due to the nitrogen flushing? Other times I swear the tea is best when I first open the bag. Soooo, who knows.

But never air it out, leaving it exposed to open air. Once you open a nitro flushed bag, the timer is running on freshness. Try to use Shincha within weeks of opening.

I think regular nonshincha FF sencha holds up better once opened possibly because shincha is purported to contain a higher leaf moisture content as part of its manufacture.

[Rainy-Day]

Thanks! I shouldn't have done this but I already did a 1-minute air out of the fukamushi, thinking that whatever time is appropriate can't be less than 1 minute.. hopefully it's not too affected. I didn't do any air out for YM. I will experiment with both and post my opinions later.

By the way, did anyone try brewing shinchas in a gaiwan or a zisha pot? I know that zisha doesn't work well for chinese greens, but gaiwan might work well? (I have a few regular pots as well of course so I'll probably end up using those for shinchas).

[Rainy-Day]

Actually I only aired out the smaller tin that I put half of the Fukamushi in, the rest is in the bag and not aired out, so I will be able to brew both and compare whether 1 minute air out did any damage to the freshness! I'm guessing not but we'll see..

[Chip]

Actually I only aired out the smaller tin that I put half of the Fukamushi in, the rest is in the bag and not aired out, so I will be able to brew both and compare whether 1 minute air out did any damage to the freshness! I'm guessing not but we'll see..

1 minute is nothing to be concerned about. So, no worries. I had visions of shincha sitting out for a day ...

You do well by splitting your bag in 2, one for more or less daily use and one for after the first one is done. I do this as well and it improves the freshness of the second half considerably, IMHO.

Regarding brewing in a gaiwan or Zishi, if it is not fukamushi (finer leaf particles) you should be OK. Fukamushi would be a bit of a mess and you would likely get a LOT of leaf in your cup.

[Rainy-Day]

I actually split because the tin is not big enough to hold all of it :). If it was big enough, however, I would certainly consider splitting it for that reason. I definitely will do that next time I order golden yunnan because of the issue I have with GY deteriorating taste after opening the bag.

If you don't mind me asking, are you a fan of chinese greens as well or mostly japanese? Do people mostly specialize on either of these categories, or enjoy both?

[Chip]

If you don't mind me asking, are you a fan of chinese greens as well or mostly japanese? Do people mostly specialize on either of these categories, or enjoy both?

I used to drink Chinese greens around 80% of the time, til I found Japanese greens of premium quality and freshness. Now I drink Japanese greens almost 80% of the time. For me, I enjoy a primary focus type of tea, and then add some variety to the mix.

[clareandromeda]

I

If you don't mind me asking, are you a fan of chinese greens as well or mostly japanese? Do people mostly specialize on either of these categories, or enjoy both?

I'm a Japanese greens only. Once I read about the health benefits of greens and the negative effects oxidization has on all those excellent benefits, I'm keeping it green. I've never had high quality Chinese greens but I'm happy with all the Japanese options.

[Chip]

I'm a Japanese greens only. Once I read about the health benefits of greens and the negative effects oxidization has on all those excellent benefits, I'm keeping it green. I've never had high quality Chinese greens but I'm happy with all the Japanese options.

I made the jump for 2 reasons, first I finally found GREAT Japanese tea and vendors.

And secondly, health concerns over Chinese tea was at its height at the time, well, Chinese food items in general. So, health concerns also affected my decision as well.

[woozl]

I loved the YM.
I opened my fuka last night.
I need to figure this one out.......is 165 too cool?
Should I flash the next, or go 60 secs.

It was better this AM, I used more leaf

[Chip]

Woozl, I had the Fuka Supreme open as non shincha right before shincha. I was using almost a gram leaf per ounce water, 160* in preheated pot (unheated pot maybe close to 175*), I think I went around 40 seconds or so. Less than a minute anyway.

Shincha might require less leaf and slightly lower temp.

[woozl]

Yeah, Ocha recs. 90 sec. at 170....meh
Second one was -60 sec at 160--- nice..sweeter..still think there's more here...

[TEAcipes]

If you don't mind me asking, are you a fan of chinese greens as well or mostly japanese? Do people mostly specialize on either of these categories, or enjoy both?

I mainly drink Japanese greens because, well, I'm Japanese. The amount of tea that I have consumed during my short life is :redonkulous: because that's what I've been raised on (well, that and Mugi-cha during the summers). I think the only time I drink Chinese greens is when I'm eating Dim Sum (and even then, I drink Oo Long more often than Jasmine) or Vietnamese food.

[Cinnamon Kitty]

I loved the YM.
I opened my fuka last night.
I need to figure this one out.......is 165 too cool?
Should I flash the next, or go 60 secs.

It was better this AM, I used more leaf

If you are talking about the fukamushi sencha supreme from O-cha, I got good results with about 160*F to 165*F water, a heaping teaspoon of leaf (like really heaping as compared to only slightly rounded heaping. Probably about 1.5 to 1.7 teaspoons if I actually measured exactly) to about 5 ounces of water for 1 minute first infusion. It does take more leaf than the YM to get an excellent flavor, based on my experimentation.

Second steep was 20 to 30 seconds with slightly hotter water. Third steep was 1 minute with water from the 195 setting on my Zoji directly into the kyusu. Fourth steep was about 3 minutes at just under boiling. Fifth steep was an undetermined lengthy period of time at boiling. It might also work well with slightly hotter water, but I found that 160*F to 165*F let it retain the sweet sencha flavor with the smack in the face taste of good fuka.