Sencha tastes a little fishy

[fire_snake]

Maybe it's my source. I'm staying with the "cheap" stuff for now so I can appreciate the higher quality greens later on. Teaopia isn't the greatest, I'll admit. I have no real basis for comparison, which might be my problem.

This Sencha, however, is *supposed* to be a little better. It's Teaopia's best:

http://www.teaopia.ca/products2.cfm/ID/ ... -Green-Tea

Just seems either too light and fishy or too strong and vegetal no matter what I do. Not much bitterness, though. Granted, the colour is fantastic and the scent is quite nice. By contrast I immediately warmed up to Dragon Well. So much personality and interesting details with each infusion. And it seems to stand a lot of abuse and long steep times. Could it be I'm more of a Chinese greens person? Even if I am, it's not in entirety. I've already tried Gunpowder and wrote it off as bad swill.

Still, I can't imagine having an aversion to Japanese greens - they seem integral to the green tea experience. After all, Matcha suits me quite nicely. No fishiness there, just vegetal, sweet and wholesome.

Am I alone here? Any tips on improving my Sencha experience would be appreciated. Please note, I don't have a Kyusu yet, so I'm simply using a porcelain teapot for now until I put together a set. I know that's a no-no but I'm just playing with flavours and steep times for now.

Thanks,

Christian

[Chip]

OK, first of all, it is more technically a Kamairicha since it has gone through a steaming and pan frying. Some call this a a mix of Chinese and Japanese ...whatever. The fact that they simply call this sencha indicates they are either not informed or choose not to inform. Either way, not good.

I wonder, is the photo really representative of the color? Kamairicha usually has a toned down, darker green color due to the pan firing.

Still, you should try a good sencha from a good Japanese tea vendor before casting judgement. Sencha should not taste fishy, though some have a marine kind of thing going on, but not fishy.

Sencha can be quite varied, and can vary further by brewing methods.

[Chip]

Yikes, 30 USD for 50 grams of this kamairicha, call the TeaPolice, you've been robbed!

And further ... they use the same exact photo for their regular sencha, that ain't right!!! That is misrepresenting product!

They do the same thing with the 2 matcha ... just change the canister.

BOOOOO!

[fire_snake]

I suppose it's time to invest in some better greens. Thanks, guys.

[fire_snake]

Anyway, here it is. I'm really not liking it. In fact, it's turning my stomach. But now I have to finish it, having spent that much. At least I'll be getting the health benefits.

[Chip]

I guess we should ask, how are you brewing it?

[fire_snake]

I guess we should ask, how are you brewing it?

I brew it at around 160 degrees and steep for two minutes.

I'm using more leaves this time around. This introduces some bitterness, but I find it a little better this way because it gives the tea a bit of an edge. Still not great, though, since I'm basically trying to mask some other (unwholesome) element of the tea.

I hope *actual* Sencha will be quite a bit better than this.

[JeiKun4114]

I guess we should ask, how are you brewing it?

I brew it at around 160 degrees and steep for two minutes.

I'm using more leaves this time around. This introduces some bitterness, but I find it a little better this way because it gives the tea a bit of an edge. Still not great, though, since I'm basically trying to mask some other (unwholesome) element of the tea.

I hope *actual* Sencha will be quite a bit better than this.

Try using hotter water not boiling and steep for less time. How much tea and water are you using as well, and Sencha is way better then what your experiencing. There are a lot of really good reliable vendors out there. Try playing around with times, temp ext.... Ive had some Sencha that I though was horrible but played around with it and found what it liked. Sencha can be very tricky at times

[Chip]

As Jaikun mentioned and since this is a form of Kamairicha (steamed then pan fired), higher temp will likely help ... if it is able to be helped.

[fire_snake]

Thanks for the tips, but nope - no good.

Shorter steep time results in slightly bitter, faintly vegetal water. There's not much there.

A bit longer results in some fishiness making friends with water that is a little more bitter. So, fishy + vegetal now, with slight bitterness.

Even longer results in more bitterness, which takes some of the edge off the fishiness and brings out more of the vegetal qualities. But it's bitter now.

Finally, even longer results in a sharp edge, with the bitterness mingling strongly with the vegetal qualities.

In any case, it just doesn't taste right. Sometimes you can sense something is wrong without quite putting your finger on it. This feeling is magnified by the cost of this tea as well as the (apparently) outlandish claim on the bag that this is first-flush Sencha. I could have bought the regular $6 non-organic kind and at least saved myself a pretty penny. I'm not happy.

Weird thing is, I've been drinking Teaopia's Dragonwell for a month now, doing all sorts of things to it. It's pretty good. It might be that even poor-to-average Dragonwell will be drinkable, even enjoyable. I can only imagine what the good stuff will be like! Then again, it's a Chinese green. A different beast altogether.

[iannon]

you will find draginwell completely different than sencha in all categories..taste and brewing. You may also find that you dont like the "high end" dragonwell better than the mid or lower end. The higher end, to me, seems much lighter and floral than the more mid grades which may have more nuttiness to them...just different anyway

[fire_snake]

you will find draginwell completely different than sencha in all categories..taste and brewing. You may also find that you dont like the "high end" dragonwell better than the mid or lower end. The higher end, to me, seems much lighter and floral than the more mid grades which may have more nuttiness to them...just different anyway

I do enjoy the chestnutty, toasty flavours in Dragonwell. Subsequent infusions tend to bring out more sweeter, floral qualities. My biggest complaint with Teaopia's Dragonwell is that it contains a lot of sticks, stems and broken leaves. Further, I don't know how authentic or close to *real* Dragonwell it is. I doubt this comes from anywhere near West Lake, decent as it may seem.

[Xell]

One of reasons i can think of, may be it was stored wrong or simply to old, but they don't want to throw it out. That bag on photo looks like they did the packing themselves, was there at least oxygen absorbent pack?

[Chesslover]

Try lower temperature (150-155 F) and times like this:
50 seconds (1st steep)
20 seconds (2nd steep)
40 seconds (3rd steep)

Water : tea ratio = 1 oz : 1 g

[skilfautdire]

Maybe it's my source. I'm staying with the "cheap" stuff for now so I can appreciate the higher quality greens later on.

Well, if $30 USD for 50g is cheap for you, may I suggest to you try even cheaper teas ?

There are many reputed online vendors that sells pretty good sencha for $20-$27 for 100g. Even organic sencha at Yuuki-cha.