Wesli wrote:Sal, you're teasing me. Tea so close to video games....
My favorite is definitely Kagoshima. Shizuoka may make a lot of good teas, but they also pump out a lot of not-so-good teas. Kagoshima, on the other hand, pumps out mostly great stuff. Kagoshima can be creamy, tart, grassy... It knows how to hit the spot.
This morning I'm drinking some mecha, but mixed 50/50 with kukicha. Too bad Chip here's got me craving Kago-leaf! At least I have an Itoen order coming on tuesday with a couple kagoshimas.
Agreed Wesli san!
Kagoshima has been my fave since trying Yutaka Midori from O-Cha which is my favorite shincha this year amoung many stellar offerings.
Kagoshima also has been offering up INNOVATION in sencha. Too often, for the sake of tradition, tea is manufactured a set way. I say phooey to that. W/O innovation there would not be sencha, would not be fukamushi. I have had some really unusual offerings from the prefecture down under at the southern end of Japan.
Tradition is great, don't get me wrong, but if it holds back innovation, well, then it has gone too far. I even brew sencha often times in a non conventional, non tradtional method.
In my cup, you guessed it, Yutaka Midori, brewed non traditionally and outstanding.
Having said all that, I enjoy sencha from every prefecture mentioned, but Kagoshima will get my attention first. It is also one of the challenging to obtain a variety. My order of faves:
Kagoshima
Uji
Shizuoka
Yame
Never had Ise to the best of my knowledge.