It is the only one I have tasted so far. I will soon have some Ippodo shincha (it landed at Paris airport one hour ago so I should get it tomorrow).TokyoB wrote: Olivierco,
Have you had the O-Cha Sae Midori? That is my only shincha so far this year and I'm wondering how it compares to the Kirameki? Should the asamushi be lighter? more astringent? thanks.
I gave the quantities for one person. When I drink it alone I either use my little kyuusu or one houhin.Oni wrote:
Olivierco, are you drinking tea in solitude, I usually use my houhin with your amount with 3 cups when testing out a new tea, or with one big cup when I am drinking tea by myself. P.S. I am a fan of light steamed sencha.
I had a conversation with mr. Horaido, and he said that customers started to prefer sweet taste in their sencha, but he believes shincha:
"We believe Shincha must be rich aroma and bitter and astringent strong
powerful taste.
But recently, many customers prefer mild and sweet Shincha.
We think they should take the last year's tea to enjoy mild."
The teaworld is constantly changing acording to the taste and preferance of the public who enjoys it, sometimes for the better, and most of the times for the worst, if that histerical fast food eating fast paced world will put their mark on tea we will loose great tea, and further generations might not experience the greatness of nature in a cups of tea, I do believe there is a tea that touches the soul of each one of us, maybe some of us have found it, some of us are still searching for it.
"We believe Shincha must be rich aroma and bitter and astringent strong
powerful taste.
But recently, many customers prefer mild and sweet Shincha.
We think they should take the last year's tea to enjoy mild."
The teaworld is constantly changing acording to the taste and preferance of the public who enjoys it, sometimes for the better, and most of the times for the worst, if that histerical fast food eating fast paced world will put their mark on tea we will loose great tea, and further generations might not experience the greatness of nature in a cups of tea, I do believe there is a tea that touches the soul of each one of us, maybe some of us have found it, some of us are still searching for it.
This is sencha Kinari from maiko, light steamed, look at the leaves >
,
First infusion, increadibly sweet, aromatic, and round underlined with a pleasant bitterness that elevated this tea to greatness, and the aroma and sweetness was present during 3 infusions, highly aromatic tea, sofar this is the best shincha experience we had. Respect for the makers and maiko, great tea, exactly the taste I longed for.
Look at the wet leaves, they are soft and light as a feather, a true beauty.
,First infusion, increadibly sweet, aromatic, and round underlined with a pleasant bitterness that elevated this tea to greatness, and the aroma and sweetness was present during 3 infusions, highly aromatic tea, sofar this is the best shincha experience we had. Respect for the makers and maiko, great tea, exactly the taste I longed for.
Look at the wet leaves, they are soft and light as a feather, a true beauty.
Oni, Have you had the Tsuen Uji Kirameki from O-Cha? If so, how does it compare to the Kinari?Oni wrote:This is sencha Kinari from maiko, light steamed, look at the leaves
First infusion, increadibly sweet, aromatic, and round underlined with a pleasant bitterness that elevated this tea to greatness, and the aroma and sweetness was present during 3 infusions, highly aromatic tea, sofar this is the best shincha experience we had. Respect for the makers and maiko, great tea, exactly the taste I longed for.
Look at the wet leaves, they are soft and light as a feather, a true beauty.
Thanks.
Kirameki is made of yabukita breed (who ever tried hibiki-an`s kuradashi gyokuro premium knows this), that is a strong tasting agrotype, I liked it last year, I don`t know from what kinari is made, I think it is a blend, but it is not pure yabukita, it is sweeter, and there is no grassy taste to it. I think kirameki is a bit overpriced, kinari is 20 usd, kirameki is 38, I don`t think kirameki is twice as better, and I haven`t tried this years kirameki, but I think kinari scored better overall by my standards.
May 14th, '09, 14:36
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Just ramblings of this topic reader ...
Hmmm, I have come to realize that Asamushi helps me to appreciate Fukamushi. Fukamushi helps me to appreciate Asamushi. I gravitate back and forth on any given day, rarely having fuka after fuka ... and definitely NOT asa after asa
Then there is Chumushi, not sure where that fits in except it is nice to have this option when I am not in the mood for asa nor fuka.
I seem to like to have an asa or a chu + a fuka open. This is a nice and complimentary menu to have available. If I have 3 open, one of each is ideal.
I would grow bored with only asa or only fuka.
Ramblings ... perhaps I should revive the old asa, chu, fuka topic? I wonder how our answers have changed, or if they stayed the same?
And BUMPED.... HERE!
Hmmm, I have come to realize that Asamushi helps me to appreciate Fukamushi. Fukamushi helps me to appreciate Asamushi. I gravitate back and forth on any given day, rarely having fuka after fuka ... and definitely NOT asa after asa
Then there is Chumushi, not sure where that fits in except it is nice to have this option when I am not in the mood for asa nor fuka.
I seem to like to have an asa or a chu + a fuka open. This is a nice and complimentary menu to have available. If I have 3 open, one of each is ideal.
I would grow bored with only asa or only fuka.
Ramblings ... perhaps I should revive the old asa, chu, fuka topic? I wonder how our answers have changed, or if they stayed the same?
And BUMPED.... HERE!
Kinari is truly excellent shincha, but let's just hope they don't suddenly raise their prices 35% like they did at the beginning of the year. Maiko's Hachiju Hachiya was $20 last year... it went up to $27 suddenly.Oni wrote:Kirameki is made of yabukita breed (who ever tried hibiki-an`s kuradashi gyokuro premium knows this), that is a strong tasting agrotype, I liked it last year, I don`t know from what kinari is made, I think it is a blend, but it is not pure yabukita, it is sweeter, and there is no grassy taste to it. I think kirameki is a bit overpriced, kinari is 20 usd, kirameki is 38, I don`t think kirameki is twice as better, and I haven`t tried this years kirameki, but I think kinari scored better overall by my standards.
That made it a lot less attractive. The Kinari is priced fairly and let's hope it stays that way. I'm enjoying it very much.This is the review of maiko`s shincha gyokuro, this year they have introduced a shuppin version, but it was too expencieve, and just like hibiki-an stated although gyokuro is enjoyed after 6 moth of the harvest, some people enjoy it fresh and unmatured, and some people love kuradashi gyokuro that is the total oposite of shincha, that is very soft and sweet.
This is the tea
So this is how I brew it, first pour hot freshly boiled water to the houhin, I wait 3 minutes uncovered so it cools a bit so the yuzamashi wont be to hot to handle>
After that I transfer the water to the water cooling vessel, and wait another minute there
Now I transfer the water to the cups and measure the temperature until it reaches 55 C, that is how I brew it but anything between 40 - 60 C is ok
I pour the water from the cups and brew for 2 minutes
2 minutes after I pour it in the yuzamashi, I don`t want to spil any so I do not transfer from houhin directly to the cups but I use the yuzamashi as a faircup
Now to the cups
The taste was just as expected it didn`t have time to mellow out and become that clear full bodied taste, insted it is a heavy grassy sweet and astringent taste, vibrant, to strong, not as clear and sweet as hibiki-an super premium when it is fresh, that is strong too but more like honey, less bitter, but that is twice as expencieve hand picked tea, but this tea would be a great gyokuro after it looses it`s sharpness, it cuts in your tongue as a knife, in a sencha this would be appreciated but in a gyokuro one looks for an etheral full bodied sweet green tea with lingerin aftertaste that any oolong might envy
This is the tortured remain of the tea, after all life is sqeezed out of it
This is the tea
So this is how I brew it, first pour hot freshly boiled water to the houhin, I wait 3 minutes uncovered so it cools a bit so the yuzamashi wont be to hot to handle>
After that I transfer the water to the water cooling vessel, and wait another minute there
Now I transfer the water to the cups and measure the temperature until it reaches 55 C, that is how I brew it but anything between 40 - 60 C is ok
I pour the water from the cups and brew for 2 minutes
2 minutes after I pour it in the yuzamashi, I don`t want to spil any so I do not transfer from houhin directly to the cups but I use the yuzamashi as a faircup
Now to the cups
The taste was just as expected it didn`t have time to mellow out and become that clear full bodied taste, insted it is a heavy grassy sweet and astringent taste, vibrant, to strong, not as clear and sweet as hibiki-an super premium when it is fresh, that is strong too but more like honey, less bitter, but that is twice as expencieve hand picked tea, but this tea would be a great gyokuro after it looses it`s sharpness, it cuts in your tongue as a knife, in a sencha this would be appreciated but in a gyokuro one looks for an etheral full bodied sweet green tea with lingerin aftertaste that any oolong might envy
This is the tortured remain of the tea, after all life is sqeezed out of it
May 16th, '09, 15:27
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guitar9876
May 17th, '09, 13:03
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guitar9876
May 17th, '09, 16:11
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Generally speaking, asamushi requires more leaf by volume than fukamushi since asa is less dense. The weight needed might be the same depending upon which teas you are comparing.guitar9876 wrote:Thanks!Oni wrote:Kinari needs more leaf than a fukamushi, I used one and a half table spoon, for 220 ml water, at 75 C, I think it was above 6 or 7 grams.guitar9876 wrote:Hey Oni, what brewing parameters did you use for the Kinari?
Regarding "Shincha Gyokuro" ... just read the newsletter on this one from Hibiki. It is NOT gyokuro, it is KABUSE, shaded for only around half a month.
I find it a bit disturbing that it is hard to get simple reliable info on gyokuro from many vendors, straight up. I have always suspected much gyo is indeed kabuse and not true authentic gyo, thus will not brew particularly well if brewed as gyo.
There is room for gyo and there is room for kabuse in world of Japanese tea, but misleading vendor information, there is never room for IMHO.