O-Cha "Official" Japanese tea topic

[Chip]

You know...I STILL haven't ordered anything from O-cha yet.. maybe this shincha season?

Admission of such is a bannable offense! Make it so ...

[Dresden]

Has anyone here ever done the "Tea of the Month" from O-Cha?

I am considering getting it and am wondering if the offerings during shincha season will be shincha.

[rjiwrth]

I will let you know what I think when my order arrives and I linger over the following brews from O-Cha...

Uji Matcha Manten
Kagoshima Sencha Yutaka Midori
Uji Gyokuro "Kame-Jiru-Shi"

Thanks for all of the excellent recommendations for this vendor. Most everyone seemed to have similar favorites, so it made my first purchase easier
Rebecca

[Chip]

Wow, 3 great choices!!! Arguably the best of the best in 3 categories!

[Chip]

New O-Cha site is up ... might still have a few bugs in it. http://www.o-cha.com/home.php

Also, the Green Tea Forum seems to have a new link ... http://www.o-cha.com/phpbb3/index.php

[rjiwrth]

Wow, 3 great choices!!! Arguably the best of the best in 3 categories!

Oh my, my, my....I am in heaven. Or, I'm in love. Matcha Manten from O-Cha. I set it up against 4 other matchas from another vendor this evening after recieving some new orders. The brightest of green I've ever rested my eyes upon. The aroma literally gave me goose bumps on the back of my neck! I kid you not. The aroma was sweet, really deep but fresh and I swear it was a mixture of ocean wind and a rain forest. I barely had to use effort to whip up some of the thickest, most luxurious Koicha I've ever made. My chasen could almost literally stand straight up on the foam when I let it go! The flavors...gracious me. Swwwwweeet, soft, green and slightly vegetal. A lingering of sweet astringency (never exprienced that before) after each sip. Astringency, yes. But not the two together. Maybe it's just me, but people, you must give it a try if you haven't. I'd make a cup for each of you if I could. See what love can do?!

Happy girl in the Midwest.

[Chip]

Grrrreat, rj! And then there is the Kame and the YM!

[rjiwrth]

Grrrreat, rj! And then there is the Kame and the YM!

Holy cow...I know! I managed to drink 8.....8 cups of matcha this evening and my tummy is pretty full of tea. Tomorrow night comes the Kame and YM. Someone will need to pry me off the walls tonight after all that green medicine But it was sooo worth it.

[Chip]

Grrrreat, rj! And then there is the Kame and the YM!

Holy cow...I know! I managed to drink 8.....8 cups of matcha this evening and my tummy is pretty full of tea. Tomorrow night comes the Kame and YM. Someone will need to pry me off the walls tonight after all that green medicine But it was sooo worth it.

8, did you say 8 cups? Please tell us more, how you prepared your Koicha? X 8?

I expect to see you flying by the TeaCave atop Fuji any minute.

[AdamMY]

I was wondering the same thing, I had an excess of tea today, photos with my new hohin which might be posted in tomorrows tea day. But honestly 8 cups of Koicha? How are you still alive?

[rjiwrth]

I was wondering the same thing, I had an excess of tea today, photos with my new hohin which might be posted in tomorrows tea day. But honestly 8 cups of Koicha? How are you still alive?

I'm rather in awe myself
I prepared it as I normally do...chashku x 2 for each cup; 1/3 of my chawan was filled with 80 degrees c h20. And, yes, I re-filled each cup near the end for ushucha, just to give my product a try that way.

So, there you have it. Not very descriptive of my process, but it's 6 in the morning and It's not time for creative yet. Guess what??? After 8 cups of this green magic, I laid my head down about 3 hours later and slept like a baby. How in the heck is that possible? Am I sick????

[rjiwrth]

Grrrreat, rj! And then there is the Kame and the YM!

Holy cow...I know! I managed to drink 8.....8 cups of matcha this evening and my tummy is pretty full of tea. Tomorrow night comes the Kame and YM. Someone will need to pry me off the walls tonight after all that green medicine But it was sooo worth it.

8, did you say 8 cups? Please tell us more, how you prepared your Koicha? X 8?

I expect to see you flying by the TeaCave atop Fuji any minute.

See response to Victoria for my magical process (hardly)! I can't remember if I shared my jonesing sin for matcha last week and what that resulted in. This explains how I binged on matcha last night when the real stuff arrived. (Starbucks...went by Starbucks in a blizzard and ordered a matcha latte. Good Gods, what was I thinking? I was super-bad-off )

[rjiwrth]

Grrrreat, rj! And then there is the Kame and the YM!

I attempted the O-Cha Yutaka Midori and the
Uji Gyokuro "Kame-Jiru-Shi", but it was a pitty to watch the attempt. I do not own a kyusu yet, so I attempted the brew with a gawain. Good Gods. Then, I tried using the various strainers. I managed to make the best-smelling mess yet, though. I licked off the tiny drops of heavenly liquid splashed about the tea tray and gnomi. Pretty sad. These lovely leaves deserve better; a more skilled brewer or a better brewing vessel. Or, both.

I will give feed-back once I have the right equipment. I hate to waste these precious leaves. THE YM aroma is like no other green I've experienced to date, though. mmmmmmmmmmmmyyyy. My goal tonight is to order a decent banko kyusu so I can get busy with this brewing.

[Chip]

Nothing like the right pots to really enhance the enjoyment of your YM and Kame. The Kame might be a bit more adaptable since the particles are not as fine as the YM.

The YM has possibly the best sencha aroma I have ever ... sniffed.

[plant partaker]

but they dont have samples do you (anybody) know where to get this tea in asmaller portion