Japanese or Chinese, most healthy?

[sriracha]

You could spend a fortune and still not get decent japanese tea

the $5/50g green bancha at yuukicha raises it's hand in disagreement

Have it, but have yet to open the bag. Sounds promising =)

[David R.]

You could spend a fortune and still not get decent japanese tea

I don't agree either. Japanese tea is the one category of tea where I can find incredible quality for a very affordable price, and I am not speaking about bancha but the real thing. This is not the case with chinese teas...

[iovetea]

You could spend a fortune and still not get decent japanese tea

I don't agree either. Japanese tea is the one category of tea where I can find incredible quality for a very affordable price, and I am not speaking about bancha but the real thing. This is not the case with chinese teas...

first what do you think is the real think???

secondly well i think its easier to find good quality chinese green tea, than it is to find good quality japanese tea. Because more people know what good chinese tea taste like and from the standpoint of japanese tea, most tea vendors in the west just buy the tea japanese don't rate high because they are cheap. the biggest japanese tea importer to america or one of them even said it in a video.

besides just listen to what japanese tea master say is good quality tea, dark green leaves and needle like good shape in senchas, most senchas don't even have that to begin with.Not to mention the stems you find in senchas in the west, I'm not an expert but I'm pretty sure that stems don't even belong in a sencha. ( yes ofc chukamushi and fukamushi and stuff exist too and i know very little about them....)

[iovetea]

well i don't mean hand made tea but sencha in general should have had firs needle shape or something like that

[teaisme]

from my limited consumer experience, it's not hard to find both good japanese and chinese tea. It may take a lot of sampling, but it is not hard in this day and age.

Famous chinese teas are another matter.

dark green leaves and needle like good shape in senchas

that's pretty common amongst the japanese vendors that are recommended around here (ocha yuuki, dens etc etc)... but really I say forget about the looks. Or what belongs or doesn't belong in a sencha. I like stems....Alot.

Have it, but have yet to open the bag. Sounds promising =)

New batch sold out very quick this year. That stuff was special. Always put my mind in a good place. Also good to save a little for a year, let it yellow out a bit, turns into something new!

[David R.]

I guess we had different experiences. I actually had to taste a lot of medicore chinese greens before finally finding some really good stuff, whereas very good japanese greens just came to me quicker.

But we may have different visions of what "good quality" refers to.

[teaisme]

yeah the good chinese greens took me longer to find that is for sure

but it was still pretty assessable and easy, I guess a lot of it has to do with luck of the draw with which vendors you decide to jump into first

I'm still new to it all too, but I find the ones that last long/or the opposite (finish so completely clean) taste and feel clean,good body reactions, nice effortless sips, that absorbing kind of feeling you know? That's what I call good. Make me feel goooooooood and mind go ahhhhhhh, tasty and smelly too of course

[entropyembrace]

If you buy tea form a western vendor you´re probably getting garbage either way.

You could spend a fortune and still not get decent japanese tea

I don't agree either. Japanese tea is the one category of tea where I can find incredible quality for a very affordable price, and I am not speaking about bancha but the real thing. This is not the case with chinese teas...

first what do you think is the real think???

secondly well i think its easier to find good quality chinese green tea, than it is to find good quality japanese tea. Because more people know what good chinese tea taste like and from the standpoint of japanese tea, most tea vendors in the west just buy the tea japanese don't rate high because they are cheap. the biggest japanese tea importer to america or one of them even said it in a video.

besides just listen to what japanese tea master say is good quality tea, dark green leaves and needle like good shape in senchas, most senchas don't even have that to begin with.Not to mention the stems you find in senchas in the west, I'm not an expert but I'm pretty sure that stems don't even belong in a sencha. ( yes ofc chukamushi and fukamushi and stuff exist too and i know very little about them....)

[Tead Off]

Garbage grade Japanese and Chinese teas are common in supermarkets and Asian groceries. Only specialized vendors, i.e., mail order and tea houses specializing in high grade teas will have have quality Japanese and Chinese teas.

[Xell]

well i don't mean hand made tea but sencha in general should have had firs needle shape or something like that

For japanese tea long needles are more common in high end gyokuro and temomicha. Even quite high grade sencha can have short needles and many small particles. But this doesn't affect the taste much, however color i think is important. So, how broken japanese tea is has barely anything to do with its quality.

Also think it's more difficult to find trusted vendors from China, than Japan. At least if i didn't know this forum and could not get any recommendations.

[David R.]

Even quite high grade sencha can have short needles and many small particles. But this doesn't affect the taste much, however color i think is important. So, how broken japanese tea is has barely anything to do with its quality.

I've been wondering lately if there's not a limit to how broken a fukamushi sencha can be in order to still be good quality. Some have really a lot of small particles. Even with my 50 holes hohin, second infusion can be tricky with some sencha I had recently. It may not show on aromas, but on depth and aftertaste.

Just wondering...

[Xell]

I've been wondering lately if there's not a limit to how broken a fukamushi sencha can be in order to still be good quality. Some have really a lot of small particles. Even with my 50 holes hohin, second infusion can be tricky with some sencha I had recently. It may not show on aromas, but on depth and aftertaste.

Just wondering...

This probably is more personal, quite strongly broken i think, really depends on taste. And in the first place, fukamushi in brewing vessel without fine steel mesh is tricky (for me), even really good one Also i see quite often people don't bother at all if a bit of tea leaves got inside cup, simply drink them up too.

[Alex]

I like a bit of dust leaf on the bottom of the cup. Its usually my favourite bit of the cup

[minor_glitch]

I've been wondering lately if there's not a limit to how broken a fukamushi sencha can be in order to still be good quality.

O-cha's Chiran is much more broken down with finer particles than YM. Very similar tea, but one clearly tastes better than the other. Perhaps there's a connection?

[gaoxingru]

According to the Buddhist priest only water from a slow-moving stream was acceptable for making tea and the tea leaves had to be placed in a porcelain cup. The perfect place for enjoying the brew was in a pavilion next to a water lily pond, preferably in the company of a woman. The Chinese beverage is considered one of the seven necessities of Chinese life, along with firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar.

The fact of serving tea describes a certain attitude of having tea, called the Ceremony of Tea. Initially, the <a href='http://chinesefamoustea.net/'>Chinese Tea</a> ceremony was a memorial celebration for emperors and family ancestors. Nowadays, Chinese tea is served as a sign of respect, in order to celebrate a family gathering or a festival, to apologize as sign of regret and submission or to thank the family on a wedding’s day. The spirit of the Chinese Tea Ceremony is described as he, jing, yi, zhen which translates into peace, quiet, enjoyment and truth.