Official Shincha 2015 Ordering and Review Topic

[Alex]

yeah he keeps inviting me over for dinner and his food literally blows my mind. I just don't have the guts to invite him over to mine. Even though he's not a food snob. Maybe I'll just make some simple pizza. I do run my own micro bakery so I can do the dough well enough

[z_lamp]

First time getting shincha -- ordered from o-cha, ended up with 100g of each of:

-Ureshino Tamaryokucha
-Organic Sencha "Oku Yutaka"
-Kagoshima Sencha Sae Midori

These choices are based partially on what I heard in the yutaka midori quality topic, partially on what looked interesting at the time. Probably a weird mix of stuff for people who have any idea what they're doing, but it should be fun to sample regardless. I'm glad to see someone else is enjoying the tamaryokucha -- I love teas with thick mouthfeel, so I'm even more excited now.

[gunbuster363]

Chip, what is that Kinari tea of Maiko? I did not see it in their catalogue. Is it a karigane tea?

[Chip]

It is only on Maiko's shincha page. It is asamushi sencha.

[Alex]

Got some Aoi from O-Cha . I don't think its as good as last years but I may be mis-brewing slightly. Still amazing tea though.

[theroots]

My order from Marukyu-Koyamaen and Ippodo finally is on the way!

[jpo1933]

My order from Marukyu-Koyamaen and Ippodo finally is on the way!

Did you order directly from the site?
I thought they actually ship direct from Japan
Sent them a message a year ago about one of their gyokuros, and they told me that I should contact one of their U.S dealers as they don't ship overseas

[theroots]

No unfortunately they still won't accept international orders. There are some retailers in Germany and other countries but the prices are pretty high. That's why I ordered from rakuten.co.jp. The vendors at rakuten do have the same prices as koyamaen itself.

[Tead Off]

Being in Japan, I couldn't resist buying Shincha. I bought 4 or 5 different brands in order to compare and really get a sense of this year's production.

Ippodo vs. Fukujuen. Both Uji teas with Fukujuen being more expensive and giving the choice of grade. You could see the difference in the dry leaves with Ippodo's being more broken. In the cup, the Fukujuen's refined taste and less bitterness wins out in my mouth. I think there is a delicateness in the better Shincha and there are different grades of it. Many sellers don't make a distinction on what they are selling. They label 'Shincha' without giving a choice of grades. With Korean teas, ujeon is always more expensive and more delicate tasting than the next grade down, saejak. Korean teas are labeled according to grade. It would be nice for online sellers of Japanese teas to inform the public about the grade of specific teas.

[sherubtse]

It would be nice for online sellers of Japanese teas to inform the public about the grade of specific teas.

I am not sure that I have ever heard about grades of Japanese teas. Would you elaborate on this, Tead Off?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[Tead Off]

It would be nice for online sellers of Japanese teas to inform the public about the grade of specific teas.

I am not sure that I have ever heard about grades of Japanese teas. Would you elaborate on this, Tead Off?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

When you walk into a tea seller, (company), in Japan, often they will have the same tea ie., sencha, Shincha, in different grades. Each has its own packaging and pricing. For example, Ippodo offers sencha in different grades. But, Shincha seems to be a different story. Ippodo offers only one that I've seen.

Many online sellers only offer 1 Shincha from different farms. Maybe these farms only have one. But, the higher end companies usually have more than 1 grade.

[Kevangogh]

It's not like vendors in Japan are purposefully not listing the grade, it's because they don't have set grades like that here in Japan, it mostly goes by reputation of the particular tea is question. All of the teas we sell have a shincha version, and then shincha season is over it's the same tea, just not classified as shincha anymore. Also, we don't choose teas based on what they are like during shincha season because it's not typical of what they will taste like the rest of the year.

Since you are in Japan, go to Uji and visit Tsuen tea, you will find Aoi and other senchas that are currently in shincha form.

[Tead Off]

I wasn't 'implying' that vendors were purposefully not listing grades. I understand how it works in Japan. But repeatedly, after walking into shops, I saw different levels of Shincha by the same brand, being sold. I am calling these levels 'grades'. I don't see the same thing being offered by online sellers. It seems the same farm produces different levels of tea, and price it accordingly.

[Kevangogh]

The different levels of shincha are simply different quality levels of sencha, the same as you see online. They just happen to be in shincha form for the time being.

[Tead Off]

The different levels of shincha are simply different quality levels of sencha, the same as you see online. They just happen to be in shincha form for the time being.

Yes, I understand that. I'm not sure you're getting my point. For example, Ippodo offers sencha in different levels, but sells only one kind of Shincha.
Fukujuen sells both sencha and shincha of different levels. Same tea, same farm, as I understand it, but different quality.

Wouldn't this be equivalent to your selling Aoi of different levels?