2009 Shincha Review Topic

[bambooforest]

Den's Hashiri looks very interesting to be sure. A little pricey for me this go around.

Maiko has a selection that is very lightly processed even for an asamushi, so I gather. I wonder if it is the same kind of tea. Maybe not, as it may not be harvested so early.

But this tea does intrigue me nevertheless: Shincha Sencha Kinari

This is what they say about it:

This is our least manufactured Shincha product with a strong fresh flavor of the harvest. Our recommendation for those customers who appreciate the full herb-like fragrance and taste of freshly harvested Sencha.

[heatwaves]

This year, I ordered Yutaka Midori, Sae Midori and Fukamushi from O-cha, Temomi and Hashiri from Sugimoto, and Yame Takumi from Zencha.

Thus far, I've only received the Yame Takumi... so guess which one I'm going to review? That's right, "Green Tea by Lipton".

Yame Takumi from Zencha

Parameters:
2 tsp. of leaf (about 5 grams)
165 F water
Preheated 280ml (about 9.5 ounces) Tokoname Kyusu
30 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min (started to fade in 4th infusion)

Wow!!! This tea is truly incredible. Vegetal, grassy and creamy without a hint of astringency. I was also quite astounded by the amount of cha qi. I typically attribute cha qi to sheng puerh, but this shincha seemed to take me to a happy euphoric place. I worried that I used too much leaf (testing out a new kyusu), but it seemed to be perfect. In comparision to some of last year's shincha's, it is less vegetal than fukumushi, but much more than uji kirameki from o-cha.

I tried this again later in the day using less leaf (1.5 tsp.) and it wasn't quite as vegetal or robust. It also died significantly in the 3rd infusion. I definitely think 2 tsp. was the right call for this volume. Next time, I'll try to weigh it out to see how many grams this represents.

Sorry for the lack of photos. Perhaps another day.

[guitar9876]

Den's Hashiri looks very interesting to be sure. A little pricey for me this go around.

Maiko has a selection that is very lightly processed even for an asamushi, so I gather. I wonder if it is the same kind of tea. Maybe not, as it may not be harvested so early.

But this tea does intrigue me nevertheless: Shincha Sencha Kinari

Yep I'm ordering that next!

[bambooforest]

I just ordered the Kinari Shincha along with the Shincha Sencha from Maiko.

Well folks, I've completed my shincha orders for this year. I know... I know.. some of you are saying, "Bamboo Forest, you're only getting 4 bags of shincha this year?! Have you lost your mind?!"

The answer is no. Four bags of shincha is quite a lot for one feller. Further, sencha doesn't dry up and disappear after shincha season comes to a conclusion. That's actually a myth. All the senchas you love and cheerish will still be available, with very few exceptions.

And yes, shincha does have a special flavor, but it's not that much better than it's non-shincha counterparts. In fact, the difference is pretty marginal.

I know you all want to know what I got, so here goes it:

Hatsumi from o-cha.
Kagoshima Sencha Sae Midori from o-cha.

Kinari shincha from Maiko.
Shincha sencha from Maiko.

Well... I haven't recieved any in the mail yet. But when I do... rest assured, in bliss I will be.

[iannon]

My turn for Zencha Takumi! and my first real shincha review of my first shincha season.




First Tea of the season! Yay! came vacuum packed..air sucked out nicely.



I thought with the vacuum sealing the longer needles would be more broken up bit there is a decent number of them..smell of the dry leaf is delicious..vegetal and powerful.




Wish this pic was a little more indicative of the truly bright green color of this first infusion. 5 oz of water at 160F for 1 min
The first sips pack a wallop..nice vegetal, buttery, creamy, spinach and seaweed notes. not astringent to my taste but slightly sweet with good strong flavors. Those Gokou leaves taste fine!

2nd infusion was more cloudy murky green and the powerful taste of the 1st had mellowed somewhat.
3rd infusion less cloudy again and more mild.

I think 3 is the number I will stop infusing at..more then that it would not have the flavors i liked in the first ones.

[Odinsfury]

I just received my Yutaka Midori from o-cha yesterday but I haven't tried it yet. All of the reviews and brewing tips are very helpful.

[Ed]

Great review and photos, iannon. Thank you! That looks like some high quality leaf.

Ryan, I got the Maiko Kinari as well. I'm hoping it will be somewhat like their Hachiju Hachiya sencha. That stuff is truly marvelous.

[Jack_teachat]

Yutaka Midori 2009 Shincha (O-Cha)

I've just finished my first session with this tea and so here are my initial reactions....

First Impressions

Ok, so if I'm comparing this tea to the 2008 version, the dry leaf is far less "dusty" than last year, which before I brewed up immediately led me to think that the tea is less heavily steamed than last year's offering. Upon brewing I can confirm that this is indeed the case, and the tea is definitely closer to a chamushi or "mid-steamed tea".

The parameters I used were as follows...

4.3g leaf
160ml water
Pre-Heated Kyusu

1st Steep - 68 Degrees (c) 1 minute

With this ratio I would say that a minute is about right, although I think a little longer would be fine. The brewing temperature could also perhaps be a little warmer without causing the tea to become bitter. From this first steep I was picking up a mild grassiness with very little astringency, and in terms of flavour I was getting some very pleasant sweet buttery citrus hints that reminded me somewhat of last year's Kirameki. Overall, a lot milder than I expected it to be, but still very pleasant none the less. I think next time I will increase the leaf quantity to just under 5g.

2nd Steep - 70 Degrees (c) 20-25 seconds

This steep I felt was slightly too short and I will definitely increase it next time to around 35-40 seconds. This steep was more grassy but less sweet than the first.

3rd Steep - 72 Degrees (c) 1 minute 15 secs

This final steep was again far too mild, looking back I think the brewing temperature needs to be increased by more on both the 2nd and 3rd infusion. I think increasing the leaf quantity will also help with achieving better multiple steeps.

Conclusions

Another wonderfully fresh, high quality offering from O-Cha, but certainly a very different kettle of fish to last year, and one which I fear may leave a few of Yutaka Midori's most ardent follows a tad disappointed. I for one am not one of them however, and I look forward to experimenting with my parameters over the coming days to really get this tea tasting its very best.

Ok, so after a few more sessions with this tea I have decided that it is far more complex than I may have initially thought, serves me right for reviewing it too soon!

Even though I stand by what I wrote in my initial review to an extent, I have taken Chips advice and increased my brewing temperature and also my leaf quantity.

I’m now using...

4.8g
70* - 1 minute
73* - 35-40 secs
78* - 1 min 30 secs

With these parameters the tea is starting to behave far more like a fuka than before, big bold grassy notes, less sweet but still only light astringency. The fact that I have gotten this tea to turn out completely different on different occasions shows just how important the brewing parameters are. Still, once you find some you like it shouldn't be difficult to brew consistently.

[guitar9876]

Anybody tried the Sae Midori yet? I've been playing around with it. It's a really good tea obviously. I've been brewing one 160 ml teacup, heaping tsp, 160-175, 1 min. Just experimented with 175 which is what it says on the bag... wasn't really what I was looking for. I'm almost thinking of using more leaf. I've been drinking asamushi a lot lately, so this is the fisrt fukamushi I had in awhile. Usually I'd be using a least a tablespoon for the same amount of water. Any thoughts?

[Odinsfury]

I just tried the YM from o-cha. I used 4 grams in 9 oz of water at 160 for the first steep, 165 for the second, and 170 for the third. The experience was wonderful overall as it was probably one of the best Senchas that I've tried. I just wanted to comment that a lot of senchas that I have tried had a weak flavor on the third steep, but I found the third steep to be particularly good.

[mangaka]

Hi everyone! This is my first shincha season and I went a little crazy over it XD Spent a little too much for my student budget

The following is my review of the first shincha I received, the Yutaka Midori from O-cha.

Wow, I was so excited when I got to university residence and discovered this package from o-cha. Couldn't wait to take a picture before I opened it.


Inside, there is the cutest little package.


The packaging is so nice and pretty, with a sticker that says Shincha on top.



The Big Moment! The bag has been opened!~ The incredible creamy, vegetal, and chestnut-like scent just jumps into your face, and yells "I AM SHINCHA! DRINK ME NOW!" The leaves are broken up but does not seem as broken as a fukamushi-sencha like the Yutaka Midori should be.



The real colour is actually a bit greener than this, but not as green as many pictures I've seen of previous years' Yutaka Midori Shincha. I was actually slightly disappointed, to be honest, but the taste made up for it. Maybe I didnt brew it properly?

First Infusion:
Tea: 0.75 tsp
Water: 1 cup
Water temperature: 75 degrees Celcius
Brew time: 1 minute
Review: SO FRESH! SO CREAMY and YUMMY! A bit on the lighter side for a shincha, but maybe I just need to vary up the techniques a bit?

Second Infusion:
Tea: 0.75 tsp
Water: 1 cup
Water temperature: 75 degrees Celcius
Brew time: 1 minute 20 seconds
Review: Even lighter than first infusion, a bit disappointing. But I'm sure it's just me that havn't gotten the gist of it yet. No worries, I will experiment lots

Need to play around with it some more and perfect the brew. As it is, it seems a little difficult to perfect, but the wonderful smell tells me that it's not the shincha's fault, it's my fault.

[heatwaves]

EDIT: Sorry, I meant to edit my previous post. I apparently quoted it instead.

[iannon]

My next shincha: Organic Kagoshima Shincha Magokoro or in other words..the organic Yutaka Midori



the dry leaf has a nice sweet vegetal aroma..not overpowering at all though.




once again I used about 5 oz of water at 160F for 1 min for the 1st infusion.
I am going to go ahead and compare it to my first shincha..the non-organic zencha. The taste of this organic YM is much more mellow and laid back. it doesnt hit you in the face like the Yame did. I did enjoy this mellow flavor just as much though. I guess it depends on what you are desiring at the time.
I was able to coax a good 4 sweet mellow infusions out of this Yukki YM though as compared to the Zencha at 3

[Pentox]

SA Hashiri has landed. Can't wait to try it out!

[iannon]

I am waiting patiently on my 3rd shincha..supposed to be mid may. Its ok..I have the Yukki and Zencha to tide me over.