Apr 27th, '09, 19:18
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Apr 27th, '09, 21:07
Posts: 281
Joined: Mar 6th, '08, 18:02
Location: immersed in tea
Contact:
trent
Apr 27th, '09, 21:31
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Well, for nonshincha, I was going with a gram leaf per ounce water. I lowered the temp following the site and BLarson's recommendation from 160* to 150ish ... in a preheated kyusu. I brewed it for 40ish sec for the first steep, treating it like the fukamushi that it is.danibob wrote:Oh man, that new midori sounds so good. I'm tempted but I already bought too much tea.
Speaking of, my order from Zencha arrived today. Anyone have parameters for the Takumi shincha?
You may need to adjust down on leaf since shincha can have more intensity. I think last time I went with 5.5 grams per 6 ounces water.
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!
That sounds fantastic, Trent. Thank you for the review. I had already preordered my o-cha shincha before the Sae Midori was added so now I will have to add this on or order it separately. Maybe I'll wait and see what other new teas they're going to bring in. I'm definitely going to have to try the Sae Midori though. 
I would like to try out all the shincha from my favourite shops, but my budget doesn`t allow me to preorder, I recently ordered 2 packs from zencha, 2 packs from maiko, and 2 shincha from hibiki-an (fukamushi and traditional), that left o-cha out, but with this new sae midori, and sofar all the teas that were named midori (yutaka midori, fugenji midori) were absolutely great, I feel like I am missing out on something, how long has the shincha season lasted last year at o-cha.com , could I order tea in mid may after 10th of may, would shincha be available? How long does shincha last unopened, if I get in the month of may 800 grams of tea, many shops say you should drink it in a month, from 800 gramms of shincha in a month I could end in having sleepless nights.
You should be able to get shincha from o-cha by the end of May. Some might however be out of stock by then (Kirameki).Oni wrote:I would like to try out all the shincha from my favourite shops, but my budget doesn`t allow me to preorder, I recently ordered 2 packs from zencha, 2 packs from maiko, and 2 shincha from hibiki-an (fukamushi and traditional), that left o-cha out, but with this new sae midori, and sofar all the teas that were named midori (yutaka midori, fugenji midori) were absolutely great, I feel like I am missing out on something, how long has the shincha season lasted last year at o-cha.com , could I order tea in mid may after 10th of may, would shincha be available? How long does shincha last unopened, if I get in the month of may 800 grams of tea, many shops say you should drink it in a month, from 800 gramms of shincha in a month I could end in having sleepless nights.
Shincha is not different from any regular sencha. Properly stored you should be able to keep it for three months.
You shouldn't focus too much on shincha anyway, regular versions (when they exist) are quite as good.
Apr 28th, '09, 08:36
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Some people buy shincha for the entire year and store it in the fridge. While I do not buy shincha for a year, I have on occassion had a shincha for 9, 10, or 11ish months.
Since shincha is processed less than regular sencha and theoretically has a higher water content, once a bag is opened, it degrades much faster than nonshincha. I also feel the further you get from shincha and open a bag, the degradation gets faster. No studies out there to back that up, just personal feelings and comments I have read.
But as Olivier mentioned, it should be fine for at least 3 months w/o a problem as long as you are cold storing properly, and once open, you use it quickly.
Some people focus heavily on shincha. I tend to be one of them, but there is always sencha available. And you can never try them all ... this is when sharing with others is helpful. I try to share shincha.
I also have a theory that since shincha has a higher moisture content, it can be freshened through an extremely careful heating, maybe, maybe not. I have never felt overly compelled to test this out since I think I store Japanese greens pretty well.
Since shincha is processed less than regular sencha and theoretically has a higher water content, once a bag is opened, it degrades much faster than nonshincha. I also feel the further you get from shincha and open a bag, the degradation gets faster. No studies out there to back that up, just personal feelings and comments I have read.
But as Olivier mentioned, it should be fine for at least 3 months w/o a problem as long as you are cold storing properly, and once open, you use it quickly.
Some people focus heavily on shincha. I tend to be one of them, but there is always sencha available. And you can never try them all ... this is when sharing with others is helpful. I try to share shincha.
I also have a theory that since shincha has a higher moisture content, it can be freshened through an extremely careful heating, maybe, maybe not. I have never felt overly compelled to test this out since I think I store Japanese greens pretty well.
Thanks for the answer, and I don`t want to bite out more than I could chew, so my monthly dose is 400 grams of japanese green tea. Honestly this year I wanted to try some chinese green tea, but this topic made me crazy about shincha, and I spent all the "teamoney" on shincha, so no upgrading the teaware selection, no chinese greens, no oolong, just Shincha for the month of may.
Apr 28th, '09, 08:39
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
... but how can you NOT try the Sae Midori ... 
May is a good month to focus on shincha in general, if not May, when? I tend to be somewhat seasonal with my logic driven cravings. A lot of focus on shincha in the Spring. Sencha in the Summer. Fall and Winter other teas become more prominant due to logic, such as gyokuro and matcha since the leaf is tradtionally aged 6ish months anyway.
May is a good month to focus on shincha in general, if not May, when? I tend to be somewhat seasonal with my logic driven cravings. A lot of focus on shincha in the Spring. Sencha in the Summer. Fall and Winter other teas become more prominant due to logic, such as gyokuro and matcha since the leaf is tradtionally aged 6ish months anyway.
O-Cha Fukamushi Shincha Supreme now in stock! 
My tea pics...
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2 ... =223801330
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2 ... =223801330
