The Official Shincha Review Topic of 2008

[witches brew]

Ah, the joys of being home with a cup of tea are immeasurable. It's been a long two weeks, and I am cherishing this weekend along with this fine tea.


Despite my initial dismay that it came in a lumpy green paper parcel, the experience improves greatly from there. The interior packaging is quite elegant, including the pouch of tea itself, which has a white mulberry paper surface, flecked with silver and gold. A simple bow of silver and gold cords tied around the package is the perfect accent.

The dry leaves are deep green with with a few green-gold accents. They are not perfect needles. The scent of the leaves is deep and dark, reminding me of steamed salted asparagus and the sound of a tenor sax. This tea is young, but she is wise in the ways of the world.



Hibiki-an recommends a lot of leaf, 1.5 TABLEspons per 200 ml. Hmmm. Let me start with 2 TEAspoons per 100 ml. and see what happens.

First infusion: 90 seconds, with the water poured leisurely from kettle to yuzamashi to cold pot. The tea is pale green/gold and the asparagus has come out to play, full force. It is a bit more astringent than I expected. I didn't finish the cup, and decided to focus on the next steep. Next time, I'll go for a shorter first infusion.



Second infusion: 30 seconds, with the water being poured smartly this time. The color is deeper and cloudier, and the taste is AHHHH. Rich asparagus, and very little astringency. As it cools, the tangy, salty note of the the dry leaves comes out. I'm liking this very much.

Shall I try a third infusion? Maybe just a sip, in the interests of knowing what this tea can do.

Third infusion: 40 seconds, with the water poured smartly again. The color and flavor are much the same as the second infusion, with a hint more sweetness.

(notes about temperature--I'm no scientist and I don't use a thermometer. Water temperature is measured in terms of speed and motion for me. I think I brew at slightly lower than the recommended temp.)

Now, as the caffeine sends me gently floating (yes, I am THAT sensitive), where does this tea take me? To a place of confidence, of dreams becoming reality, and of having a charmed life, tied up in a gold and silver cord. And yes, the sax is still playing.

(edited to add photos)

[Chip]

*resisting the witch's incantation....resisting....*

Very lovely review WB...I was enchanted!

[bambooforest]

Now, as the caffeine sends me gently floating (yes, I am THAT sensitive), where does this tea take me? To a place of confidence, of dreams becoming reality, and of having a charmed life, tied up in a gold and silver cord. And yes, the sax is still playing.

I'll have what she's having.

[witches brew]

Now, as the caffeine sends me gently floating (yes, I am THAT sensitive), where does this tea take me? To a place of confidence, of dreams becoming reality, and of having a charmed life, tied up in a gold and silver cord. And yes, the sax is still playing.

I'll have what she's having.

The recipe is one part tea and two parts magic.

[Selaphiel]

Tried the Yutaka Midori today using the following parameters: 5,0g, 2dl (6,8oz), 75 degrees celsius for 1,5 minute ( started pouring at 1 min 25 sec). It came out a bit watery, weak aromas, I can only sense hints of aromas of grass and a touch of marine notes, I felt a touch of grilled salmon. Bit weird, I feel that the tea is teasing me, I feel a bitter start when I take a sip and just when I expect the aromas to hit it simply vanishes into nothing or very weak taste.
Anyone have any advise?

[bambooforest]

I didn't buy the shincha of it. But, maybe try less tea and longer steep time? That may allow the flavors to impart themselves better. Before, I brewed the yutaka midori at 3 grams per 5 ounces for 2 minutes at 165 F. 2 mnutes + the pour. Or, you could try a variation of the above. Good luck, it's a gangbuster tea.

[Chip]

Den's Hashiri, Shizuoka prefecture, the first of the first picked 2008. This is truly about TeaExperience. $52 included 3 ounces of leaf, a unique tin, and the "shincha kyusu." Shipping was free for over $50 purchase. I rate it at 3.75-4 out of 5 depending on my mood, lower if I was basing this strictly on taste, a little higher if I was factoring in the special nature of the tea.

The leaf consists primarily of needles, fresh scented, a good green color, but not as green as later picked shincha.

Reading between the lines of Den's notes on this tea reveals that this was picked before optimum time for flavor revealing a "naive bitterness" of immaturity. There is good and not so good about this tea as a result. It is one of the more astringent if not the most astringent shincha I have ever had.

It has a faint sweetness that is largely overshadowed by a mild asparagus flavor, which in turn is largely overshadowed by the dominant astringency. Aside from the assertive astringency, everything else clearly takes a back seat. The effect gives it a kind of kick the likes of which I have not experienced. Yet it has a clear clean fresh taste that is very refreshing.

The primary point of this shicha is that it was the first shincha picked (in relation to what is not fully revealed to the reader).

The overall effect to this taster was that the flavor lacked the depth of a shincha picked in its prime, a sacrifice made to pick it earliest. It seemed thin, uneven, and yet it is so different, I like it. It is not what I would call a top value given its 37 USD per 3 ounce price tag, but given that it was purchased as a gift set and the kyusu that came with it worked out to around 10 USD, the value was somewhat enhanced. The tin is a keeper!

[RussianSoul]

It has a faint sweetness that is largely overshadowed by a mild asparagus flavor, which in turn is largely overshadowed by the dominant astringency. Aside from the assertive astringency, everything else clearly takes a back seat.

Thank you for a detailed review! I must say that it sounds a bit scary with all this talk about astringency. (I haven't opened mine yet). To use lay terms - is it bitter?

[Chip]

It has a faint sweetness that is largely overshadowed by a mild asparagus flavor, which in turn is largely overshadowed by the dominant astringency. Aside from the assertive astringency, everything else clearly takes a back seat.

Thank you for a detailed review! I must say that it sounds a bit scary with all this talk about astringency. (I haven't opened mine yet). To use lay terms - is it bitter?

If brewed harshly at all, or if one is sensitive to astringency, yes, it will seem bitter. Inspectoring I suspect has a hair raising experience each time he has it. It is such a bold contrast to the other shincha I am drinking right now (Shincha Fukamushi/hibiki-an), that I do enjoy it, but it will not please everyone.

I brewed first steep at the recommended 160*, forgot to mention parametrs in my review.

[scruffmcgruff]

Hey guys, I have a couple of shincha reviews on mah blawg-- here are the linkies (too lazy to cross-post, but I can if you all prefer):

O-Cha Kirameki
O-Cha Yukata Midori

[Jack_teachat]

I too have found the Yutaka Midori rather different from last years Sencha. Much of that grilled salmon edge which was very noticeable appears to have gone, the tea also appears to be a touch more astringent and noticably thicker and grassier.

My parameters (without a scale) are... 1 heaped TEAspoon, 250ml water, 65-70 degress centigrade. STEEPS: 1.5 mins, 5-10 secs, 30 secs, 1 min, 1.5 mins, 2 mins.

I have varied the temp in order to try and soften the astringency slightly but without much success, I have also tried Chip's method of adding the leaves to the pot after the water. For my next attempt I'm Going to try a little less leaf.

Jack

[olivierco]

Did anyone try Ippodo's shincha (this year or previous years)?

I was considering to buy some matcha from Ippodo in a few months but I could perhaps place this order sooner to add some shincha to it. As I have already four shinchas (Kaburagien, Kirameki, Miyabi and Hibiki-an Shincha traditional), I would like to know what kind of shincha it is.

[Salsero]

I am also curious about Ippodo. I loved their Matcha kit, but most of that wasn't even tea! For a combination of reasons I decided to go with O-Cha, Hibiki-An, Maiko, and Den's, and never ordered anything from Ippodo. I think maybe they didn't have info about their shincha up as early as some of the others.

[kongni]

Hi everyone! This is my first post here. Thanks for all of the great shincha reviews! It's great to see that there are plenty of other shincha addicts out ther just like me

I just got some of the organic shincha from Hibiki-an. I have a bunch of other organic shinchas ordered from varoius place sso I will try to write reviews for all of them, time permitting.
The Shincha came in a plain bag with aluminum lining. Nothing fancy. It's not packed with the air sucked out of the bag like some other shinchas I've gotten from other places. I feel like since there was room to move in the bag, many of the leaves got broken on the way to the USA so it was a mix of whole needles and bits and pieces. The color is nice but maybe not the greenest I've seen.



I've been using one heaping teaspoon for two cups of tea. First steep is usually at a relatively low temp (sorry I use my eyes and ears, not a thermometer) for a little over a miinute.The first brew has a nice grassy smell and a typical smooooooth shincha taste . Yum! The second steep was closer to boiling temps for 2 minutes or so. It's less grassy and has a mild sweet taste to it. I tried a third steep but didn't get much. Just made me have too pee .I think it's because the first two steeps are always pretty strong.

Also worth noting, I double stteped the leaves one time and put both steeps onto a mason jar to take with me to my art studio. After the brew had time to cool off it had a pronounced honey-like aroma and the grassyness wasn't really there anymore. WOW! Temperature, steep time, number of steeps, and how long you let it sit really makes a difference!



Up next, organic shincha from Japanese Green Tea Online. Last year this stuff TOTally blew my mind! It was beautiful to look at and made some tea that was SO neon green that it looked like Gatoraid! No joke!

[Salsero]

Welcome Kongni. Thanks for the review.