Official what GREEN are you currently drinking?

[Sententia]

I'm drinking Dragonwell, very nice tea.

[Cole]

A little 88th Night's Shincha from Denshiro to start the week off right. Still can't get it to hold up past a third infusion, but maybe I'm just not used to Asamushi senchas? Tasty otherwise

[sherubtse]

I have just opened the bag of 2010 SM that I received several weeks ago from O-Cha. A very nice tea -- mild first infusion, with a little more pep second time 'round. I'll play around with the brewing to see what happens.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[Kunkali]

A 2011 shincha houjicha iced using hibiki-an's japanese tea farmer's recipe
With a splash of almond milk

[strickmr]

A 2011 shincha houjicha iced using hibiki-an's japanese tea farmer's recipe
With a splash of almond milk

That sounds outstanding. I'm going to have to try that now.

[debunix]

Had a nice session this morning with some Dragon Well. Mmm. A nice treat after an early (tealess) start to the day.

[Kunkali]

Organic jasmine pearls from JK teashop

[FlyedPiper]

Throwback Warashina Supreme from O-Cha. 2010 vintage. Very nice!

[Fuyou]

Kyo no Tsuyu from Maiko Tea. So nice!

[Tobias]

Finishing a sample of Tài Píng Hóu Kuí, quite tasty after I increased the leaf ratio.

[Cole]

Had an awesome session of Kiri no mori matcha a couple hours ago. I got my first chawan and chasen about a month ago, and my fiancee is even better at whisking it up than I am! She got such a delicious, thick foam out of the matcha I practically drank it all in one gulp.

MAN this stuff is good when you do it right

[sherubtse]

Had an awesome session of Kiri no mori matcha a couple hours ago. I got my first chawan and chasen about a month ago, and my fiancee is even better at whisking it up than I am! She got such a delicious, thick foam out of the matcha I practically drank it all in one gulp.

MAN this stuff is good when you do it right

I have some of this waiting at the p.o. for pick-up tomorrow. Good to hear that it is a good matcha. (But I'm not surprised, as I have heard good reports from others about it as well.)

What were your brewing parameters? I haven't made any matcha for a long time, and the last stuff I had was not very good.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[Chip]

Shincha Miyabi from the O-C ... the new version. Tasted a little reminiscent of gyokuro. But still playing with this one.

[Cole]

Jealous of the Miyabi, Chip! That blend sounded delicious online, but I had to save a couple bucks and go with the Chiran shincha in my last order. Did the umami/sweetness last through multiple sessions, or just the low temperature steeps? I've found that I can usually get a little more umami out of the second or third steeping of the Chiran, oddly enough!

What were your brewing parameters [for the Kiri no Mori]? I haven't made any matcha for a long time, and the last stuff I had was not very good.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

The Kiri no Mori is a very mellow, welcoming matcha. I've burnt it with hot water, drowned it in cold, and (just recently!) made it correctly, and it's always been smooth and tasty. But if you can whisk up a proper foam -- or happen to know someone who has the magic touch -- it's even better when it's thick and frothy.

My matcha making parameters aren't very precise, but I like to soak the chawan and chasen in warm water while I sift two medium chashaku scoops of matcha into a separate small cup. Once the water has boiled, I pour the lukewarm water out of my chawan and fill it with some boiling water to really warm the cup/soften the chasen. After all this, the water in my kettle is right around the correct temperature (185*); so I dry the chawan, pour in a tiny amount of water (2-4oz), and get to whisking!

Hope this helps!

[brlarson]

I'm in heaven. I just popped the top on a can of 1st prize temomicha from Shirakawa in Gifu (Kaburagien). Only the first infusion so far, 10grams of leaf in 2 ozs of water at 100F for 2 minutes: intense asparagus/artichoke cradled in rich sweet delicate sencha. Very long finish, with more sweet balanced against the bitter! Very refined. Mmmmm.

Sharing this with my son and his friend who likes Japanese tea.