Anyone tried out or have any advice regarding the Dens shincha - kunpu and houryoku?
I will greatly appreciate this as I am contemplating wether or not I should pull the trigger....I did go ahead with Hashiri and believe me - it was NOT what I expected....
Jun 2nd, '08, 19:15
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Jun 3rd, '08, 00:56
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Hey everyone, thanks for posting all of the great shincha reviews!!!
I would like to post my impressions of the organic shincha I ordered from Japanese Green Tea Online. I hope to continue writing reviews for every organic shincha I have odered this year (four kinds total). I am by no means an 'expert tea taster' but here goes...
The bag of organic shincha I got from Japanese Green Tea Online was vacuum sealed and hard as a brick. When I opened it and examined it the tea looked like a fukamushi style tea crossed with farmer's tea(please help, is there another word for this when talking about shincha?). Basically it has some nice long needle-like leaves, some light colored twig leaves, and pulverized leaves mixed together. The leaves were not a vibrant green but a more subdued light color which I did not expect. Each time I steeped the leaves the water was well below boiling and I was able to get a good four steeps out of the leaf. By adding just a pinch of leaf after that I was able to get another three strong steeps out of it. This is a technique that a guy at a tea shop in Japan Town in San Fran taught me. It works really well for this kind of tea!
The first steep was a virant green color, slightly cloudy and had a nice 'pine and vegetal' flavor. The second steep was very vegetal and sweet. The third and fourth were still sweet and the tea still had a nice green color to it. After that I added a pich of new leaf and it was like a new pot again!
I highly recommend this tea to anyone wanting to try organic varieties!
Here's a pic:
[/img]
I would like to post my impressions of the organic shincha I ordered from Japanese Green Tea Online. I hope to continue writing reviews for every organic shincha I have odered this year (four kinds total). I am by no means an 'expert tea taster' but here goes...
The bag of organic shincha I got from Japanese Green Tea Online was vacuum sealed and hard as a brick. When I opened it and examined it the tea looked like a fukamushi style tea crossed with farmer's tea(please help, is there another word for this when talking about shincha?). Basically it has some nice long needle-like leaves, some light colored twig leaves, and pulverized leaves mixed together. The leaves were not a vibrant green but a more subdued light color which I did not expect. Each time I steeped the leaves the water was well below boiling and I was able to get a good four steeps out of the leaf. By adding just a pinch of leaf after that I was able to get another three strong steeps out of it. This is a technique that a guy at a tea shop in Japan Town in San Fran taught me. It works really well for this kind of tea!
The first steep was a virant green color, slightly cloudy and had a nice 'pine and vegetal' flavor. The second steep was very vegetal and sweet. The third and fourth were still sweet and the tea still had a nice green color to it. After that I added a pich of new leaf and it was like a new pot again!
I highly recommend this tea to anyone wanting to try organic varieties!
Here's a pic:
[/img]
Jun 5th, '08, 22:02
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Sounds very much like an shincha aracha or farmer shincha (pretty much the same thing)...not the highest grade for sure. This is not uncommon for organic for it to be a wild mix of components, perhaps the result of less processing.
Thanx for sharing with us. Funny..I was just saying to someone days ago that I never ever hear of anyone trying GTOL teas. This is possibly the first time I ever heard first hand from someone.
Thanx for sharing with us. Funny..I was just saying to someone days ago that I never ever hear of anyone trying GTOL teas. This is possibly the first time I ever heard first hand from someone.
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!
Jun 5th, '08, 22:52
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Little update, I got this information from the teashop about old and modern versions of shincha:Photiou wrote:I am still waiting for my shincha order - I was a bit late this year.
I ordered traditional and modern shincha - modern should have milder taste according to the merchant (?).
So the modern version is some sort of more steamed tea. Hopefully only mildly steamed.Old style;
minimum manure or fertilizer, and steam just in order to stop fermentation
This way makes tea bitter and astringent , but leave rich aroma.
Modern style;
Enough manure or fertilizer, and a little more steamed
This way makes tea milder and sweeter.
People who know tea very well take old style, and young people (or few
experience for tea) prefer modern style.
My first impression on Ippodo Shincha. (ca 25$/100gr shipping costs included, also available in 50gr packages)
Even nicer leaves than Kirameki.
I brewed it according to Ippodo's instructions
10g 7oz 80°C (non preheated teapot) 30s (5s 15s 30s for the subsequent steeps: I stopped there, but a 5th steep is possible)
Asamushi, so a yellow color, a taste somewhere around Kirameki and Miyabi.
Not very astringent so I guess I could try longer steeping times for the next sessions.
Even nicer leaves than Kirameki.
I brewed it according to Ippodo's instructions
10g 7oz 80°C (non preheated teapot) 30s (5s 15s 30s for the subsequent steeps: I stopped there, but a 5th steep is possible)
Asamushi, so a yellow color, a taste somewhere around Kirameki and Miyabi.
Not very astringent so I guess I could try longer steeping times for the next sessions.
Jun 6th, '08, 14:56
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That is good news. I have 50 grams of the Ippodo Uji Shincha unopened in cold storage, was going to try it tomorrow.olivierco wrote:This tea belongs in the "tea that leaves you with a big smile on your face" category.Salsero wrote: This sounds like pretty high praise? (Especially from a Frenchman who only drinks 10-12 bottles of wine per year.)
Jun 6th, '08, 23:03
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Fukamushi Redwing Hat Trick
I have 3 very fine Fukamushi open presently. I cannot believe how good they are...and each differing from the other. So, I offer you a hat trick review. Reviewed in order opened, yet it is amazing how this actually worked out.
1) Shincha Fukamushi, limited offering from hibiki-an, Uji. 3rd pick.
2) Fukamushi Supreme, O-Cha, Shizuoka. First pick.
3) Fukamushi Maki, Den's, Shizuoka. 2nd pick.
The biggest tip I can give you with these fukamushi, slow pour. It takes about 15 seconds for me to pour the first few steeps. This will give you a sweeter, smoother brew every time. It also prevents clogging of the screen during pouring, a potential problem with fukamushi. I also pour the next steeps water over the screen area of the pot to dislodge particles as much as possible. If it is too smooth for you, speed up the pour or slightly stir up the leaf particles as you pour.
All 3 had typical fine leaf particles of fuamushi and remarkable fresh aroma.
All three offered similar brewed leaf visual characteristics including a very green 2nd and 3rd steeps.
1) Shincha Fukamushi limited offering from hiki-an, Uji. Offered only as shincha and is sold out. 5.5 grams per 180 ml at 168* (preheated) for around a minute or so, flexible brewer. 5 steeps. 4.75 out of 5 rating.
I haved declared this as the sweetest of all shincha I have ever tried. From the dry leaf to the last steep. It is as smooth as silk and is devoid of any detectable astringency. This is leaf from the Siemidori breed which is prized for its sweetness and smooth character. Sweet corn and nuts were my first impression. Only slightly vegetal, not grassy.
This is what would be hibiki-an's premium grade fukamushi if he offered one (according to the owner). I was mesmorized by its overall sweetness, the smoothness was quite remarkable and unique.
If I had to complain, it would be that it was too smooth.
2)Fukamushi Supreme, O-Cha, Shizuoka. 5.5 grams per 180 ml at 160* (preheated) for 1 plus minute, another flexible brewer. 5 very good steeps, 5 out of 5 rating.
I had this last year, though not as shincha. It is a newcomer to the O-Cha line up and a hit! When I first tried it, I was stunned how smooth it was, expecting crazy intensity and astringency. This exhibits a very mild astingency and really very controllable intensity. It is such an easy brewer as long as you pay a little attention, the parameters can really be played with with rarely a complaint...just easy on the temp and "slow pour" for sweetness and smoothness. It is very well balanced.
I reach for this one quite often, especially given its sweet balanced characteristics and ease in brewing. It is hard to mess up.
I thought this was as close to a perfect fukamushi as I could find, still a few out there to be tried. But this is outstanding and a great value at 23 bucks a hundred grams.
3) Fukamushi Maki, Den's, Shizuoka. 5.5 grams per 180 ml at 162* (preheated) for up to a minute. 5 steeps. 5 out of 5 rating.
This is farly flexible in brewing but not quite as the other two. This is due to slightly more astringency giving it a pleasant kick. It is by far the most astringent of the 3, but I would not hold it against it since I also found it to be very balanced and flavorful and not quite as sweet as the other 2.
If I want something bolder with kick, I grab this right now. Again, I paid attention to slow pouring and this really seemed to help even out the 2nd and 3rd steeps that if not poured carefully will definitely increase the astringency level significantly.
Den was brewing this selection at the Expo. He prefers it bold and astringent, perhaps a more Japanese preference. Gringos like me like it sweeter and less astringent. This can be made very astringent if you like it that way by increasing brew time or temp and pouring more briskly allowing more particles to be swept into the infusion.
1) Shincha Fukamushi, limited offering from hibiki-an, Uji. 3rd pick.
2) Fukamushi Supreme, O-Cha, Shizuoka. First pick.
3) Fukamushi Maki, Den's, Shizuoka. 2nd pick.
The biggest tip I can give you with these fukamushi, slow pour. It takes about 15 seconds for me to pour the first few steeps. This will give you a sweeter, smoother brew every time. It also prevents clogging of the screen during pouring, a potential problem with fukamushi. I also pour the next steeps water over the screen area of the pot to dislodge particles as much as possible. If it is too smooth for you, speed up the pour or slightly stir up the leaf particles as you pour.
All 3 had typical fine leaf particles of fuamushi and remarkable fresh aroma.
All three offered similar brewed leaf visual characteristics including a very green 2nd and 3rd steeps.
1) Shincha Fukamushi limited offering from hiki-an, Uji. Offered only as shincha and is sold out. 5.5 grams per 180 ml at 168* (preheated) for around a minute or so, flexible brewer. 5 steeps. 4.75 out of 5 rating.
I haved declared this as the sweetest of all shincha I have ever tried. From the dry leaf to the last steep. It is as smooth as silk and is devoid of any detectable astringency. This is leaf from the Siemidori breed which is prized for its sweetness and smooth character. Sweet corn and nuts were my first impression. Only slightly vegetal, not grassy.
This is what would be hibiki-an's premium grade fukamushi if he offered one (according to the owner). I was mesmorized by its overall sweetness, the smoothness was quite remarkable and unique.
If I had to complain, it would be that it was too smooth.
2)Fukamushi Supreme, O-Cha, Shizuoka. 5.5 grams per 180 ml at 160* (preheated) for 1 plus minute, another flexible brewer. 5 very good steeps, 5 out of 5 rating.
I had this last year, though not as shincha. It is a newcomer to the O-Cha line up and a hit! When I first tried it, I was stunned how smooth it was, expecting crazy intensity and astringency. This exhibits a very mild astingency and really very controllable intensity. It is such an easy brewer as long as you pay a little attention, the parameters can really be played with with rarely a complaint...just easy on the temp and "slow pour" for sweetness and smoothness. It is very well balanced.
I reach for this one quite often, especially given its sweet balanced characteristics and ease in brewing. It is hard to mess up.
I thought this was as close to a perfect fukamushi as I could find, still a few out there to be tried. But this is outstanding and a great value at 23 bucks a hundred grams.
3) Fukamushi Maki, Den's, Shizuoka. 5.5 grams per 180 ml at 162* (preheated) for up to a minute. 5 steeps. 5 out of 5 rating.
This is farly flexible in brewing but not quite as the other two. This is due to slightly more astringency giving it a pleasant kick. It is by far the most astringent of the 3, but I would not hold it against it since I also found it to be very balanced and flavorful and not quite as sweet as the other 2.
If I want something bolder with kick, I grab this right now. Again, I paid attention to slow pouring and this really seemed to help even out the 2nd and 3rd steeps that if not poured carefully will definitely increase the astringency level significantly.
Den was brewing this selection at the Expo. He prefers it bold and astringent, perhaps a more Japanese preference. Gringos like me like it sweeter and less astringent. This can be made very astringent if you like it that way by increasing brew time or temp and pouring more briskly allowing more particles to be swept into the infusion.