Sencha

[Maitre_Tea]

I've been drinking Japanese greens for sometime now, and although I know the different "categories" of Sencha (like light-steamed, medium-steamed, deep-steamed), so what are some of the defining characteristics I should be looking for in each one? I've only tried fukamushi and chumushi, and I think in the fukamushi especially I notice a really nice sweetness...Oh yes, and what about Kabusecha? I tried some the other day and I really enjoyed the umami flavor. Can't wait to get my hands on some Gyokuro for the full-blown umami flavor.

[Oni]

I don`t know why Kabusecha is not favoured in Uji region, they generally do not pay attention to this category of tea, and it is cheap... Anyway if you try gyokuro remember to concentrate the brew, use small amount of water, if the quality is super high, you can concentrate it as you desire, I use a houhin set, you can use houhin, shiboradashi, or susuricha to prepare gyokuro, I recomend trying all the methods, and remember that yame gyokuro is not the same as Uji gyokuro, it is more likely for you to find more Uji gyokuro on the tea market, yame is rare, I generally use 10 grams for 100 - 120 ml water and 2 minutes, 30`, 1`, 1.30`, 2 min., 5 min.

[Kevangogh]

Just because they don't favor it in Uji (that's the first time I've heard that) doesn't mean it's not worth drinking. Kabusecha can be really good green tea.

[Oni]

I draw this conclusion because all the tea producers and tea merchants only carry one Kabusecha product, while they have lots of sencha and gyokuro, o-cha has only one, horaido has only one, marukyu-koyamaen has one (or two I don`t remember), the rest do not have this product, but instead they name it netto gyokuro or gyokuro covered by the method of jikagise.
But did you know that last year Uji won first price in the Kabusecha section of the all japan tea competition (Ayabeshi Uji Kyoto).

[Kevangogh]

Actually, O-Cha has two - one organic and one not.

I wouldn't go by the results of those contests too much. Yeah, the ones that win are certainly good, but I can tell you that many of the premier brands/companies do not participate in the contests.

[TEAcipes]

you can't really add variety to kabusecha- it's just a covered tea tree after all. technically gyokuro is like a kabusecha too (only with more TLC), so cheap-o brands will have 'gyokuro' products which are just tea trees cultivated 'kabuse-style'. i think the only factor that you can tweak with is the tea breed/blend.

that said, i think the main characteristic of fukamushi is its lack of astringence. it's much more milder and less grassy at the nose, and has that murky deep green color.
asamushi is clear and yellow-green. chumushi, i would assume, is an inbetween?

there are other types of sen-cha you might want to try too - like guri-cha. guri-cha is pan-steamed and is curly, with flavor characteristics similar to fukamushi. it is delicious iced, imo.
also, there's me-cha, or bud/tip tea. me-cha is especially known for its high flavor density.

[Kevangogh]

Well, there is some variety. It's like Yutaka Midori - there are a zillion of them out there now and while they all look pretty much the same, they don't all taste the same, or great.

[Oni]

High quality gyokuro is made from old plants that have deeper, richer taste, so is koicha matcha made too, I read that those plants are about 40 years old, and they are covered longer than kabusecha, and some tea makers cover it gradually over a period of 21 days, and some use straw, the say when the rain hits the straw and falls through it is enriched with trace elements and minerals, so it is beneficial to the plants, kabusecha is not neceserally made from old plants, and it is not covered like gyokuro, they cover it for a shorter period of time, and with artificial materials, and they justy put a blanket over the bush, not the Tana way.

[Kevangogh]

For kabusecha they use 45% shade cloth for 2 weeks. They don't just lay it on the plants, they build a structure over it. For gyokuro it's 90% shade for 3 weeks. Sometimes they use straw, but sometimes they use shade cloth as well.

[Tead Off]

I have only had a Yuuki-cha organic fukamushi Yutaka sencha. Although the tea is pleasant and I am able to brew it well, I think, it is an inelegant mess. A blob of mush after the 1st infusion which I admit turns me off greatly. Are there alternative senchas that do not form compost in my teapot? I enjoy looking at leaves, admiring their shapes.

[Maitre_Tea]

I have only had a Yuuki-cha organic fukamushi Yutaka sencha. Although the tea is pleasant and I am able to brew it well, I think, it is an inelegant mess. A blob of mush after the 1st infusion which I admit turns me off greatly. Are there alternative senchas that do not form compost in my teapot? I enjoy looking at leaves, admiring their shapes.

I would think that asamushi, the kind that's steamed the least, would probably have the nicest looking leaf. I agree with you about the fukamushi. I use a strainer, in addition to the one in my kyusu, and there are so many particles about just one steeping that it clogs up the darn thing. I think I'll just get used to drinking some of the leaf along with the tea.

[Chip]

I have only had a Yuuki-cha organic fukamushi Yutaka sencha. Although the tea is pleasant and I am able to brew it well, I think, it is an inelegant mess. A blob of mush after the 1st infusion which I admit turns me off greatly. Are there alternative senchas that do not form compost in my teapot? I enjoy looking at leaves, admiring their shapes.

Well, maybe you are an asamushi man? Fukamushi will never display a kyusu full of leaves, it is just not going to happen.

Still, fukamushi is enjoyable and not really a soggy mess if it is poured properly, carefully. But the leaf is what it is, deep steamed broken particles.

Japanese tea will virtually never compare to "fried" Chinese teas.

[Tead Off]

Fried Chinese leaf? I don't know where you have been buying your Chinese teas, but, fried is not an adjective I would ever use to describe the best Chinese teas. I would go 1 step further and say, no Japanese tea could ever compare to a great Chinese tea. Not even remotely close. But, I still enjoy Japanese tea for what it is. But, it ain't Chinese tea, for sure.

[Chip]

Fried Chinese leaf? I don't know where you have been buying your Chinese teas, but, fried is not an adjective I would ever use to describe the best Chinese teas. I would go 1 step further and say, no Japanese tea could ever compare to a great Chinese tea. Not even remotely close. But, I still enjoy Japanese tea for what it is. But, it ain't Chinese tea, for sure.

Fried is simply referring to pan fired or similar firing methods, a much different method than steaming which was the point of my post, the huge difference in processing yielding vastly different results. I did not coin this term (one reason I have it in quotes, the other being it is not like fried in oil) but have heard it many times. My post was actually complimentary in intent. Unlike your post I suspect which appeared quite intent to be uncomplimentary?

It is good to say that Japanese tea can not compare to Chinese, because it is like comparing apples and oranges. Virtually no similarities.

The best Japanese teas and the best Chinese green teas are spectacular. I personally crave Japanese tea, the more vibrant and steamed green. I still enjoy a beautiful premium Chinese green in all its beauty such as Xi Hu Long Jing. I HAVE had some of the best Chinese greens available to the West, so let's not hurl personal insults without the facts.

Like what you drink and drink what you like, a wise tea drinker once said on TeaChat.

[Tead Off]

I don't know anyone who refers to Chinese tea as being fried. Roasted is the common term, quite different from fried.

Don't take it so personal, Chip. Japanese tea is different than Chinese teas. And, if I didn't like them, I wouldn't post here at all. But, big but, I will go on record as saying NOTHING surpasses a great Chinese tea as far as flavor and aroma goes. In a certain sense, I view Japanese teas as sort of a novelty act. I like novelty acts. But, great tea?