Senchas taste question

[Rainy-Day]

What is the difference between Sae Midori, Yutaka Midori, Fukamushi and Uji Miyabi, in terms of taste?

[Chip]

That is a tough question, unless I have each in front of me to compare side by side.

Sae Midori and Yutaka Midori are both breed names. They are similar in some regards yet different in others. Both are pretty soupy and full of umami. YM has more flavor while SM tends to be milder (the breed is commonly referred to as a "natural Gyokuro"). Both of these are quite different from the more traditional Yabukita breed teas.

Miyabi and Fukamushi Supreme are good to compare differences in growing region and steaming. I believe they are both Yabukita breed which last I heard accounts for around 85% of total tea output in Japan, though this may be changing with the addtion of newer breeds.

But these two are classic examples. The Fukamushi tends to be milder and sweeter ... when I say milder, that might not be a good way to express it, but it is less astringent, and less bitter (not that Miyabi is bitter, but bitterness is present in almost all sencha) and thus it is perceived as milder. But it is full flavored and sweeter than Miyabi which tends to be more grassy and veggie. I think Miyabi is more aromatic as well.

[clareandromeda]

I've only had the Sae Midori and the Yutaka Midori (I ordered them in shincha form together) and I can tell you the YM is more flavorful, more Umami. It brews much greener too. If you look on O-cha.com's reviews you can see the YM is well loved.

[Chip]

Indeed it is, YM is my fave fr 3-4 years running!

[clareandromeda]

its the sencha that I measure all other sencha against. Its basically the best sencha ever.

[Rainy-Day]

Thanks for great replies! The interesting thing, I had fukamushi and YM first and I drank them over a few weeks but never side by side and while I know there's some difference, I found it to be fairly subtle (aside from more leaf in the cup for Fukamushi). Now I have all of the four types I mentioned delivered yesterday, but I only opened Sae Midori. Again it seems very close in taste to the YM. Almost the same.

But I should try doing them side by side, although I don't really want to open a new bag before I finish the one I started.

It could be because I use less leaf and single infusion method (I just find it easier/more practical). I also found out I like them at a lower temp, at about 135F (with preheating).

[Chip]

I personally would not open all 4 at once, as tempting as it would be. I like my sencha as fresh as possible and the clock starts ticking the second you open the bag.

Really, 135* with preheating. I recently tried one at 140* with preheating which would be similar to 150-155 without preheating. I will have to try the lower temp method ... even more extreme.

[Rainy-Day]

Chip, do you ever do 1 steep, always 3 steeps, sometimes 2 steeps?

[Chip]

... virtually always 5 or even more steeps of good FF sencha. By the 5th, it is usually just a nice sweet tea water, I find it enjoyable and better than just plain ole' water.

This comes down to personal taste albeit, but I want to extract as much flavor from those poor suffering leaves as possible. I can usually smell the warm leaves in the kyusu and determine if they have some more flavor to give up.

[Tea and coffee]

Has anyone tried the Stash brand tea Sencha.
They are actually selling it on their website as ice tea powder.
I bought some from amazon as they had free shipping and so far tried the berry pomegrante-which if fine exept that it does not really taste like berry or pomegranate much.
Still tastes good though.

You could probably use it for hot tea, but haven't tried as I like iced tea in the summer.
I also have tried their lemon ginger sencha ice tea powder and that one is better as it has no sugar.

They also have some unflavored ice tea sencha powder too- haven't tried that one yet.
Are they the only ones to sell powdered Sencha?
usually I would assume it was matcha that is more commonly sold as powder?

I'm hoping to try more Japanese teas sometime, when I have less teas at home!

[Chip]

No, several vendors sell powdered sencha including Den's and O-Cha.

I would not put Stash anywhere on the same level as these. The Stash teas I have had were OK, but nothing to get excited about ... plus these 4 are not flavored, relying instead on the quality of the tea itself to shine.

[Chip]

In honor of this topic, I found a leftover sample of Fukamushi Supreme. Many sencha I am brewing at 1 gram to 1 ounce water ratio, not so with this one. I find this is best at .625 ratio. 4.25 grams per 6.8 ounces (200 ml), 175* in an unpreheated kyusu for 60ish seconds. Yum!

YM and SM can be brewed at much higher ratio ... which is another difference.

[Rainy-Day]

I use one teaspoon (is that about 4-5 grams?) per 11oz kyusu, 2 minutes, one steep. For all senchas I've had so far: SM, YM, Fukamushi.

[Chip]

I use one teaspoon (is that about 4-5 grams?) per 11oz kyusu, 2 minutes, one steep. For all senchas I've had so far: SM, YM, Fukamushi.

I refer to this as a somewhat English style brew method for Sencha. I am glad it works for you!

[Rainy-Day]

One thing that's really impressive about sencha is consistency.. I haven't seen anything like that in any other green, black, oolong, or even white tea. It's a perfect tea for taking a 5 minute break from work, brewing 12 oz or so and drinking it as you get to work. Other greens and whites can be sometimes more subtle and interesting but their taste is too elusive and you miss it unless you pay attention to it.

Sencha is just strong enough to be noticeable even if you're distracted.

Blacks and oolongs have another problem as "work" teas: first there is a peak of energy but then it's over and they leave you tired. They're also slightly irritating and "drying". I really like the taste of some blacks but the effect on the body is not nice like sencha.

I think I understand why Japanese are known as such efficient and productive workers!