Two Tea Questions

[Yemstar]

Hey guys, it's about that time where i need to restock on some good ol' green! I will probably end up ordering from O-cha, but i was in china town a few days ago and saw this:


1. Was wondering if anyone had seen/tasted/even knew what these types are etc...:


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2. Also, where do i get tea that looks like this after brewing?
I have never seen tea like it:



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I should really stop looking around for tea everywhere!

[Chip]

If you had good sencha from online vendors, you will be disappointed with Chinatown fare when it comes to sencha! You can try it, but I have never been pleased.

Plus it could be blended with who knows what including Chinese and Brazilian versions of sencha that lower end producers of sencha utilize to lower their costs and increase profits ... at the expense of taste.

Not to mention freshness issues.

Picture #2 I will leave to those who have had it this year, but I know Sugimoto USA had it during shincha for preorder. The name eludes me at the moment.

[EDIT] Temomi is the likely name of the whole leaf sencha in your 2nd photo.

It is also sold on Japanese language sites. Iannon had this, hopefully he can enlighten us ... again!

[entropyembrace]

it can´t be that bad, the leaves look nice anyway.

[Chip]

it can´t be that bad, the leaves look nice anyway.

Photo 1 and 2 are unrelated ... No Temomi to be found in Chinatown at any price. Temomi runs around 15-30 USD per 10 gram mini packet (how it usually seems to be sold) depending on grade and source.

[togei]

The second picture looks like the tea grown in the area I am in, Yamato cha. Temomi would give you the stems but the color of the leaves suggests an early first cut. I guess everyone knows Te = hand, momi = action of rubbing together between the hands = hand picked. I will look later today and see if there is a Japanese vendor that will send overseas at Japanese prices.
Dave

[Proinsias]

I guess everyone knows Te = hand, momi = action of rubbing together between the hands = hand picked.

Cheers Dave, I did not know this

[Chip]

Looks like Temomi leaves that have been steeped several time to me. I actually have some of your shincha Togei which appears more broken. Temomi is whole leaf as I am sure you already know.

But I could be wrong, it has been 3ish years since I had a 10 gram sample of it. Although I do not remember the stems being left that long.

Here is a post by Iannon with photos. http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 45#p158098

Here is one of Iannon's photos ... 3rd steep ...


And the site I believe Iannon scored this leaf ... if you read japanese. Hopefully Iannon will share his interesting experience!
http://hiruma-en.ddo.jp/kodawarinosyouh ... %2033.html

[iannon]

yes! he (Hiruma) actually has or had very recently quite a few different Temomi in stock from this year at a wide range of quality and prices. He sent me an english version email list with prices and such. if anyone wants shoot me a pm and i can send you what he had at the time which was oh about 3 weeks ago.

[iannon]

yes! he (Hiruma) actually has or had very recently quite a few different Temomi in stock from this year at a wide range of quality and prices. He sent me an english version email list with prices and such. if anyone wants shoot me a pm and i can send you what he had at the time which was oh about 3 weeks ago.

by the way jut as an example.the lowest price one i see is about $6.40 for 20 grams..the highest 64 bucks for 3 grams

[Yemstar]

Thanks for the help guys. Temomicha looks absolutely AMAZING! I must have some!

[Oni]

En Shu Lu YU looks exactly like temomicha. I could sell it as japanese temomi cha, but after 2 infusions you can notice a typical chinese green tea taste.

[Chip]

yes! he (Hiruma) actually has or had very recently quite a few different Temomi in stock from this year at a wide range of quality and prices. He sent me an english version email list with prices and such. if anyone wants shoot me a pm and i can send you what he had at the time which was oh about 3 weeks ago.

by the way jut as an example.the lowest price one i see is about $6.40 for 20 grams..the highest 64 bucks for 3 grams

Holy Moly!

How much was yours? And did you order more?

[Chip]

Thanks for the help guys. Temomicha looks absolutely AMAZING! I must have some!

*seriously tempted as well!*

This would make a really intense OTTI, several different selections.

[iannon]

yes! he (Hiruma) actually has or had very recently quite a few different Temomi in stock from this year at a wide range of quality and prices. He sent me an english version email list with prices and such. if anyone wants shoot me a pm and i can send you what he had at the time which was oh about 3 weeks ago.

by the way jut as an example.the lowest price one i see is about $6.40 for 20 grams..the highest 64 bucks for 3 grams

Holy Moly!

How much was yours? And did you order more?

mine were around the 7 or 8 bucks for 3 grams range i believe. i have not yet ordered more but i just might....I did order quite a few packages of last time

[Yemstar]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll definitly look up Temomi tea in the future. As for now, I have just ordered some Shizuoka Sencha Tenryu Misakubo from Yuki-cha.

Can't wait!