Maeda-en

[HtomSirveaux]

This is my first post here, so sorry if I'm treading on well worn territory. I've been a coffee drinker for a long time, and for various reasons have found myself drinking green tea more and more. I'd love it if some of the more knowledgeable folks on here could give me a few pointers.

My basic goal is to find a good all day drinking Japanese green tea (between 5-12 12 oz. servings a day). I'd like it to be strong and tasty, relatively high in the stuff that good sencha is supposed to be loaded with (caffeine, theanine, antioxidants), socially responsible (no slave labor or abuse of the environment) and as cheap as possible without compromising my other criteria. I've only had supermarket stuff (terrible), some organic and fair trade stuff from China (ok for what it is, but I've found I'm not a fan of Chinese teas), Den's sampler (very good but too expensive for my regular habit), and Maeda-en Sencha Gold. The Maeda-en is nothing special, but it has a Japanese flavor to it and is supposedly sencha (price and tasted suggest something closer to bancha). And it's CHEAP. I just got a mailing from them advertising something I haven't seen on their website: 1.1 pounds of the Maeda-en Sencha gold for $16.

So bottom line, is Maeda-en an acceptable budget Japanese sencha? I'm assuming the tea leaves are Japanese (package says product of Japan) and that Japanese labor and environmental standards are above exploitation levels? And that Maeda-en Sencha Gold is actually sencha (low-grade I'm assuming)? And are there any other senchas out there that fit my criteria for anything close to $16/1.1 pound?

Sorry for the length, but I wanted to give the forum's tea aficionados plenty of info to work with. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

[iannon]

First of all WELCOME! If you havent been lurking here already for a while you are about to embark on a real Sencha journey if you stick around
Where to start!?
ok..lets go with the easy questions first..5-12 12oz servings. How much leaf are you using per serving? 12oz is a pretty large serving for sencha..you will probably find most of the sencha drinkers here are going between 3 to 6oz at a time. And right after that..how many steeps are you getting out of each portion of leaf? You will probably find lower grade senchas wont have the steeping longevity over a higher grade one. 2 or 3 steeps vs 4 to 5 or even 6

I actually had the maeda-en gold a while back on a whim purchase from a japanese grocery. I wouldnt call it bad but i wouldnt call it really very great either btw.

As an example or comparison the "lowest" end sencha I have bought in recent memory is the Zencha Moe at 12.90 shipped for 100g. Thats probably about 3 times or so your price on the maeda-en. Its quite enjoyable

So thats a start..more questions for you right?

[edkrueger]

no slave labor

Well, this should be an easy requirement.

[Chip]

We did some tastings in the Spring that included Maeda-en selections. While it was not high on my list, others enjoyed it. This is pretty typical of sencha.

I would echo Iannon, that is a lot of tea. Most of my steeps are 3-6 ounces as well. However you can multiple steep sencha up to 5 steeps.

If you drink as much as you say, you might bounce around quite a bit.

[entropyembrace]

We did some tastings in the Spring that included Maeda-en selections. While it was not high on my list, others enjoyed it. This is pretty typical of sencha.

I would echo Iannon, that is a lot of tea. Most of my steeps are 3-6 ounces as well. However you can multiple steep sencha up to 5 steeps.

If you drink as much as you say, you might bounce around quite a bit.

haha....I get pretty close to the OP...

typically 6 12oz infusions...or the equivalent in smaller infusions.

[HtomSirveaux]

Thanks for the quick responses!

I steep only once. Being a longtime coffee drinker, I like the bitterness of caffeine. My taste buds have confirmed what I've read, that caffeine goes away after the first steeping. (I'm also drinking for alertness, so a caffeine-free tea doesn't help me much.) And on a more general note, none the teas I've tried (including Den's) have been as strong on the second steeping and after; the strength is quite important to me, so I've avoided multiple steepings. If I'm mistaken about all this, I'd love to know it.

Regarding 'slave labor', I was using some hyperbole there. I just don't want to be saving money at the expense of 'market-price' labor. I'm a George Costanza-esque cheapskate, but I try to consider where the savings come from. I've been drinking fair trade certified coffee for a long time, and I'd like my tea to meet a similar standard. Basically nothing from a developing country (especially known thug states like China) without the proper certification. And this might be naive, but I'm assuming that Japanese labor and environmental standards are at something like Western European standards, thus requiring no certification. If I'm wrong about that too, again, please let me know.

And I've had a similar number of cups of strong coffee per day, and even that doesn't get me bouncing for some reason. It does seem to contribute to some wicked heartburn-esque symptoms, and that's one reason I'm transitioning to green tea. The theanine also seems to complement the caffeine well, but I don't completely understand that aspect of tea yet.

Thanks for all the help! Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[entropyembrace]

Caffeine doesn´t fully extract in one infusion unless your infusion times are very long (on the order of 15 minutes or more). Typically for sencha you need 3 or 4 infusions to extract most of the good stuff...though for lower grades of sencha usually only 2 infusions. Since you´re drinking very cheap sencha I´m not surprised you´re only getting one intense infusion out of it.

If you decide to upgrade to a higher quality sencha you could expect to get 3 intense infusions using 2 slightly heaping teaspoons per 12oz of water.

[iannon]

You dont mention how much leaf you are using for each 12oz cup? or how long you are steeping for? that could make a big difference. For me..the second infusion of a good Fukamushi is usually the most intense flavor wise. the first steep is nice and green..the second like cloudy green swamp water! Ultimately brew how you like it best to your own tastes of course! If i were to brew a 12oz cup id be using like 10 grams of leaf or so

[HtomSirveaux]

Ok, regarding getting multiple infusions from higher quality sencha, would Den's Sencha Fuka-midori qualify? How about Adagio Sencha Overture? Or are these not high-grade enough? Sorry if the questions are getting too specific. I'm sure you folks aren't familiar with every tea out there.

And I use about a tablespoon for 12 oz., try to steep for around 2-3 minutes, but I don't use a timer and I'm probably late to the tea most of the time. Overlong steeping actually doesn't bother me too much as I'm used to the strong flavor of coffee anyhow. Still, I do always try to steep 'correctly'.

[iannon]

Ok, regarding getting multiple infusions from higher quality sencha, would Den's Sencha Fuka-midori qualify? How about Adagio Sencha Overture? Or are these not high-grade enough? Sorry if the questions are getting too specific. I'm sure you folks aren't familiar with every tea out there.

And I use about a tablespoon for 12 oz., try to steep for around 2-3 minutes, but I don't use a timer and I'm probably late to the tea most of the time. Overlong steeping actually doesn't bother me too much as I'm used to the strong flavor of coffee anyhow. Still, I do always try to steep 'correctly'.

No worries! Specific questions are good!
You may be surprised on how many senchas the group here as a collective have tried though
As far as the Dens Fuka Midori.. I wouldnt personally call it high grade and it was OK for me..not great.
the Adagio Overture I didnt personally care much for.
But again, everyone will probably have differing opinions. so much is involved with personal tastes and each persons brewing parameters.. how much water, how much leaf..how long steeping..how hot the water..etc etc. Some people Like Fuka better..some Like Asa better..so many teas so little time!
IMHO if you are going with 12oz steeps I would up the leaf to water ratio and steep first infusion of Fuka midori for 60 seconds at 165 or so (in a prewarmed pot..a bit higher if not). Second infusion 20 to 30 seconds upping temp a bit. 3rd a bit longer and hotter. You should get a good 3 steeps out of the Fuka Midori

[Uji]

Maeda-en has good mugicha. We drink it in the summer.

[entropyembrace]

Here´s the vendors I´d personally recommend if you want to try higher grade sencha.

http://www.o-cha.com/green-teas/sencha/

http://www.zencha.net/products.php

http://www.maiko.ne.jp/english/shopping/sencha.htm

and here is the forums Japanese green teavendor guide...it links to threads with user opinions about each vendor.

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=11556

And here are my personal reviews of most of the sencha´s I´ve tried so far this year

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 30#p174497

For something easy to brew and tasty I´d say make an order with Chiran Sencha and Sakura Sencha from O-cha....both good, flavourful teas that are fairly easy to handle

[HtomSirveaux]

Hey, just wanted to thank everyone for their advice. I'm steeping twice now and by keeping the first steep relatively short they're both coming out ok (even with the rotgut stuff I'm using up).

Regarding some of the teas you linked to, can I expect three good steeps from the ones priced around $80-100/pound? Den's Sencha Fukamidori is $50/pound and I've been justifying moving up to that since I should get double my money's worth from it (with about two good steeps as opposed to my current one). The stuff you linked you might be too rich for my blood if I can't stretch it. Yes, I am a terrible cheapskate.

Again, thanks for all the help!

[entropyembrace]

yes the more expensive senchas you should get 3 good steeps from as a minimum

[HtomSirveaux]

Thanks for the info. I'll have to splurge on my next tea order and see the difference myself!