2012 Official Shincha Ordering Topic

[blairswhitaker]

ordered my first round of shincha,
started with my favorite stand by, Yuuki-cha

2 ea. 2012 Organic Kumamoto Shincha Yabe Supreme
1 ea. 2012 Organic Miyazaki Tokujo Kamairicha
1 ea. 2012 Organic Kagoshima Shincha Shimofuri
1 ea. 2012 Organic Kagoshima Shincha Saemidori
2 ea. 2012 Organic Kagoshima Shincha Kirishima No Kaori
1 ea. 2012 Organic Kagoshima Shincha Kirishima Kanayamidori

from the early reports 2012 is going to be a good shincha year, at least a lot better than 2011.

[Kevangogh]

Where do you get your reports? I heard the opposite...at least from Kagoshima.

[blairswhitaker]

Where do you get your reports? I heard the opposite...at least from Kagoshima.

admittedly it was from Yuuki-cha, after sampling their first shincha that has arrived, and just based on the weather and the timely arrival of harvest so far... for the most part I only deal with organic tea and know little to nothing about those japanese tea's that I find to have a "synthetic" umami flavor that feels forced and very "chemical".

[sherubtse]

... tea's that I find to have a "synthetic" umami flavor that feels forced and very "chemical".

I don't understand what you mean by this. So would you please elaborate, and give examples of these teas?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[Chip]

Where do you get your reports? I heard the opposite...at least from Kagoshima.

admittedly it was from Yuuki-cha, after sampling their first shincha that has arrived, and just based on the weather and the timely arrival of harvest so far... for the most part I only deal with organic tea and know little to nothing about those japanese tea's that I find to have a "synthetic" umami flavor that feels forced and very "chemical".

And yet it is so ironic that this "organic" vendor can be so synthetic ... fake.

Amazingly, I have never noticed a "synthetic umami that feels very forced and very chemical." At least not with the vendors I deal with. Since I guess around 95% or more of the sencha produced is conventionally grown, most sencha drinkers must agree.

I am careful not to judge conventional side by side to an organic counterpart. They are different animals all together. I find conventional to be very rich and full flavored ... and organic to be much softer and often less complex with less staying power over many infusions.

But I drink both since variety is the spice of life. And I recognize without judgement different strokes for different folks!

[blairswhitaker]

... tea's that I find to have a "synthetic" umami flavor that feels forced and very "chemical".

I don't understand what you mean by this. So would you please elaborate, and give examples of these teas?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

Yes an example of this would be for me O-cha's yutaka midori. Most people on the forum love this tea, I do not. I find it feels overtly aggressive in the attack and the finish lingers in a way that seems chemically enhanced. this is my personal taste and I do not expect others to stand behind it. suppose you have only ever had foods with high fructose corn syrup and then I tell you how sweet rice tastes or an organic apple, your caliber of sense is going to be so accustomed to the hyper sweet taste of HFC that naturally found fruit sugars and grain starches will take a lot more "work" on your part to access. This is what I feel about organic tea it is not as simple to access and requires more patience to access the subtle and rich depths going on within.

as with all things YMV. I am aware of the issue with yuuki-cha and chip, I however have had no problem with them and enjoy their offerings very much, if anyone would like to suggest an organic equal please let me know your thoughts.

[blairswhitaker]

as a side note I was raised on my grandfathers farm and while not organic certified it was pesticide and synthetic fertilizer free, that was just the way he learned to farm from his family who came before him. I often find "conventional" grown produce to be very lifeless and lack the true nuance of flavor I grew up enjoying.

p.s. I do not want to start an organic vs. conventional debate on this thread just express what I like in tea and food.

[Chip]

This is an unfair comparison as you are equating YM with HFC, analogy or not. YM is "natural" not sweetened. Simple comparisons of organic to conventional are fair enough ... and there are 1000's of comparisons there. But let's not throw YM into the same boat as HFC, please.

[blairswhitaker]

This is an unfair comparison as you are equating YM with HFC, analogy or not. YM is "natural" not sweetened. Simple comparisons of organic to conventional are fair enough ... and there are 1000's of comparisons there. But let's not throw YM into the same boat as HFC, please.

I don't dislike YM I just haven't enjoyed O-cha's YM, just for the sake of being fair I will order some YM from O-cha to see how it is this year. I have not had it in many years. For the record HFC can be natural and organic it is a method of making a sweetner. I do not wish to further debate this issue on this tread as this is a shincha topic not an organic vs. conventional topic. @ chip please don't take these statements personal I know you love O-chas YM it not attack against you.

[blairswhitaker]

ok just to be fair here I will give O-Cha another try I have pre-ordered
Kagoshima Sencha Yutaka Midori (Shincha)
I am hoping it will be good given that kevangogh said that reports suggest this may not be a banner year for kagoshima.

[sherubtse]

Here is the first shincha from Teas of Japan:

http://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php? ... cPath=1_24

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[Kevangogh]

The reason I brought it up was because as a buyer, I'm faced with the supplier of last year's YM telling me this year's crop isn't as good and also that the price is higher. Trying samples as we speak. I have other options but I wouldn't assume this year will be better than last year's crop. That's the only reason I brought this up. Actually, last year's Kagoshima was pretty good!

[tjsan]

New Shincha pre-orders from Chado Tea House: http://www.chadoteahouse.com/seasons.asp

By the way; first Kagoshima shincha from Yuuki is now available http://www.yuuki-cha.com/blog/2012/04/f ... saemidori/

[Stentor]

The reason I brought it up was because as a buyer, I'm faced with the supplier of last year's YM telling me this year's crop isn't as good and also that the price is higher. Trying samples as we speak. I have other options but I wouldn't assume this year will be better than last year's crop. That's the only reason I brought this up. Actually, last year's Kagoshima was pretty good!

Some of my favorite teas from last year came from Kagoshima. The organics you had were particularly good (GOLD!).
That's some bad news that it might not be as good this year.
Oh well, fingers crossed!

[Chip]

This is an unfair comparison as you are equating YM with HFC, analogy or not. YM is "natural" not sweetened. Simple comparisons of organic to conventional are fair enough ... and there are 1000's of comparisons there. But let's not throw YM into the same boat as HFC, please.

I don't dislike YM I just haven't enjoyed O-cha's YM, just for the sake of being fair I will order some YM from O-cha to see how it is this year. I have not had it in many years. For the record HFC can be natural and organic it is a method of making a sweetner. I do not wish to further debate this issue on this tread as this is a shincha topic not an organic vs. conventional topic. @ chip please don't take these statements personal I know you love O-chas YM it not attack against you.

No worries, I was not taking this personally. I did just feel the corn syrup versus organic was not working for me nor the best comparison.