I recently visited my local asian food market
and found some looseleaf green teas by
a company called maeda-en (http://www.maeda-en.com/)
does anyone know about this company?
i bought a bag of sencha (5.3oz) for almost 4 dollars
and it doesn't taste like anything when i brew it
and doesn't expire for another year and a half...
does it taste like nothing because it was only 4 dollars?
I will admit that that is a pretty cheap price for that much sencha, but before we say that it is bad sencha, tell me a little bit about how you brew the tea. What temperature water do you use and how long do you steep for.
If you are used to black teas, then be warned, because green teas are much much lighter.
If you are used to black teas, then be warned, because green teas are much much lighter.
"Make tea not war"
Favorites: Sencha, Dragonwell, White Monkey, Silver Needle, Gyokuro, Kukicha, Darjeeling
Favorites: Sencha, Dragonwell, White Monkey, Silver Needle, Gyokuro, Kukicha, Darjeeling
Aug 8th, '06, 13:29
Posts: 328
Joined: Aug 12th, '05, 14:05
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klemptor
It does look like a pretty generic sencha. I agree with TeaFanatic - if you're used to the strong flavor of black tea, green will seem very weak.
Generally I brew sencha as 1.5 tsp per 6 oz of 175° water for 3-5 minutes.
You can try adding more leaves, or reducing the brew temperature and increasing the steep length.
Hope this helps!
Generally I brew sencha as 1.5 tsp per 6 oz of 175° water for 3-5 minutes.
You can try adding more leaves, or reducing the brew temperature and increasing the steep length.
Hope this helps!
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form.
Well I'm a big fan of green tea...I've had a lot of different types...but this was my first time making sencha myself -although I have had sencha at tea houses and such.
What I do is basically the same, about 1 tsp per 6 oz of 180° water for 3-5 minutes. I have tried using more sencha. I only steep it for a minute or 2...usually just a minute. Maybe that's where I am going wrong?
I was told that steeping it for over a minute makes it taste bitter.
It just really doesn't have much of a taste, like drinking hot water with a kind of light tabacco taste (I don't know what tabacco tastes like, but this is my best way of explaining it, haha)
Perhaps, it is just a bad sencha. I also have a genmaicha by the same company, and it doesn't have much of a taste.
I would have purchased a more expensive sencha, but that's all they had. I will probably buy some from adagio.
Thank you for your help!
What I do is basically the same, about 1 tsp per 6 oz of 180° water for 3-5 minutes. I have tried using more sencha. I only steep it for a minute or 2...usually just a minute. Maybe that's where I am going wrong?
I was told that steeping it for over a minute makes it taste bitter.
It just really doesn't have much of a taste, like drinking hot water with a kind of light tabacco taste (I don't know what tabacco tastes like, but this is my best way of explaining it, haha)
Perhaps, it is just a bad sencha. I also have a genmaicha by the same company, and it doesn't have much of a taste.
I would have purchased a more expensive sencha, but that's all they had. I will probably buy some from adagio.
Thank you for your help!
In my experience, Maeda-en sells very high quality teas, but stores usually only carry their lower brands. I buy directly from the company -- maeda-en -- and only the highest quality sencha and genmaicha. Follow their brewing instructions and you will have perfect tea. If you spend over $50.00, shipping is free. Also, their tea bags are great and are packaged in nylon-mesh bags. I carry them when I travel and always have a few in my purse. You can purchase 50 for $17.00 so very economical.
Hi AppleJuice,AppleJuice wrote:Well I'm a big fan of green tea...I've had a lot of different types...but this was my first time making sencha myself -although I have had sencha at tea houses and such.
What I do is basically the same, about 1 tsp per 6 oz of 180° water for 3-5 minutes. I have tried using more sencha. I only steep it for a minute or 2...usually just a minute. Maybe that's where I am going wrong?
I was told that steeping it for over a minute makes it taste bitter.
It just really doesn't have much of a taste, like drinking hot water with a kind of light tabacco taste (I don't know what tabacco tastes like, but this is my best way of explaining it, haha)
Perhaps, it is just a bad sencha. I also have a genmaicha by the same company, and it doesn't have much of a taste.
I would have purchased a more expensive sencha, but that's all they had. I will probably buy some from adagio.
Thank you for your help!
I actually work for Maeda-en, and have received prior moderator approval to respond to this post.
Please let me clarify! The product that you have purchased is from our Traditional Selections, which is basically our Bancha series (you can kind of tell by looking at the leaves - large, coarse, and not really needle-y like our high-end Senchas).
Have you tried the brewing instruction on the back of our package? On the package, it says to steep 1 tbsp in 12 oz of hot water (165-190F). Unfortunately this isn't really enough because the 'tablespoon' that is mentioned here is a Japanese tablespoon, or an 'oosaji', and is much closer to a heaping US tablespoon. These mistranslations are something we are working on at Maeda-en.
If you have any other issues or questions, please please please feel free to PM me. I am all answers! (hopefully)
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