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I ordered shincha from Den's this year as I was impressed by their sampler. The Hashiri Shincha is really nice. Good balance of umami and freshness.

I agree that green tea does not 'stand' well. My impression has always been that some of the fresh and delicate flavors transforms into somethin murky and even bitter when it stands, like it is oxidizing unpleasantly. I see the same in white tea. This is one key reason why I rarely prepare these in...

Japanese green tea seems to get all the love around here! Are any of you getting fresh Chinese green tea this year? I caved and bought some Anji Bai Cha and pre-Qingming Bi Luo Chun from Teavivre. It's not the world's most ultra-premium tea, but it's good enough to bowl brew without breaking the ba...

Unpopular opinion: shincha is overrated. It's like drinking wine that hasn't rested or aged correctly. You'll often find that shincha tastes better after 4-6 months of refrigerated rest. If your interest in shincha is to celebrate the seasonality of sencha a la Beaujolais nouveau, that's great. If ...

Japanese green tea seems to get all the love around here! Are any of you getting fresh Chinese green tea this year? I caved and bought some Anji Bai Cha and pre-Qingming Bi Luo Chun from Teavivre. It's not the world's most ultra-premium tea, but it's good enough to bowl brew without breaking the ba...

I went from suspecting to noticing sometimes to believing something: Gaoshan (very lightly oxidized high-mountain oolong) is better after a few months rest in vacuum packs. I believe this because the last several months I have been drinking goashan from late in Spring 2021 that was acquired by me &...

Shiranami Kabusecha from Tezumi. First order from this company so only got a sample but man I wish I'd gotten a whole bag. Perfect balance of umami and sweetness. Buttery matcha like and sashimi-type oceanic flavors.

Teavivre has huang shan mao feng. Both regular grade and “nonpareil”. I liked it it but it isn’t really my cup of tea. I prefer grassier Japanese greens and Laoshan green tea. I know Mei Leaf has a well curated selection but no idea how it compares to Teavivre.

DHL option is great. I just tried the DHL option at Thes Du Japon... $40 shipping for a $120 order. :shock: Nope. I can't do that no matter how much I love their tea. TDJ I will be here waiting for you once things get back to normal. That does seem rather pricey. DHL shipping cost half that amount ...

Noonie , I managed a few winks as I underleafed and split the tea with my better half. Smaller teaware also helps when you want a late night fix and still need to sleep at night. My 50ml shibo is really good for this but ironically it struggles with Japanese tea. Go figure. Need a metal or sasame s...

My shincha (and other Japanese tea) from Yuuki-Cha arrived from DHL in less than a week. Ended up getting almost a kilo of tea to last me at least through the year. Shipping was $20 which was a lot less than what I was initially quoted. Picked up the following teas: Shincha Kagoshima Sencha Shimofur...

The first greens of spring 2020 arrived yesterday from Yunnan Sourcing. Anji bai cha was the first one I tried and it was delightfully fresh. Today I had Liu An Gua Pian "Melon Seed" Green Tea from Anhui, a new one for me. Nice snap pea and asparagus flavor, a bit similar to Dragonwell but less refi...

Anji Bai Cha from my Yunnan Sourcing that just arrived. It’s got a nice freshness to it but I may have brewed it too light.

I experimented with Food Saver some years ago and do not recommend it for tea. It can work for fukamushi or balled oolong but as @faj mentioned, it leads to crushed leaf. The consumer grade vacuum sealers lack pressure adjustment which the professional ones have that can avoid this issue. Food Save...

To me, I would say it is a matter of how "rich" the tea is. If its taste is not strong but it is otherwise well balanced, with good aftertaste and nuances, that can be wonderful. Some teas can be better when infused lighter, because I feel there is a tendency for the brain to extrapolate on weak sm...