Shincha 2020, "the Year of COVID-19"

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Chip
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Tue Apr 21, 2020 11:24 am

SHINCHA IS HAPPENING!

Post your links here along with any insights you might have received.

It will likely be a very unique year for Shincha and for many countries globally it will be "unobtainium". So before attempting to order, check your country's status.

I have been discussing the situation routinely with Kevin of O-Cha. And I have received newsetter emails from several vendors in Japan.

If you can order, definitely go EMS, now more than ever! EMS packages receive priority placement on the vastly reduced number of commercial flights leaving Japan. EMS packages are arriving at final destinations ... albeit slower but not too bad.

Lower levels such as epackets are in many cases completely stalled or being returned to senders!!! It is not worth the risk!

Go EMS!

For those fortunate enough to obtain Shincha, it is truly a celebration this year more than years past!

If you are not able to obtain Shincha at this time due to your county's restrictions, hopefully things will open up for you soon.
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Chip
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Tue Apr 21, 2020 11:25 am

https://www.o-cha.com/shincha/

You need to use this link to get to the shincha page as it is not at last check on their site.

Different this year, no preorders. Kevin did not want to take everyone's money and then possibly have to return it ... can be murky.

So, go to that page, for selections you are interested in, request email notifications when available. Kevin said this will be the best and fastest way to know.

Instead of the normal preorder discount, at checkout enter the coupon code ...

YESWECAN

... for 10% off items purchased.

Kevin informed me he selected his SM and YM so far. The SM is really "special" and the YM is also very good. Probably 3-4 days until they are available.
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Victoria
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Tue Apr 21, 2020 1:05 pm

Good to see this years Shincha thread up Chip. For sure, a freshly plucked explosion of green Shincha inside our stay-at-home confinement would be a welcome guest, a celebration of Spring. I’m looking forward to ordering from O-Cha this year and have been looking to see who else has Shincha available on their sites. Thes du Japon has a few up now, and Yunomi (who I’ve never ordered from) also has a few. In the past I’ve also ordered from Maiko, no Shincha online yet, but high quality Gyokuro as always. One year they sent me a Shincha pillow as a gift, and it still has a wonderful sweet hay aroma. I see Den’s Tea, who has had good Shincha in past years, has a pre-order but no teas listed. Den’s headquarters are here in Southern California and they supply a few local Japanese markets, so in the past their Shincha was pretty easy to get. Since it is still mid-April I’m hoping more will be available and online by the end of the month.
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S_B
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Tue Apr 21, 2020 5:18 pm

Great! Thanks for the heads up! I'm hoping that O-cha notifications don't go to spam, anybody have experience with that?
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Chip
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Tue Apr 21, 2020 6:49 pm

S_B wrote:
Tue Apr 21, 2020 5:18 pm
Great! Thanks for the heads up! I'm hoping that O-cha notifications don't go to spam, anybody have experience with that?
Mine do not ... YMMV.
thetealetter
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Wed Apr 22, 2020 12:36 am

Yunomi and Kettl also both have 2020 shincha up on their sites!
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Balthazar
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Wed Apr 22, 2020 1:56 am

Thanks for sharing these links. Not sure if I will make a shincha order this year, but I definitely need to stock up on sencha, and it's good to be reminded of the vendors that are out there :)
S_B wrote:
Tue Apr 21, 2020 5:18 pm
Great! Thanks for the heads up! I'm hoping that O-cha notifications don't go to spam, anybody have experience with that?
You should be able to manually whitelist domains, so that all e-mails from o-cha are exempt from the spam filter. (Depending on your e-mail provider, but I think almost all allow for this.)
Janice
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Wed Apr 22, 2020 10:29 am

I’m on the kettl mailing list. They’ve begun shipping all their teas from Brooklyn with the USPS. That’s slower than usual but nothing like problems with mail from Asia.
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Chip
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Wed Apr 22, 2020 2:50 pm

According to Kevin from O-cha, Japan Post has cancelled all shipments to the USA.

EDIT: He has suspended sales until an acceptable alternative is located.
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Chip
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Wed Apr 22, 2020 3:52 pm

Janice wrote:
Wed Apr 22, 2020 10:29 am
I’m on the kettl mailing list. They’ve begun shipping all their teas from Brooklyn with the USPS. That’s slower than usual but nothing like problems with mail from Asia.
I just did my first ever order with them. Zach used to be on TC.
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Wed Apr 22, 2020 5:26 pm

So glad someone started a post about 2020 Shincha. Usually around this time of year my two mainstays - Yuuki-Cha and O-Cha, start rolling out new teas but nothing so far.

Never heard of kettl but will pass on Yunomi and Thes Du Japon. Yunomi has a great selection but I’ve been underwhelmed by most of their teas. I tried Thes Du Japon for my last tea order and didn’t think it was anything special either.

With the pandemic affecting shipping from Asian, I will be looking at US based tea shops that offer Shincha. I know Den’s is one, but are there any others you would recommend?
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Chip
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Wed Apr 22, 2020 6:36 pm

LuckyMe wrote:
Wed Apr 22, 2020 5:26 pm
With the pandemic affecting shipping from Asian, I will be looking at US based tea shops that offer Shincha. I know Den’s is one, but are there any others you would recommend?
Kettl which is linked above.
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Chip
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Wed Apr 22, 2020 6:43 pm

I am still hoping Kevin from O-cha figures out an acceptable alternative soon. He said his Sae Midori is really special again this year.

Kettl, I did take this (unfortunate) opportunity to give Kettl a try. I have been receiving email news from them for years.

Really not sure what else I will do this Shincha.

Vendors I used to get Shincha most years ...

Maiko, been disappointed w/ their Kinari which used to be an annual TeaChat tradition

Zencha, again disappointed but years ago. Used to be consistantly great.

The du Japon, always on my radar but I get overwhelmed on their site :lol:

Ippodo, really disappointed w/ last year's Shincha. Purchased 3, finished only one Still have a half bag and a full bag. For now, pass.

Hibiki-an "try once" ... years ago, a bunch of us on TC got on this bandwagon early very early on ... but the glory faded over the years but might try again

Den's, love Den, sweet guy. I suspect the logistics and handling and packaging of their shincha does not help matters and I'll take a pass

Yunomi, again been on their email list ... forever and never ordered. It is a possibility
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S_B
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Wed Apr 22, 2020 7:45 pm

Chip wrote:
Wed Apr 22, 2020 6:43 pm
I am still hoping Kevin from O-cha figures out an acceptable alternative soon. He said his Sae Midori is really special again this year.

Kettl, I did take this (unfortunate) opportunity to give Kettl a try. I have been receiving email news from them for years.

Really not sure what else I will do this Shincha.

Vendors I used to get Shincha most years ...

Maiko, been disappointed w/ their Kinari which used to be an annual TeaChat tradition

Zencha, again disappointed but years ago. Used to be consistantly great.

The du Japon, always on my radar but I get overwhelmed on their site :lol:

Ippodo, really disappointed w/ last year's Shincha. Purchased 3, finished only one Still have a half bag and a full bag. For now, pass.

Hibiki-an "try once" ... years ago, a bunch of us on TC got on this bandwagon early very early on ... but the glory faded over the years but might try again

Den's, love Den, sweet guy. I suspect the logistics and handling and packaging of their shincha does not help matters and I'll take a pass

Yunomi, again been on their email list ... forever and never ordered. It is a possibility
These are quite interesting times! I am going to try Kettl as well, despite never having heard any recommendations from people around me. I'm sure a good few of us in the US will be able to compare our notes though. Hopefully like you said, O-Cha can find a quick alternative...such are the times! From an email with Kevin, he seemed very very very happy about this year's Sae Midori...I still look forward to it.

edit: can anybody confirm that kettl is shipping their shincha from within the US?
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faj
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Wed Apr 22, 2020 8:54 pm

S_B wrote:
Wed Apr 22, 2020 7:45 pm
edit: can anybody confirm that kettl is shipping their shincha from within the US?
I had a quick chat earlier tonight while browsing on their website, during which the said they were shipping from the US, and receiving their deliveries through Fedex, which they seemed cautiously confident would deliver to them the tea they will be shipping in the next few days.
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