Shincha 2020, "the Year of COVID-19"

Non-oxidized tea
User avatar
Victoria
Admin
Posts: 3043
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Contact:

Thu Apr 30, 2020 6:47 pm

faj wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 5:31 pm
I would not be surprised if, in the end, the main factor in preservation ends up being the leak-tightness of the package, while the oxygen removal method has little impact. This is just a hunch, not based on direct knowledge or tests.
I’m not especially agile with scientific data, but also think the packaging is 70% of the challenge, with oxygen removal being very important, but if pack leaks, tea will degrade faster. I mentioned nitrogen flushing being effective because O-Cha teas hold up really well with long term refrigeration, he nitrogen flushes his packs (correct @Chip ?). His packs look similar to many other Japanese packs. I’ll do a leak test later, using saved empty packs, to compare different bag seals.
User avatar
Victoria
Admin
Posts: 3043
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Contact:

Sun May 03, 2020 2:36 pm

Looks like Maiko has a Shincha up on their site now. I’m currently sipping on a 2013 Shincha Sencha from Maiko, stored in refrigerator all these years. It is still excellent, with a flavor profile somewhat different than my notes from that year when it was just picked. Good sign though that their teas are consistently very high quality. International shipping method is unclear though.
https://maikotea.jp/index.php?subcats=Y ... cts.search
Noonie
Posts: 360
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 12:30 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Sun May 03, 2020 2:51 pm

Victoria wrote:
Sun May 03, 2020 2:36 pm
Looks like Maiko has a Shincha up on their site now. I’m currently sipping on a 2013 Shincha Sencha from Maiko, stored in refrigerator all these years. It is still excellent, with a flavor profile somewhat different than my notes from that year when it was just picked. Good sign though that their teas are consistently very high quality. International shipping method is unclear though.
https://maikotea.jp/index.php?subcats=Y ... cts.search
Wow I would have thought 2013 was a typo! Amazing that it’s still enjoyable.
faj
Posts: 710
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 6:45 am
Location: Quebec

Sun May 03, 2020 2:55 pm

Victoria wrote:
Sun May 03, 2020 2:36 pm
I’m currently sipping on a 2013 Shincha Sencha from Maiko, stored in refrigerator all these years. It is still excellent, with a flavor profile somewhat different than my notes from that year when it was just picked.
Out of curiosity, are you using the same leaf-to-water ratio, or do you need less/more leaf to get satisfying results?
User avatar
Victoria
Admin
Posts: 3043
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Contact:

Sun May 03, 2020 3:03 pm

faj wrote:
Sun May 03, 2020 2:55 pm
Victoria wrote:
Sun May 03, 2020 2:36 pm
I’m currently sipping on a 2013 Shincha Sencha from Maiko, stored in refrigerator all these years. It is still excellent, with a flavor profile somewhat different than my notes from that year when it was just picked.
Out of curiosity, are you using the same leaf-to-water ratio, or do you need less/more leaf to get satisfying results?
I’m using slightly cooler temperature water, just 5 degrees less, from 160f to 155f, otherwise the same. 1.3g/1oz (30ml)/155f/75sec. The packaging looks very sturdy too, a thick aluminum mylar ziplock pack. This Shincha has a real caffeine kick, wow. Sweet, smooth, well balanced. It is still good now, although I think it was at the top of it’s game when really fresh. it’s now mellowed out. I wouldn’t intentionally refrigerate for this long, it just sort of evolved into 7 years.
User avatar
Victoria
Admin
Posts: 3043
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Contact:

Mon May 04, 2020 4:20 pm

Put in my 2020 Shincha order with O-Cha, Sae & Yutaka Midori packs along with a few gyokuro. and surprisingly affordable and good Nagasaki Organic Guricha, a pan fried sencha. Fed Ex 5 day shipping, not crazy expensive if several packs are ordered.
Anyone else order and or try Shincha 2020 yet? Tasting impressions? 🍃
User avatar
debunix
Posts: 1812
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2017 1:27 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Tue May 05, 2020 5:47 pm

I'm hoping my Obubu tea club spring order, with some shincha, is not infinitely delayed by shipping issues. Fingers crossed.
User avatar
Chip
Admin
Posts: 371
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2017 6:47 pm
Location: In the TeaCave atop Mt Fuji
Contact:

Wed May 06, 2020 11:59 pm

Fedex tracking of O-cha package initiated around 18 hours ago ...

"Scheduled delivery:

Friday 5/08/2020 by 10:30 am"

This is incredibly great news!

Edit: though checking history, I am a bit skeptical.
User avatar
Chip
Admin
Posts: 371
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2017 6:47 pm
Location: In the TeaCave atop Mt Fuji
Contact:

Fri May 08, 2020 8:30 am

Pretty surprised and very happy! A week ago, I still was uncertain whether I would be able to obtain Shincha 2020 direct from Japan.

Then, I was really uncertain how long a package via FEDEX would in reality take ... if it would face delays, etc.

Today much to my amazement, Shincha from O-cha arrived in astounding time ... maybe a little over 48 hours.

Edit: just let Kevin know how pleased I was with how well Fedex handled this delivery and how fast it was. Turns out it was picked up Thursday morning Japan time ... so maybe a little over 36 hours from pick up to delivery!

I told him this went 10X better than typical Japan Post/USPS EMS.
20200508_092110.jpg
20200508_092110.jpg (455.48 KiB) Viewed 5871 times
20200508_092240.jpg
20200508_092240.jpg (542.26 KiB) Viewed 5871 times
User avatar
Chip
Admin
Posts: 371
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2017 6:47 pm
Location: In the TeaCave atop Mt Fuji
Contact:

Fri May 08, 2020 8:37 am

Shincha 2020 direct from O-cha, Japan!

Thrilled!!!

And delivered by some guy who looked just like Tom Hanks ... he said, "This packaged saved my life!" :mrgreen:
20200508_093250.jpg
20200508_093250.jpg (424.76 KiB) Viewed 5870 times
User avatar
Victoria
Admin
Posts: 3043
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Contact:

Fri May 08, 2020 1:42 pm

And let the Shincha good times roll.. got my FedEx shipment also this morning. That’s the fastest shipping ever from Japan, it left Japan Thursday at 12noon got here at 9am Friday. Wow 💥

I’ll wait 24hrs before opening a pack since it was in the cold belly of the plane, and another day to acclimatize before trying, so Sunday.
twno1
Posts: 52
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2020 2:48 am
Location: California & Taiwan

Fri May 08, 2020 3:24 pm

How do you all plan on storing your shincha that won't be immediately opened? Freezer or fridge?
User avatar
Victoria
Admin
Posts: 3043
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Contact:

Fri May 08, 2020 6:00 pm

twno1 wrote:
Fri May 08, 2020 3:24 pm
How do you all plan on storing your shincha that won't be immediately opened? Freezer or fridge?
I put all but 2 packs in the refrigerator, inside odor moisture proof ziplock bags, in a bottom drawer.
User avatar
S_B
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2018 12:17 pm
Location: Reno, NV.
Contact:

Fri May 08, 2020 7:49 pm

Victoria wrote:
Fri May 08, 2020 1:42 pm
And let the Shincha good times roll.. got my FedEx shipment also this morning. That’s the fastest shipping ever from Japan, it left Japan Thursday at 12noon got here at 9am Friday. Wow 💥

I’ll wait 24hrs before opening a pack since it was in the cold belly of the plane, and another day to acclimatize before trying, so Sunday.
Mine is here too! I have a mini fridge in my room to keep teas in. The only other thing that ever goes in there is beverages...so I'm livin the shincha life! :mrgreen: Let the good times roll~

I sense lots of Sae Midori in everyone's immediate future!
User avatar
Chip
Admin
Posts: 371
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2017 6:47 pm
Location: In the TeaCave atop Mt Fuji
Contact:

Fri May 08, 2020 7:52 pm

Victoria wrote:
Fri May 08, 2020 1:42 pm
And let the Shincha good times roll.. got my FedEx shipment also this morning. That’s the fastest shipping ever from Japan, it left Japan Thursday at 12noon got here at 9am Friday. Wow 💥

I’ll wait 24hrs before opening a pack since it was in the cold belly of the plane, and another day to acclimatize before trying, so Sunday.
Kevin and I both agreed ... Fedex should be the default choice even after Japan Post opens things back up.
Post Reply