Shincha 2021. What's in your cart?

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gatmcm
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Fri May 21, 2021 12:13 pm

Have gotten my order from o-cha as well

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Opened a Sae Midori pack first, really hit the spot :D
Curious to try the uji kirameki soon too, been a while since I had some asamushi and this seems to be a good one
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_Soggy_
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Sat May 22, 2021 9:42 pm

Did a small order from Kettl in NYC cause i was planning on ordering some stuff in a month or two from Japan and wanted something sooner to tide me over. It did take longer than expected (13 days) NYC to Midwest but maybe USPS is having delays i dunno. I am still getting used to my small 80ml Jinshu teapot in brewing sencha. I had the Chiran earlier today which had nice balance of sweetness, umami, and fragrance. no astringency/bitterness. Wish the packages had ziplocks.

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pedant
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Mon May 24, 2021 4:28 pm

O-Cha Shincha 2021
O-Cha Shincha 2021
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my o-cha order arrived!

@_Soggy_, gripstic to the rescue:

O-Cha Shincha 2021 GripStic
O-Cha Shincha 2021 GripStic
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also, how cool looking is that gold packaging? bling bling
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matchajules
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Wed May 26, 2021 1:31 am

I ordered Shincha from Senchaism and Hibiki-an. Hibiki just announced their release of Shincha Gyokuro and I quickly purchased (their 2020 offering was just divine).

I also just placed an order from Ikkyu after reading through this thread :)

Thank you for all of the tips!
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Victoria
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Wed May 26, 2021 1:18 pm

Really jazzed that O-Cha’s Limited Edition lightly steamed Tsuyu Hikari Sencha from Shizuoka is as special as Kevin described. Wow, savory seaside rich umami elegance with persistent lingering salivation and aftertaste. He describes it as an Asamushi Masterpiece and “Definitely one of the best sencha green teas we have ever tried.” ! Seems many others thought so as well, as it is sold out now.

Steeped in Jozan III shigaraki 80ml kyusu at 5.7g/80ml/150f/80sec. With kyusu that have inverted lids like this one (that dip down into the pot), I’ve started steeping with the lid off so I can fill up to rim.

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faj
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Wed May 26, 2021 2:00 pm

Victoria wrote:
Wed May 26, 2021 1:18 pm
Really jazzed that O-Cha’s Limited Edition lightly steamed Tsuyu Hikari Sencha from Shizuoka is as special as Kevin described. Wow, savory seaside rich umami elegance with persistent lingering salivation and aftertaste.
I just finished a bag of that tea, yet looking at your pictures I still am jealous of your session... :)

This sencha is very soft, umami-rich. In some respects, it is seems almost more easily compared to gyokuro infused at higher temperature and with less leaf than to senchas. I feel it is markedly different from most other senchas, especially in how it evolves past the first infusion. I wish I knew how it is grown and processed, to see how much it veers or not from the way sencha is typically grown and processed... which I also wish I knew ;).
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Victoria
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Wed May 26, 2021 2:47 pm

faj wrote:
Wed May 26, 2021 2:00 pm
Victoria wrote:
Wed May 26, 2021 1:18 pm
Really jazzed that O-Cha’s Limited Edition lightly steamed Tsuyu Hikari Sencha from Shizuoka is as special as Kevin described. Wow, savory seaside rich umami elegance with persistent lingering salivation and aftertaste.
I just finished a bag of that tea, yet looking at your pictures I still am jealous of your session... :)

This sencha is very soft, umami-rich. In some respects, it is seems almost more easily compared to gyokuro infused at higher temperature and with less leaf than to senchas. I feel it is markedly different from most other senchas, especially in how it evolves past the first infusion. I wish I knew how it is grown and processed, to see how much it veers or not from the way sencha is typically grown and processed... which I also wish I knew ;).
It seems serendipitous that the quality of the umami rich Tsuyuhikari cultivar harvest, combined with the craft of the well known tea master in Tenryu, Shizuoka, and skill in lightly steaming this Asamushi all have worked beautifully in sync to make an exemplary shincha 🍃.
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Victoria
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Mon May 31, 2021 3:18 pm

Opened up O-Cha’s Sae Midori shincha this morning hoping it pairs well with a so far neglected reduction fired Yamada Sou kyusu. Steeped with lid off and kept very still, so fine needles would fall to bottom of pot to prevent wall filter from getting clogged. The warmed dry needles in pre-heated kyusu have the aroma of biscotti just out of the oven. Success, no clogged filter. There is a slight bitterness in the liquor, so I’ll need to adjust leaf/temp/time. Used 8.5g/170ml/165f/50sec. Maybe next time I’ll try 8g/170ml/162f/45sec in kobiwako clay. Scent of a bakery is still lingering. Any one else try this years Sae Midori? @Chip

Steeped in Yamada Sou 180ml wood-fired reduction shudei clay with a splash of Aoyu. Decanted liquor into Edo period hand painted blue cobalt underglaze cup depicting a serene natural landscape with Mount Fuji rising quietly over rolling hills and windswept pine trees. Below this scene are two sail boats floating along the shoreline. The cup is translucent when held up to the light, and inside are two more sail boats shown beyond a hillside shoreline with cantilevering pine trees. A world onto itself.

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Victoria
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Tue Jun 01, 2021 1:24 pm

Victoria wrote:
Mon May 31, 2021 3:18 pm
Opened up O-Cha’s Sae Midori shincha this morning hoping it pairs well with a so far neglected reduction fired Yamada Sou kyusu. Steeped with lid off and kept very still, so fine needles would fall to bottom of pot to prevent wall filter from getting clogged. The warmed dry needles in pre-heated kyusu have the aroma of biscotti just out of the oven. Success, no clogged filter. There is a slight bitterness in the liquor, so I’ll need to adjust leaf/temp/time. Used 8.5g/170ml/165f/50sec. Maybe next time I’ll try 8g/170ml/162f/45sec in kobiwako clay. Scent of a bakery is still lingering. Any one else try this years Sae Midori? Chip
Well, even slightly lowering leaf and temp and switching to kobiwako clay kyusu by Junzo didn’t produce better results with this years Sea Midori shincha. Some bitterness is still in background, plus even though I was super careful the very fine needles too easily clogg the wall filter making the pour very sluggish. 8g/170ml/162f/50sec in Junzo kobiwako clay. I’ll go back to Yamada Sou mayake reduction kyusu and lower temp/increase time next, see how that goes. Upside is, I’ll enjoy his Shizuoka Tsuyu Hikari shincha that much more.
Ackernym
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Tue Jun 01, 2021 3:04 pm

I just ordered my first bag of shincha from Yunomi! It's an Ohashiri shincha from the Kaneroku Matsumoto tea garden, so hopefully I picked a good bag. I've never actually tasted a shincha before, so I'm unsure of what to expect. I know it's a sencha, right? So then should I just expect a stronger, fresher sencha flavor? Or is the can the flavor differ significantly from a later harvest?
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Victoria
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Tue Jun 01, 2021 8:40 pm

Ackernym wrote:
Tue Jun 01, 2021 3:04 pm
I just ordered my first bag of shincha from Yunomi! It's an Ohashiri shincha from the Kaneroku Matsumoto tea garden, so hopefully I picked a good bag. I've never actually tasted a shincha before, so I'm unsure of what to expect. I know it's a sencha, right? So then should I just expect a stronger, fresher sencha flavor? Or is the can the flavor differ significantly from a later harvest?
I haven’t ordered from Yunomi yet, but their large selection is tempting, especially with roasted sencha. The shincha you ordered is 1/3 the price of my mid-range, but hopefully it will be good anyway. Hard to know until you try it. Shincha usually tastes super fresh, green, and more lively than slightly rested/aged sencha. Although, this year O-Cha’s limited edition lightly steamed Tsuyu Hikari Sencha from Shizuoka is more similar to a savory umami rich gyokuro than a perky fresh green shincha, so rules are out the window.
Ackernym
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Tue Jun 01, 2021 10:48 pm

Ah interesting! Thanks for giving me some tasting notes to look for in this shincha. Hopefully it's good, I'll definitely post my thoughts on it whenever that order arrives. Even if it's not a good shincha I should still be able to find some enjoyment in it. As snobbish as I may be in regards to tea, I'm not at all picky. As embarrassed as I am to admit it, I do enjoy the Lipton teabags at work from time to time :lol:
Deepsteamed
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Wed Jun 02, 2021 3:29 pm

P_K wrote:
Tue May 11, 2021 9:54 pm
Just received some shincha from Kagoshima Tea. I chose the free shipping and it took 15 days to get to me USPS.....fyi. Just in case you were concerned about paying FedEx or DHL prices.
How is the shincha? And do you (or anyone else) have any recommendations for tea from KagoshimaTea? Their prices are so much more reasonable than other vendors.
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Chip
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Sun Jun 06, 2021 1:29 pm

Insanely fast shipping from O-Cha via Fedex. 1st order around 48 hours diverted to Indy for some reason.

2nd order, from pick-up to my door via the usual Memphis hub ... UNDER 36 HOURS! I figured it to be 33 hours.

Some say the shipping is expensive, but if you play with quanties in your cart, you can make the best of it.

And to receive an order from Japan in 36 hours ... it is worth the price of admission IMHO.
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Chip
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Sun Jun 06, 2021 1:36 pm

Ordered from O-Cha ...

Sae Midori
Asanoka
Tsuyu Hikari
Oku Midori
Chiran
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