SHINCHA 2019!

Non-oxidized tea
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nasalfrog
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Thu May 09, 2019 9:47 pm

Denmano wrote:
Thu May 09, 2019 9:25 pm

I much prefer to buy organic as well so I appreciate the Kuritawase recommendation from Yuuki-cha! I ordered it as well as the Chiran and Yukushima senchas and the Matcha Iri Sencha just for kicks.
No problem! The Chiran is quite good as well. That will likely be one I order again this year. I have not tried the Matcha Iri yet, but I'm finally getting into matcha so I will have to try it.
Denmano wrote:
Thu May 09, 2019 9:25 pm
By the way, I wouldn't count too much on most vendors posting anything less than very good to excellent reviews on their own sites. I'd like to think that if I was a tea vendor that I wouldn't screen reviews but I've never been in that position yet to know for sure! ;)
I've kinda come to the same conclusion, so I've recently started to only leave reviews on teas I think are either really good or seem very unique.
Denmano
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Sat May 11, 2019 9:08 am

Are 80 gram bags a trend? I don't know how I missed the fine print, but I ended up ordering two products from Yuuki-cha that are 80 grams instead of the usual 100. Both are shincha, so perhaps that's why. But, there are entire tea sellers that now only deal in 80 grams sizes. I hope that's not the future, but then again I remember when all yogurt cups were 8 ounces! Any thoughts?
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Bok
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Sat May 11, 2019 9:47 am

Denmano wrote:
Sat May 11, 2019 9:08 am
Are 80 gram bags a trend? I don't know how I missed the fine print, but I ended up ordering two products from Yuuki-cha that are 80 grams instead of the usual 100. Both are shincha, so perhaps that's why. But, there are entire tea sellers that now only deal in 80 grams sizes. I hope that's not the future, but then again I remember when all yogurt cups were 8 ounces! Any thoughts?
Is it a case of same price, smaller amount? Price hikes do often not go well with customers, but if the bags just gets smaller, a vendor might get away with it...
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nasalfrog
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Sat May 11, 2019 11:37 am

Denmano wrote:
Sat May 11, 2019 9:08 am
Are 80 gram bags a trend? I don't know how I missed the fine print, but I ended up ordering two products from Yuuki-cha that are 80 grams instead of the usual 100. Both are shincha, so perhaps that's why. But, there are entire tea sellers that now only deal in 80 grams sizes. I hope that's not the future, but then again I remember when all yogurt cups were 8 ounces! Any thoughts?
I have ordered from Yuuki-Cha since 2016 and the Yakushima teas have always been in 80g bags. Yunomi and some other vendors sell Yakushima teas that appear to come in the same packaging, and they also come in 80g bags, so it might be an individual grower's preference or specific to teas grown/packaged in Yakushima.
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Victoria
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Sat May 11, 2019 1:38 pm

I’d like to see more 50gr packs to keep shincha sealed and fresh longer. For a single person 100gr can be challenging to finish in time. Although, I’m going through both Sae Midori packs pretty fast this time around. Both are so fresh and brothy rich.

This morning, in my preheated Gyokuryu sesame filter kyusu, I twirled the fresh leaves around to get aromatics and wake leaves up and noticed something curious. The very fine needles of 20th Anniversary Sae Midori stuck to interior damp surfaces like a magnet. Interesting, because in an earlier session I added the other Sae Midori needles into a thicker preheated Banko ball filter kyusu, and the interior heat quickly evaporated damp moisture prior to leaves entering, so leaves moved freely around. At any rate, even with needles sticking to the damp filter today, the Gyokuro sesame filter is a lightning fast pour.

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pedant
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Sat May 11, 2019 5:14 pm

i agree, the 20th anniversary ocha shincha is very good. a must-drink imo.

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Victoria
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Sat May 11, 2019 5:41 pm

Yazoo pop pop @pedant
Denmano
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Sat May 11, 2019 8:51 pm

Thanks for the input about the 80 gram bags! It's good to know that this generally applies to the Yakushima teas. I'm also a big fan of the Ureshino guricha since that's what I drank many years ago when I lived in Kyushu for a summer. But, it's not out yet as shincha so I'm trying to be patient! If anyone has seen it yet from any vendor, please let me know. :)
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nasalfrog
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Sun May 12, 2019 12:22 pm

Denmano wrote:
Sat May 11, 2019 8:51 pm
If anyone has seen it yet from any vendor, please let me know. :)
No problem! Yunomi appears to have some guricha up in their shincha section, but I don't think it's organic. It might not be available for a while or maybe not at all, but Thés du Japon had an organic Yabukita guricha/tamaryokucha from Ureshino I tried last year that I enjoyed a lot. It had similar flavors to the one on Yuuki-Cha, but was much clearer. It's worth keeping a lookout for.
gatmcm
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Sun May 12, 2019 3:02 pm

Ordered some kabusecha and chiran from ocha to try after im done with the sae midori (both regular and 20th anniversary)
Looking forward to trying them, have heard them mentioned here a few times, they are quite cheap as well.
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Victoria
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Mon May 13, 2019 9:41 pm

Really enjoying both of O-Cha’s Sae Midori shincha, they are complex, refined and so fresh. The 20th anniversary though is sublime with sweet notes of umami, some seaweed, cotton candy and sweet peas... I’m sure someone can describe it better. Getting 3 good steeps from each, and then letting 4th sit overnight, rich.
gatmcm
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Tue May 14, 2019 3:42 am

Victoria wrote:
Mon May 13, 2019 9:41 pm
Really enjoying both of O-Cha’s Sae Midori shincha, they are complex, refined and so fresh. The 20th anniversary though is sublime with sweet notes of umami, some seaweed, cotton candy and sweet peas... I’m sure someone can describe it better. Getting 3 good steeps from each, and then letting 4th sit overnight, rich.
Been getting similar notes, usually to finish I pour room temp water and let it cold steep for a few hours, really highlights the sweet pea flavour
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Dresden
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Tue May 14, 2019 8:28 pm

I still have not picked up any shincha yet this year. I will most likely order some of the 20th anniversary ocha shincha based on what I've heard about it... Along with my normal Yutaka Midori of course.
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d.manuk
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Wed May 15, 2019 7:57 am

Dresden wrote:
Tue May 14, 2019 8:28 pm
I will most likely order some of the 20th anniversary ocha shincha based on what I've heard about it...
Me too!!
I just bought some :D
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nasalfrog
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Mon May 20, 2019 2:41 pm

Got the 20th Anniversary Sae Midori with my O-Cha order today. Upon opening my hopes were high with scents like my favorite fukamushis. My hopes normalized a bit with a wet leaf scent familiar to other SMs I've tried, but on the first sip I was pretty blown away. This first cup pretty much has the highs from all my favorite organic greens with none of the lows. I've been eating fresh snap peas from my garden this past week, and definitely am getting some of that in the wonderful mix as others have stated.

I let my wife have a sip and her exact words were "oh my God". She's not a regular drinker of green tea, but has tried many of the ones I find enjoyable.

I guess this tea solidifies my previously tentative decision to start regularly sampling a few teas outside of organic. More teas like this may take me towards a middle path.
Victoria wrote:
Mon May 13, 2019 9:41 pm
...with sweet notes of umami, some seaweed, cotton candy and sweet peas...
Definitely getting that cotton candy in the 2nd steep, wow...
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