SHINCHA 2019!

Non-oxidized tea
swordofmytriumph
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Tue May 21, 2019 11:14 am

I ordered a second package of the 20th anniversary. I’ll save it for later this summer, when I intend to work lots of overtime. This’ll help me get through the tough part of the summer!
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Victoria
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Tue May 21, 2019 4:44 pm

Finished my first pack of 20th anniversary Sae Midori, it is so rich yet lyrical and playful.... followed by his 2019 Sae Midori shincha that is also very special. It is sweeter and more elegant than a few I’ve had in past years, not as in your face green. I will say they are both very special. Did anyone else also have his Sae Midori in past few years as a comparison? Mine had been previously refrigerated, so maybe not a fair comparison. [mention]Chip[/mention] [mention]Jo[/mention] [mention]pedant[/mention] ....
GrouchoM
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Wed May 22, 2019 1:13 pm

I'm more of A Chinese green tea drinker than Japanese tea drinker but all this buzz about the special Sae Midori has me considering giving it a try. I own a Hario 300ml glass kyusu and a 4 temperature Zojirushi (208/195/175/160). Would these suffice to make a good set of infusions? I view Japanese teas as fussier to brew than the Chinese ones. What quantity, time, temperature would you recommend for each infusion?
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Victoria
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Wed May 22, 2019 1:26 pm

GrouchoM wrote:
Wed May 22, 2019 1:13 pm
I'm more of A Chinese green tea drinker than Japanese tea drinker but all this buzz about the special Sae Midori has me considering giving it a try. I own a Hario 300ml glass kyusu and a 4 temperature Zojirushi (208/195/175/160). Would these suffice to make a good set of infusions? I view Japanese teas as fussier to brew than the Chinese ones. What quantity, time, temperature would you recommend for each infusion?
[mention]GrouchoM[/mention] where are you located, can’t find your introduction? There may be some local options for you. Depending on your budget, you can get very moderately priced kyusu with a metal screen, to higher quality with a ceramic screen. O-Cha and Den’s have ceramic kyusu for under 25$ usd. Higher end can be found at; Artistic Nippon, Asako Isobe, Hojo. I have found Hario glass to be just Okay with sencha, if it has the metal basket. Better though would be a ceramic kyusu under 250ml. Also, I recommend you get 2019 Shincha Sae Midori as a starting point of reference, if you aren’t familiar with shincha you might miss the nuances in his 20th anniversary. My 2 cents.
GrouchoM
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Wed May 22, 2019 2:04 pm

Hi,
I'm about 30 minutes north of Boston. The Hario has a large metal mesh strainer basket.
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Victoria
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Wed May 22, 2019 3:03 pm

@GrouchoM, I have the same one at my mother’s as a back up, and find for Japanese greens and oolong it doesn’t make tea sing, that is why I recommend a clay pot.
GrouchoM
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Wed May 22, 2019 3:10 pm

Ok, thanks for the info. Shouldn't I get the sincha since it's a "once in a lifetime" opportunity?
GrouchoM
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Wed May 22, 2019 3:13 pm

I should note that I bought and used the Sae Midori (and another deep steamed tea) a few years ago but just brewed it in a mug with a very fine mesh basket strainer.
GrouchoM
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Wed May 22, 2019 3:42 pm

I take it back... 5 years ago, I had Sencha Fukamushi Premium from Hibiki-an.
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Mrs. Chip
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Wed May 22, 2019 3:48 pm

GrouchoM wrote:
Wed May 22, 2019 3:10 pm
Ok, thanks for the info. Shouldn't I get the sincha since it's a "once in a lifetime" opportunity?
Hi GrouchoM, welcome to the forum.

I would get 1 bag of each of the shincha Sae Midoris. :mrgreen:
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Victoria
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Wed May 22, 2019 7:34 pm

What is everyone using to steep their Sae Midori in? This year I am using a few once lonely kyusu; 2 Banko with ball filter (below), and a Gyokuryu with sesame filter for 20th anniversary. They all pour fast and clean (no back-up) with fine Fukamushi.

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nasalfrog
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Thu May 23, 2019 9:41 am

Finally placed my shincha order with Yuuki-Cha. I decided to go with 2 teas I've enjoyed before, the Chiran and Shimofuri Masashige, and 2 I have not had, the Shimofuri Taihei (a Sae Midori) and Harumoegi. I'm looking forward to trying the Shimofuri Taihei to contrast to the 20th Anniversary SM.
Victoria wrote:
Wed May 22, 2019 7:34 pm
What is everyone using to steep their Sae Midori in?
I have only had 2 sessions so far, and used a direct hole Kobiwako. I will be trying it in a Kohokujo pot with a ball filter whenever I get over this sinus infection I picked up a couple of days ago. Maybe I flew to high with the SM and got the shincha flu. What a time to be sick and not be able to taste anything. Until then I'm drinking Yuuki-Cha's Haru Bancha from last year in a Gyokko sesame filter pot.
swordofmytriumph
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Thu May 23, 2019 10:51 am

So my dad just got back from a visit to Japan and he brought me back some shincha! (At least he thought it was shincha.) He stopped at a place, I don’t know where, and got some, I have no clue where it’s from but I’mmpretty sure it’s a light steamed sencha. I love it. It’s very fresh and light. It has the umami, thick mouthfeel, and a tiny hint of the ocean like a good sencha should, but the flavor itself reminds me of a Chinese green—refreshing, the sweet/floral and a tiny hint of the nutty flavor that a good dragonwell has. It’s like someone took the best qualities of both green teas and mashed them together to make one harmonious whole. The flavors are laser focused and clean. Altogether a fantastic tea.
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pizzapotamus
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Thu May 23, 2019 12:31 pm

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Thu May 23, 2019 10:51 am
So my dad just got back from a visit to Japan and he brought me back some shincha! (At least he thought it was shincha.)
Edit: Oh...also the great big writing down the middle simply reads Uji Shincha....so.... puzzling out meaning for the sticker not so much needed :oops:

Extremely amateur translation but I'd think shincha too, the sticker on the top right appears to read 初摘, which from the individual kanji is "first plucking" although google has the whole thing as first time. Then 大走り would be something about (big) run... so if we pretend Japanese has the same type of idiom as English for "first run", we've got a description of shincha. Also just tossing the whole 初摘大走り into a google search gives top results that have shincha in the url :)
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Mrs. Chip
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Thu May 23, 2019 12:45 pm

Victoria wrote:
Tue May 21, 2019 4:44 pm
Finished my first pack of 20th anniversary Sae Midori, it is so rich yet lyrical and playful.... followed by his 2019 Sae Midori sincha that is also very special. It is sweeter and more elegant than a few I’ve had in past years, not as in your face green. I will say they are both very special. Did anyone else also have his Sae Midori in past few years as a comparison? Mine had been previously refrigerated, so maybe not a fair comparison. Chip Jo pedant ....
As we recall, last year was exceptional across the board, so says Kevin and Chip and I concur. The Sae Midori Satsuma Asamushi and the Fukamushi Sae Midori both were stellar.

Shincha and sencha in our house, last only about 3 to 4 months, lol, so we have nothing even refrigerated from 2018 and back. In fact our TeaFridge is only contains this year's Shincha.

However, we recall very sweet and pleasant umami. Last year's Fuka was sweeter, a bit more robust overall than 2019. This year's SM is more typical for SM.
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