2023 Shincha Harvest tea recommendations?

[Dresden]

Still browsing sources and trying to decide. There's just so many choices out there. Anyone pull the trigger on stuff yet this year?

[Victoria]

Still browsing sources and trying to decide. There's just so many choices out there. Anyone pull the trigger on stuff yet this year?

Not yet, I’m waiting a few more weeks for more teas to post. Looking at O-Cha and Thes du Japon right now. Apparently the harvest was early this year so 1st flush teas might not be as good as in 2022. Hmm, also high cost of shipping will factor in this time, so I’ll make comparisons there as well.

[Teafortea]

Not yet either. I have some in my basket in thes du japon but shipping is high for just few teas so I'm waiting to make a big order to justify the shipping. DHL taxed 48 euro for an order of 130 last time on top of shipping

[Bok]

Not yet either. I have some in my basket in thes du japon but shipping is high for just few teas so I'm waiting to make a big order to justify the shipping. DHL taxed 48 euro for an order of 130 last time on top of shipping

DHL is the worst... bloody thieves.

[teatray]

Not yet either. I have some in my basket in thes du japon but shipping is high for just few teas so I'm waiting to make a big order to justify the shipping. DHL taxed 48 euro for an order of 130 last time on top of shipping

I wonder, have you tried normal Post air parcels (not EMS) to France? The best routes differ between EU member states, and dealing with national Posts can be a nightmare sometimes, but, on average, for my country at least, non-express airmail is by far the easiest & cheapest way to get stuff from TdJ.

[Teafortea]

Not yet either. I have some in my basket in thes du japon but shipping is high for just few teas so I'm waiting to make a big order to justify the shipping. DHL taxed 48 euro for an order of 130 last time on top of shipping

DHL is the worst... bloody thieves.

Yup

[Teafortea]

Not yet either. I have some in my basket in thes du japon but shipping is high for just few teas so I'm waiting to make a big order to justify the shipping. DHL taxed 48 euro for an order of 130 last time on top of shipping

I wonder, have you tried normal Post air parcels (not EMS) to France? The best routes differ between EU member states, and dealing with national Posts can be a nightmare sometimes, but, on average, for my country at least, non-express airmail is by far the easiest & cheapest way to get stuff from TdJ.

I have with taiwan tea crafts. Philip was very kind to suggest that way and it has been great to not have to pay so many taxes. But with tdj the only option it gives me is DHL, Ups, Ems or sea shipment. I've never tried sea shipment as its just too long . How do you choose non express airmail?

[teatray]

Not yet either. I have some in my basket in thes du japon but shipping is high for just few teas so I'm waiting to make a big order to justify the shipping. DHL taxed 48 euro for an order of 130 last time on top of shipping

I wonder, have you tried normal Post air parcels (not EMS) to France? The best routes differ between EU member states, and dealing with national Posts can be a nightmare sometimes, but, on average, for my country at least, non-express airmail is by far the easiest & cheapest way to get stuff from TdJ.

I have with taiwan tea crafts. Philip was very kind to suggest that way and it has been great to not have to pay so many taxes. But with tdj the only option it gives me is DHL, Ups, Ems or sea shipment. I've never tried sea shipment as its just too long . How do you choose non express airmail?

I just have it in the options. Maybe it's enabled for my country but not for yours? (If so, I imagine there's a good reason for it, as they must ship a lot more regularly to France than to Bulgaria.) Looks like this (except I change to Japanese when ordering).

[Teafortea]

Ah I see, yes I don't have that option shown then.

Thx for the input

[Dresden]

Welp... After waiting a bit and looking around I ended up pulling the trigger on a few items from Yuuki-Cha (who are offering 13 items at posting). I didn't really have anything particular in mind this year, and it's been quite some time since I've thrown some business their way, so I figured, "Why not?"

I also have been wanting a small vessel for the office so I picked up a 140ml Gyokko yohen kyusu while I was at it.

I'm not sure how many orders I will have this year, but it's nice to get that first one out of the way and "scratch the itch" so to speak.

[vgamedude]

Welp... After waiting a bit and looking around I ended up pulling the trigger on a few items from Yuuki-Cha (who are offering 13 items at posting). I didn't really have anything particular in mind this year, and it's been quite some time since I've thrown some business their way, so I figured, "Why not?"

I also have been wanting a small vessel for the office so I picked up a 140ml Gyokko yohen kyusu while I was at it.

I'm not sure how many orders I will have this year, but it's nice to get that first one out of the way and "scratch the itch" so to speak.

I've not looked at Yuuki-Cha. I've been waiting for Thes Du Japon inventory but they still have no Gyokuro. They did get some more sencha options today or yesterday though, and I'm interested in their Shincha options.

Sazen, Hibiki an or O-cha doesn't have any Gyokuro either.

Is Gyokuro something that normally comes this much later?

[pizzapotamus]

Welp... After waiting a bit and looking around I ended up pulling the trigger on a few items from Yuuki-Cha (who are offering 13 items at posting). I didn't really have anything particular in mind this year, and it's been quite some time since I've thrown some business their way, so I figured, "Why not?"

I also have been wanting a small vessel for the office so I picked up a 140ml Gyokko yohen kyusu while I was at it.

I'm not sure how many orders I will have this year, but it's nice to get that first one out of the way and "scratch the itch" so to speak.

I've not looked at Yuuki-Cha. I've been waiting for Thes Du Japon inventory but they still have no Gyokuro. They did get some more sencha options today or yesterday though, and I'm interested in their Shincha options.

Sazen, Hibiki an or O-cha doesn't have any Gyokuro either.

Is Gyokuro something that normally comes this much later?

Yes, good gyokuro and matcha are nearly universally rested at least until autumn if not longer. I think TdJ's blog even had a post decrying gyokuro shincha as a marketing gimmick, although I can't find it atm. Spring is really a perfectly fine time to buy the previous years harvest .

[vgamedude]

Welp... After waiting a bit and looking around I ended up pulling the trigger on a few items from Yuuki-Cha (who are offering 13 items at posting). I didn't really have anything particular in mind this year, and it's been quite some time since I've thrown some business their way, so I figured, "Why not?"

I also have been wanting a small vessel for the office so I picked up a 140ml Gyokko yohen kyusu while I was at it.

I'm not sure how many orders I will have this year, but it's nice to get that first one out of the way and "scratch the itch" so to speak.

I've not looked at Yuuki-Cha. I've been waiting for Thes Du Japon inventory but they still have no Gyokuro. They did get some more sencha options today or yesterday though, and I'm interested in their Shincha options.

Sazen, Hibiki an or O-cha doesn't have any Gyokuro either.

Is Gyokuro something that normally comes this much later?

Yes, good gyokuro and matcha are nearly universally rested at least until autumn if not longer. I think TdJ's blog even had a post decrying gyokuro shincha as a marketing gimmick, although I can't find it atm. Spring is really a perfectly fine time to buy the previous years harvest .

Oh so there is nothing wrong with ordering some of last years Gyokuro off Thes du Japon with some of this years shincha? I'm pretty new to Japanese tea (obviously lol) only really had limited experience with Matcha.

So I could probably go ahead and order now if I was interested in the shincha he has and not miss out on much? What about Sencha from last year? Is that considered "too old" or is that resting time okay for it as well? I see people here mentioning resting period for sencha, not sure if a year is considered too much.

[pizzapotamus]

I've not looked at Yuuki-Cha. I've been waiting for Thes Du Japon inventory but they still have no Gyokuro. They did get some more sencha options today or yesterday though, and I'm interested in their Shincha options.

Sazen, Hibiki an or O-cha doesn't have any Gyokuro either.

Is Gyokuro something that normally comes this much later?

Yes, good gyokuro and matcha are nearly universally rested at least until autumn if not longer. I think TdJ's blog even had a post decrying gyokuro shincha as a marketing gimmick, although I can't find it atm. Spring is really a perfectly fine time to buy the previous years harvest .

Oh so there is nothing wrong with ordering some of last years Gyokuro off Thes du Japon with some of this years shincha? I'm pretty new to Japanese tea (obviously lol) only really had limited experience with Matcha.

So I could probably go ahead and order now if I was interested in the shincha he has and not miss out on much? What about Sencha from last year? Is that considered "too old" or is that resting time okay for it as well? I see people here mentioning resting period for sencha, not sure if a year is considered too much.

Absolutely buy last years gyokuro with some shincha if you'd like some gyokuro. Properly processed and stored(which will be the case from TdJ) last year's sencha is still fine too, I'm currently still working through stuff harvested last spring and purchased last fall and just as a reference point the "best by" dates on my remaining bags are all Oct 2023 or later(mostly later)

[Teafortea]

I love love thesdujapon gyokuro and I'm still enjoying his last year senchas. I have stored them well and I think they taste amazing. You can't go wrong with any of them.