Green Tea Forum

greenisgood · Black Belt Joined: 20 Jan 2008 Posts: 112

Yeah teavana sencha is pretty bad, I don't know if I could handle that transition right to yutaka midori. That's cool you taste the citrus too, thats one of the first things I thought of when I tasted it.

Oni · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 15 Mar 2008 Posts: 187

Today my package arrived, the yutaka midori and the kirameki and 4 other kinds of shincha from diffrent vendors, now I proudly own 600 grams of fresh tea in nitro packs, I`m supplyed for a few moths, the only problem I have is that I do not have enough storin devices for the tea and I have an uncontrolable urge to try all of them but I really shouldn`t it will lose freshness, so I tried Yutaka Midori today, it was amazing, it is a fukamushi sencha, that explains the deep green color, but the taste was unique, none I have experienced before, the aftertaste hooked me I simply love it it is a misterius citrus aroma but spicy too, I used 6 g for 200 cc, it was sweet and spicy, this definitely got my attention, here at o-cha you have truly very good tea at an affordable price.

Kevangogh · Forum God Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 904 Location: Japan

I've had a few customers who didn't take heed of the shincha warning and brewed it too heavy, and then complained about it. Same with Hatsumi. Well, I've tried them both of course and they are fine - but it's sometimes hard to convince the customer of that, especially a beginner.

Ed · Posted: May 15, 2008 8:48 pm Post subject:

By shincha do you mean the Fukamushi Supreme? I think it's perfect.

Kevangogh · Forum God Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 904 Location: Japan

No, Yutaka Midori, Hatsumi. I know there is nothing wrong with them, they're both excellent. But you have to know what you are doing and some people don't.

Chip · Posted: May 16, 2008 2:29 am Post subject:

Ed · Posted: May 16, 2008 8:55 am Post subject:

Yeah, it took a while to get used to Hatsumi too. But now I'm blowing through it at an alarming rate. Cool

The lower temp recommendation for shincha is a good tip. I think a 1-1.5 min steep is a good idea too. 2 mins is just too much for Hatsumi.

Oni · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 15 Mar 2008 Posts: 187

I tried the kirameki, it was a very light clear tasting tea, this refined tea can only be appreciated by the cunosiour with a rich tea tasting memory.

Kevangogh · Forum God Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 904 Location: Japan

The Miyabi is in, whew!

Chip · Posted: May 17, 2008 3:46 pm Post subject:

Ed · Posted: May 17, 2008 4:16 pm Post subject:

Nice.

olivierco · Brown Belt Joined: 01 May 2007 Posts: 67 Location: France

FataliTEA · Posted: May 18, 2008 12:47 am Post subject:

Yutaka midori sounds great. I'm going to add it in with my next order of FUKAMUSHI SUPREME, cuz that stuff has no comparison.

160°f steeps of hatsumi do turn out better, and I wouldn't go any longer than 90 seconds, I'm going 70 seconds. Truth be told, I just don't find it to be great no mater how I brew it. Oh well. Some you win (FUkaMUSHI SupREME), and some you lose.

Chip · Posted: May 18, 2008 3:41 am Post subject:

Shincha Kirameki. Elegant in every respect. She is a lady! This is the second year I bought this.

I would designate this as asamushi cha, light steamed. As a result, it is much more tolerant to varying amounts of leaf. It is not a perfect needle form though...but it comes down to taste after all, right? The dry leaf is a deep forest green with a very fresh aroma.

I have had a lot of fun with this shincha...seems hard to mess it up leaf wise. I have gone light to pretty much. As long as you respect the temp...165ish*. 1.5 min. 5 steeps for this soggy leaf tea lover, increasing temp with each steep.

The fact that it is a limited time offering sold by Tsuen Tea House (through O-Cha), a tea house that has been operating in the same family for I think 29 generations and over 700 years just makes it that much more enjoyable...it is history in my cup!!!

This is a premium quality sencha that is priced at a pretty fairly, though not cheap...but it is hand picked after all.

This fine sencha is virtually devoid of astringency and roughness, some could argue too smooth...I would disagree. It is a great sencha to experience, even though the smoothness may bore me if I had this everyday for months, but it will be gone for another year very soon anyway. So far, I have had it everyday for almost a week...and I love it first thing in the morning.

Ed · Posted: May 18, 2008 5:36 am Post subject:

Nice review, Chip. Smile

Kevin, have you had a chance to try Miyabi yet? How is it? shades