Kiwami Shincha

Tea: Kiwami Shincha
Vendor: Zencha
Price: $25.00 / 100g
Source: Yame, Japan
Vendor Description: The Premium Sencha produced only from the first flush leaves of Asagiri, a variety of tea plant. You can enjoy excellent natural sweet aroma and cleanly astringent taste.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is borderline between a chumushi and a fukamushi. It has a very fresh aroma as is expected from a shincha. There is a little bit of flat leaf in the mix.

1st Infusion Parameters: 3g, 5oz, 185F, 45s

1st Infusion: The infusion has a clear bright green hue to it. It is radiant and brilliant as is expected from a shincha. The aroma is sweet and fresh. The flavor matches well to the aroma in terms of a very clean and fresh flavor with a hint of vibrance to it. There is a hint of marine flavor lingering in the background.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 15s, 185F

2nd Infusion: This infusion has a murkier, more characteristic fukamushi color to it. the hue is a deep green color. The aroma is very bold and intense. The flavor is a lot lighter, but the weight of the fukamushi portion of the flavor seems to almost conflict with the freshness of the shincha. It finishes with a light sense of astringency.

Rating: 7/10

Conclusion: This is a pretty good shincha, nothing spectacular, but nothing terrible. It expresses the freshness and vibrance that should be in a shincha, but the fukamushi aspect seems to conflict with the freshness feel of the shincha. This is partly due to my preference for an asamushi, but with a shincha this seems to be expressing itself a bit more. At it's price it doesn't feel particularly cheap or expensive, but leans toward the pricey side. I was somewhat expecting a more defined flavor for a Yame shincha.

Hashiri Shincha - Round 2

Round 2: Took another shot at the Hashiri Shincha from Sugimoto USA. Turned out a bit better this time, but there might be more room for improvement.

1st Infusion Parameters: 185F, 5oz, 3.5g, 45s

1st Infusion: This infusion was lightly murky with a green shincha radiance to it. It's not as opaque as Round 1, but it still has a certain degree of murkiness to it. The aroma is vibrant and fresh. The flavor is lighter, but bodied. It has a light central flavor, but the flavor is filled with freshness and just a hint of fukamushi power.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 185F, Instant pour

2nd Infusion: This infusion was characteristic dark murky fukamushi green. The flavor was quite rich and more bodied. There was just a little bit of astringency to the flavor.

Conclusion: The second infusion is still coming stronger than I would like. I'm considering dropping the leaf down further and extending the first infusion to keep that around where it is. then an instant pour might work better with the 2nd Infusion. Still it's a lovely tea, but I just have the feeling that this could go further and be more impressive.

Hashiri Shincha

Tea: Hashiri Shincha 2009
Vendor: Sugimoto USA
Price: $20.00 / 50g
Source: Japan
Vendor Description: Hashiri means "early season" in Japanese. Our Hashiri Shincha is produced from very young leaves harvested at the end of April (This year's harvest was April 24th). These early-season leaves are very soft and contain a lot of sweetness. This is the taste of spring.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is a very characteristic fukamushi. It appears to be moreso than most other fukamushi that I have run across. Most of the leaf is in the small pieces that is somewhat distinctive of fukamushi. There is a rich vegetal aroma to this dark green mix.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5 oz, 185F, 45s

1st Infusion: This tea has a rich green color. It is quite dark for a first infusion, but still has a shincha radiance to it. The flavor felt like there were three separate portions to it. There was a very up front assertive fukamushi flavor, followed by a sharp and bold central flavor, and finished with a light tapering marine backend. It felt like there was a very cleansing bitterness to this tea, there was just the right amount of astringency on the backend to pair up with this.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 15s, 185F

2nd Infusion: This infusion was a dark green murky fukamushi color. It was pretty much what I've come to expect from a second infusion fukamushi. It was dark and murky. The flavor was much bolder than before, it was sharper and more bitter than the first infusion. There was a medium astringency. It felt like there was too much power to this infusion that it became a bit harsh. There were hints of marine flavor with this infusion.

Rating: TBD

Conclusion: Since shincha can be very tricky to pin down, I'm going to wait to determine a rating for this tea in this infusion. I'll alter the parameters a bit and do a second review for it. At these parameters the tea was a bit too strong and overpowering. Even still it managed to show some of those shincha qualities that make the spring a wonderful time for green tea. It has the vibrance and freshness of spring in it. Unfortunately like the Temomi this tea was preorder only.

Temomi Shincha 2009

Tea: Temomi Shincha 2009
Vendor: Sugimoto USA (SA)
Price: $15.00 / 10g
Vendor Description: Temomi Shincha is a very special tea for very special occasions. It is made only by hands starting from picking fresh leaves in the tea field to kenading the leaves for the final process. Whole procedure takes approximately 8 hours. On April 19th 2009, 1.8kg (4lb.) of Temomi Shincha was made by 8 Temomi artisans in Shizuoka Japan. By following the enclosed instructions you can experience the same taste and flavor which the ancients enjoyed several hundred years ago. Just like espresso, it is to enjoy a shot of intense and rich green tea.

About This Tea: This tea is a very special offering. It's the first time that this tea is available to the US. It is quite impressively hand crafted in very exclusive small batches. This item was available for preorder only. It is a unique experince in the world of tea and is something that I think any true lover of green tea should enjoy.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea has nothing but beautufl long and graceful needles to it. They are all whole leaves, around an inch in length or so. There is a light marine aroma to it and the leaves are lightly shiny.

1st Infusion Parameters: 10g, 100F, 2.5oz, 2 min

1st Infusion: This tea produces a clear yellow hue. There is a rich thick aroma to it, and it packs a flavor to match. The flavor is bold and rich, with a crisp sharpness from the intensity. It has a very strong power to it and a long lasting aftertaste. The power is almost overwhelming yet not offputing like any other leaf would be.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 130F, 1 min, 2.5 oz

2nd Infusion: This time around it was slightly greener in hue, but the tea was crystal clear. The flavor was crisper. It seems to center around the core of the intense snap of the flavor. The aroma is fresh, light and calming. The flavor is light up front to start, but it escalates into an intense central flavor. The center is intense, but not as much as the first infusion. The edges of the flavor have lightened up a bit.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 130F, 1 min

3rd Infusion: This time the flavor was brighter yellow than before. It has some of the radiance of a shincha, but not quite as much as some of the more traditional senchas. The flavor is exhibiting the same light frontal flavor, and then jumps right back into that strong center again. It feels much cleaner and sharper this time around. There is a tiny bit of bitterness to heighten the sharpness of the flavor and a tinge of astringency on the back end. Still this tea is pushing the thoughts of richness and intensity to me.

4th Infusion Parameters: 160F, 1 min

4th Infusion: This time the flavor was more up front. The initial flavor is very crisp, it reminds me of an asamushi sencha like the Hosen from Ippodo. The color is becoming more and more radiant. The flavor is still very intense, but it is almost like a whole different tea this time around. This infusion surpasses regular sencha first and second infusions still. There is a light and clean well defined central flavor here.

5th Infusion Parameters: 160F, 1:30

5th Infusion: The color is slightly lighter at this point. The flavor is lightening up to match. It is still very crisp and well focused, and it interestingly is exhibiting a more bodied feel to it. It finishes with a light sense of astringency.

6th Infusion Parameters: 185F, 2:00

6th Infusion: At this point the tea has a light yellow hue. The flavor feels to have fully shifted to the front now. There is a little bit of biterness that is not from the intensity, it is a delicate yet bolder flavor that finishes with a light sense of astringency.

Used Leaf: Even the used leaf for this tea is gorgeous. The instructions suggest enjoying them as a salad. What I opted to do was after the 6th infusion I added them to some cold water for a 1L cold water infusion. Even after 6 infusions it provided a very unique iced tea. It had a light yet refreshing flavor that was almost reminiscent of a Long Jing in flavor.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: As with the last time I tried Temomi from Sugimoto, it was amazing. It has no real comparison within the regular offerings of any other vendor. The parallel to espresso with this tea works on many levels. It shares the same intensity. Neither are something you should drink in great quantities. It's something to be savored and enjoyed. The thought that this is a special occasion tea cannot be truer, it should be something to hearld the beginning of spring and kept in the moment. Unfortunately if you missed the boat on this one, you missed out. Until next year I guess.

Temomi Shincha

Sugimoto USA currently has preorders open for their shincha for this year. Somewhat different than a lot of other vendors, Sugimoto's shincha is only going to be available for preorder only. I.e. the item will not be carried in stock after the preorders are fulfilled. Being introduced to the US for the first time this year is their Temomi-cha (now referred to as Temomi Shincha). This tea was absolutely amazing when I had the opportunity to try it out last year. It is unlike any other sencha that I have tried. It's only available for preorder for the next few days though. After April 15th, preorders are closed and you'll have missed the boat.

I highly suggest you try some.

Tanegashima Kuritawase 2008

Tea: Tanegashima Kuritawase 2008 - 6411
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Source: Japan
Vendor Description: The first flush green tea from Tanegashima island have a refreshing aftertaste

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is a very well formed Asamushi. The needles are long and thin with a minimal amount of dust. Some of the leaves are almost an inch long and there is very little stem in the mix as well.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5oz, 170F, 45s

1st Infusion: This tea produced a pale yellow green color. Considering that this is an asamushi there is a fairly green hue to it. There was a ligth nutty aroma to it. There was a rich umami flavor to this tea, it is almost like a gyokuro in texture. There is a typical light bitterness in the aftertaste. The flavor is very crisp and pleasant. There is not much of a shincha radiance to this tea though.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 10s, 185F

2nd Infusion: This infusion had a more intense green color. The aroma is very light and uplifiting. The flavor has light and fruity notes. This fruitiness is followed by a light bitterness. There are hints of the thickness from the first infusion, but nowhere near the same as the first infusion. There are also grassy notes in the aftertaste that compete with the sencha kick.

Rating: 9/10

Conclusion: This is a very enjoyable asamushi. This is one of the shincha offerings from Lupicia and I did not open until well past the initial few months when shincha is freshest. Even with a few months of aging under it's belt it still shows a very pleasant flavor and some very complex characteristics. I look forward to trying it again this year.

Sencha Uji 2008

Tea: Sencha Uji 2008 - 6426
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Source: Kyoto, Japan
Vendor Description: The first flush green tea from Soraku district of Kyoto. The exquisite aroma lingers in the mouth.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea has lots of long thin needles. There is lots of dark green color with very little stem in the mix. There is no dust to speak of, the aroma is very sweet and sencha like. From the looks of the tea it is most likely an asamushi tea.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5 oz, 185F, 1 min

1st Infusion: The tea is lightly murky with a bright yellow hue. There is a very light and crisp sweet aroma coming from this tea. The flavor is lightly grassy as if to hint at a gyokuro in flavor. The flavor is rich and clean, with just a light sense of bitterness and a light clean aftertaste.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 185F 15s

2nd Infusion: This infusion as well was lightly murky. The hue darkened though to a yellow-brown hue. There is less aroma in this infusion and the flavor is a bit lighter, but it still feels quite clean in flavor. There is just a little bit of grassiness poking out here and there in this tea.

Rating: 9/10

Conclusion: This is a very good asamushi. Even though I ended up opening it a bit past it's prime as a shincha from last year it still exhibited a wonderful freshness and cleanliness that is characteristic of an asamushi. The flavor is very light and clean, just as an asamushi should be and it was a prime example thereof. I can't wait to see what the 2009's hold.

Shincha Houryoku

Tea: Shincha Houryoku
Vendor: Den's Tea
Source: Shizuoka, Japan

About This Tea: This was a bag of '08 shincha that I had forgotten to open up and try out from back in May.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea was a browner leaf color than normal. It had a very faint yet fresh aroma to it.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5 oz, 140F, 1 min

1st Infusion: This tea still had the bright and vibrant green hue normally associated with shincha. It is not as luminescent as some were back in the spring, but it was still a beautiful color of green. The flavor was very smooth and well rounded. It was rich and full bodied for a green tea. There was no sense of bitterness or astringency.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 30s, 140F

2nd Infusion: This infusion was darker and murkier than the first. There was a light bitterness to this infusion and the flavor was richer and more intense than the first. It was more lacking of the bright shincha freshness at this point though.

Rating: 6/10

Conclusion: Considering this tea was well past it's optimal freshness time, it was still an enjoyable cup of tea. Even though it was a bit on the older side, it was still quite flavorful, but the flavor was a little more subdued. I look forward to next year's shincha.

Shizu no Kaoru

Tea: Shizu no Kaoru Shincha
Vendor: Zencha
Source: Japan

Leaf: The leaf consists of very small pieces, much like a fukamushi. It has a light sweet aroma. Some of the tea consists of very thin needles, although they are not necessarily the straightest of pieces.

1st Infusion: This tea has the characteristic shincha bright luminescent green color to it. The tea is murky, which is not surprising considering the appearance of the leaf. It has a light and sweet aroma, but the aroma hints at something else which I cannot really place. The flavor is very light and clear. It is light bodied and has no astringency. It feels smooth as it glides across the tongue and has a very clean feeling in the mouth. There are slight hints of grassiness to the flavor.

2nd Infusion: This infusion was a darker green and very murky. The aroma was much more traditional sencha. The flavor is very light and open feeling with a very light body to it. There is a light bitterness and a light astringency.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This tea is very light and delicate. It is well balanced with a light sense of bitterness and astringency. It is a very good example of a very good shincha. I can't wait to see if the batch from next year is going to be as good as this one.

Shincha

Tea: Shincha
Vendor: Maeda-en

About this tea: I picked this tea up at a Nijiya grocery store back in May. I unfortunately don't know much about the tea, aside from that it is a 2008 shincha crop from Maeda-en. Information regarding this particular sencha has since been removed from their website due to the seasonality of shincha.

Leaf: The leaf had a very enjoyable sweet aroma to the leaf. The tea had a lot of smaller pieces to it, and a very noticeable blend of colors. There were a significant amount of light green bits and pieces in the mix and a lot of very dark colored pieces.

1st Infusion: The tea had a very bright green color and was moderately cloudy. The flavor was very sweet and thick. Even though the flavor was quite light. It has a light sense of astringency.

2nd Infusion: This was a darker and murkier infusion. There was a light sweet aroma to it with a hint of a roasted aroma to it. The flavor was very light and up front, but there was not much flavor on the back end. This infusion also had a moderate sense of astringency.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: This tea was rather surprising for a maeda-en tea. All of my previous tries of this brand had been somewhat lackluster and mediocre. This tea turned out to be quite good, although not exceptional. This is a very solid and good shincha. I unfortunately don't have the price of the tea on hand anymore so I don't know how much of a value it was, but the flavor is enjoyable. I will have to give the Maeda-en brand another try.

Mikawaya Hatsuzumi Shincha

Tea: Mikawaya Hatsuzumi Shincha
Vendor: Mitsuwa
Price: $8.39 / 6oz.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea was a very uneven shape. It was not particularly even or uniform. Much of the leaf looked pressed like a Long Jing. There was a wide variety of sizes from very small leaves to rather large leaves. As a whole the tea had a very matte color to it.

1st Infusion: The tea was quite murky for a first infusion. It gave off an almost woody aroma. The flavor reminded me of a bancha with a slight sweet kick at the end. It finished with a light sense of astringency. The flavor was very light bodied and had a bitterness that was unlike normal sencha.

2nd Infusion: The color was still murky, but this time it had a more yellow-brown color to it. The flavor was bitter and flat.

Rating: 1/10

Conclusion: I picked up this tea mostly out of curiosity. Most shincha that I picked up was exclusive and very high quality. This tea went to show me what the other end of the spectrum could be like. Just because something is a shincha does not mean that it is going to be a good tea.

Uji Sencha Miyabi Shincha - Day 1

Tea: Uji Sencha Miyabi Shincha
Vendor: O-cha
Price: $27.95 / 100g
Source: Uji, Japan
Vendor Description: From the 2008 harvest and currently in "shincha" form, a very special sencha from Uji, near Kyoto, this tea is very aromatic and is of the highest quality. From the moment you open the package, that special aroma lets you know you're in for a treat. Deep green in color, "Miyabi" is even higher quality than a previous great Uji sencha we used to carry, and we're sure you will love this tea. We originally found this wonderful tea on a product scouting mission in Japan and brought some back to offer our customers. It's been popular ever since.
Challenge: We urge you to compare this sencha against any of the others available on the internet for that nice grassy aroma and taste. Try some today!

Brewing Notes: As shincha can be very bold, brew this green tea for only about 1.5 minutes and at a perhaps even lower temperature than you would normally.

Leaf: The leaf has a very clear and clean smelling vegetal aroma to it.

1st Infusion Parameters: 4.86g, 6oz, 170 F, 60s

1st Infusion: This infusion had a very clear green color to it. The initial flavor at the front of the tongue was very sweet. This flavor was very short lived though and it had no aftertaste or astringency. The flavor was very soft with a hint of grassiness to it.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 10s, 175 F

2nd Infusion: This time the tea produced a murkier color, it was much more vibrantly green. The initial taste was very different. The flavor was not as upfront, but rather was a softer and grassier flavor. It felt richer and smoother, with a light sense of astringency on the back end. Where the first infusion was tasted primarily on the tip of the tongue, this infusion had almost no flavor there. There was much more flavor on the back of the tongue for this infusion.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 180F, 30s

3rd Infusion: This time the tea was clearer, but yet retained a radiant green color to it. The flavor was lighter, and yet was very sweet. There was a medium sense of astringency with the tea this time around.

Fukamushi Sencha Supreme Shincha

Tea: Fukamushi Sencha Supreme Shincha
Vendor: O-cha
Price: $22.95 / 100g
Source: Shizuoka, Japan
Vendor Description: Fukamushi Sencha "Supreme" (Current stock is shincha) - A first rate, first flush green tea. Harvested from the first round of 2008 young spring leaves, this green tea comes from Shizuoka Prefecture. If you like an "intense" green tea, this is the tea for you. Very green and very thick. More astringent than most or our green teas, the taste of this fukamushi sencha remains on the palate for an extended time. As this is a very bold green tea, be sure to not brew too hot, for too long, or with too much leaf. As with all of our loose leaf green teas, freshly packaged in nitrogen filled bags.

Leaf Mass: 5.04g

Leaf: The leaf consisted of a lot of smaller pieces with a few larger leaves in it. This was somewhat expected of a fukamushi though, the small pieces tend to be characteristic of this kind of tea. The leaf seemed to have two main colors to it, a very dark rich green and a lighter paler green.

1st Infusion Parameters: 160 F, 6oz, 60s

1st Infusion: The liquor had a light yellow green color to it. It was slightly murky which seemed light for a fukamushi. Although it seemed about right for a first infusion. The flavor was very sweet and thick, it hinted at flavors of grains. There was definitely a strong grassy component to it. There was no astringency or bitterness, and the flavor tailed off into a long thick aftertaste. It had a kind of long flat flavor which brought to mind the thickness of the flavor.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 175F, 10s

2nd Infusion: This infusion had the characteristic fukamushi dark murky green color. The infusion was very surprisingly dark though, moreso than most other fukamushi that I have tried. This infusion had a light bitterness to it, and the thickness to it was gone. The flavor was surprisingly light considering the appearance of it.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 180F, 60s

3rd Infusion: This was another very murky and dark green infusion. The flavor was again very light despite the long infusion time and warmer water. There was a light astringency to it, and it seems as though the flavor had started to let go already.

Rating: 8/10

Conclusion: This tea had a very interesting flavor to it, the most interesting part was the first infusion with it's thick flavor and long aftertaste. I was a bit disappointed at the strength of the second and third infusions. Had I had more of this tea I could have experimented a bit more to try to unlock it's secrets, but alas I only had a small amount.

Shincha Kumpu - Day 3

1st Infusion Parameters: 7.78g, 60z. water, 188F, 60s

1st Infusion: This infusion was a darker shade of yellow/green and not as radiant as some of the other first infusions for this tea. The flavor was thick and strong with a sense of seaweed to it. The flavor's thickness and richness reminded me of a gyokuro. It had a slight bitterness to it and the flavor felt smooth all around.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 160F, 6oz, 30s

2nd Infusion: This was a more appropriate sencha flavor. The flavor was rich smooth, but not thick like the first infusion. It had a very tangy bitterness to it, but no astringency. The flavor felt very short and crisp to the tongue. A very stark contrast to the smooth flavor of the first infusion.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 148F, 45s

3rd Infusion: This infusion had the light and clear color again. The flavor felt like it was concentrated on the back of the mouth and tongue. It had a light sense of astringency, and d a very light feel to it. It felt light, but the tea was very bodied. My mouth felt filled with this light flavor.

4th Infusion Parameters: 145F, 45s

4th Infusion: This had a very light and clear color to it. The flavor was light to match. It was quite apparent that the tea had run its course at this point.

Rating: 9/10

Conclusion: So after 3 very different sessions with this tea, I found myself having enjoyed the tasting, but did not think that this tea was quite as good as it could be. The flavors varied, but was always enjoyable. The common theme throughout all of the tastings though was that the tea had a light flavor to it, you could increase leaf to compensate for it, but doing so lost a bit of the nuance of this tea. If you are looking for a light and crisp shincha though, this is definitely your candidate. This tea was delicate for sure.

Shincha Kumpu - Day 2

About: This is the second session with Den's Shincha Kumpu.

Leaf Mass: 6g.

1st Infustion Parameters: 170F, 60s

1st Infusion: The liquor had a bright almost neon green color to it. The aroma is rich and thick, but a very distinctive green tea aroma. It is a very relaxing smell, I very much was enjoying this aroma more than most other teas. The flavor had a very smooth thickness to it, and a rich full bodied flavor. I could really feel the thick sweetness of this tea in the back of my mouth. It was very smooth and relaxing, and there was a light growing sense of astringency from the first sip to the end of the cup.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 160 F, 60s

2nd Infusion: The tea had a bright yellow color with a light sense of cloudiness now. There was a higher medium sense of astringency from the start of the tea. The flavor was very smooth, but the tea grew to a stronger sense of astringency.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 180F, 45s

3rd Infusion: This infusion had a medium sense of astringency, but a very full mouth feeling body to it. There was not much flavor behind this, but you could feel the tea, but not taste it.

4th Infusion Parameters: 170F, 2mins

4th Infusion: This infusion again had a medium sense of astringency. It was full bodied, but again there was not much flavor.

Conclusion: This session was very interesting, although I did not really enjoy the second infusion. I think that if I decreased the infusion time on the second infusion there would have been more flavor for the third and fourth infusions.

Shincha Kumpu - Day 1

Tea: Shincha Kumpu
Vendor: Den's Tea
Price: $19.75 / 2oz.
Source: Honyama, Shizuoka, Japan
Vendor Description: Shincha Kunpu is *an Eighty-Eighth (88th)* Night Shincha that is lightly steamed. It has a great woodsy aroma and a natural sweetness like very fresh green vegetables.

*Eighty-Eighth (88th) Night Shincha refers to Shincha picked on the 88th day after the first day of spring in the traditional Japanese calendar. It is around May 2nd. The Eighty-Eighth (88th) Night – “Hachijuhachiya” in Japanese - is a special day in Japanese agriculture since it is considered about the time all the plants and vegetation begin to sprout.
Also 88th Night Shincha has been celebrated since the old-times as a good fortune beverage among the Japanese. The legend has been handed down that the young energetic leaf of the tea plant will bring you eternal health and long life.

About This Tea: This is the first of the long awaited Shincha teas. For those who don't know what Shincha is, Shincha is basically the first of the first harvest of the year for Japanese teas. Shincha is processed differently then regular sencha which gives it a shorter shelf life, but an interesting flavor. Because of that shincha is primarily available from harvest into early summer. After that shincha starts to lose its fresh flavor and is not as good. Because of the special nature of shincha I am going to do multiple reviews of the same tea. I am going to be a bit more detailed in the particular details of them and experiment a bit each time to try to see what I can find in each shincha. So today is the first of a few days of Shincha Kumpu

Leaf Mass: 4.96g

Leaf: The leaf for this tea was rather surprising, the leaf had some very long single needles in it, longer than any other Japanese green tea that I have seen. They were all very neatly rolled, very uniform in diameter, just varying in length. The leaf had a very fruity aroma to it, which reminded me of the smell of cutting into a fresh nectarine or peach.

1st Infusion Parameters: 6 oz water, 165 F, 90s infusion

1st Infusion: The first infusion had a very light and clear color to it, the tea was a bright green, but pale. It had an almost radiant luminescent green color to it. The flavor of the tea was smooth with a light sweetness. It had a clean bitterness that wasn't so strong that it was heavily noticed, but enough to leave the mouth refreshed. The refreshing bitterness also left an appropriate light astringency. The flavor was very smooth and could be felt on the center of the tongue, it hinted at a light seaweed flavor.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 6 oz water, 175 F, 30s infusion

2nd Infusion: This infusion had a bolder green color to it, the color was stronger, but still light and had that radiant quality to it. It was slightly murky now, but not so much that it wasn't still readily transparent. The flavor felt now like it was more concentrated on the back of the tongue instead of the middle. The flavor felt as though it was a bit lighter, but still retained a very clean and crisp flavor. I didn't sense the same bitterness as I did with the first infusion, this resulted in a smoother more relaxed flavor.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 6 oz water, 185 F, 30s

3rd Infusion: Like the second infusion this one was slightly murky, but lighter in color. The shade of green took a turn for a more yellow hue, resulting in a more yellow green color than the pure green of the first two. The flavor was even lighter this time, but it felt brisker. There was definitely a stronger sense of astringency at this point due to the warmer water, but the flavor was still very clean and refreshing.

4th Infusion Parameters: 6 oz water, 185 F, 2 minutes

4th Infusion: The color of the tea changed to a very light green now. The flavor was very different. The flavor was very weak, but it had changed significantly from before. It was more akin to a normal sencha than the shincha that I had been tasting. It was weak to the point where it felt like slightly flavored water. The tea had pretty much given what it had.

Rating: To be determined after further experimentation

Conclusion: For my first of the 2008 shinchas this proved to be quite the experience. The tea seems like it has much to offer, and lots of nuances to experiment with. The flavor is light and tricky to coax out. At the same time the flavor is very enjoyable and relaxing. I look forward to trying this out more.

Yame Gyokuro Vil. Hoshino Shincha 2007

Tea: Yame Gyokuro Vil. Hoshino Shincha - 6510
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $ 28.00 / 50g
Source: Fukuoka, Japan
Vendor Description: A top grade first-picked Gyoukro tea from Yame, Fukuoka with a robust flavor and deep sweetness.

About this tea: While I was arranging my teas getting ready for the shincha flush which I am eagerly awaiting, I ran across this tea. I had picked it up earlier in the year, but had forgotten that I had picked it up. Once I found it I knew that I had to open it up and try it for two reasons. The first being that the Yame Gyokuro Vil. Hoshino was a very delicious gyokuro and this one should only be better. The other being that it is a gyokuro shincha, which on the surface seems like there would be nothing odd about that statement. The more I talked to people about this though, it makes people wonder if that is really a misnomer or not. Shincha directly translates into "new tea", but typically is used to refer to the very special portion of the first pick for a sencha. Another point of question is that gyokuro is sometimes aged, sometimes it is not. If it were aged is it still a shincha when it is pulled out of storage? The tea is made from the first picking still, but it is not available until well after the sencha shincha comes around. There are differences in the processing of a shincha though that a regular tea does not undergo, the sorting is not as precise and it is not stored.

Leaf: With that said the leaf for this tea was a bit unusual. The gyokuro needles were not as uniform and long as I had seen with the non-shincha Yame Gyokuro Vil. Hoshino. There were also smaller lighter green tipped pieces, which turned out to be stems. The amount of stems in this tea were more than I am used to seeing in a gyokuro. Most gyokuro that I see is all uniform in color and has the stems removed. There are varieties of gyokuro which have stems intentionally mixed in, but I did not think this was one of them. The stems in this are probably a difference in the processing for a shincha.

1st Infusion: This tea had a beautiful light green hue to it. It was very clear and had an almost neon luminescence to it. Even the first sip fills the mouth with an abundance of rich gyokuro flavor. It is smooth and sweet, with no sense of astringency or bitterness. The flavor rapidly reaches a plateau where it holds for a moment and then tapers off leaving you with a distinctly gyokuro aftertaste. It is quite stunningly good, even if it was almost a year old from harvest.

2nd Infusion: The second infusion lacked the same clear color of the 1st infusion, this one was a bit cloudier. The flavor was stronger than the first, but not as sweet. The strong rich green gyokuro flavor was very full bodied and rich, and more flavorful.

3rd Infusion: This was a lighter flavored infusion, but it was still rich in flavor. There was still no bitterness or astringency.

4th Infusion: This was just as flavorful and delicious as the previous infusions, but it was apparent that the tea was starting to taper off.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: Regardless of the age of this gyokuro and it's dubious nature as being a shincha, or if a shincha could exist for a gyokuro, it was all around delicious. I definitely enjoyed this tea and am awaiting to see what the 2008 version holds.

Uji Shincha 2007

Tea: Uji Shincha 2007 6530
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Source: Uji, Japan

After reviewing the Sayama Shincha 2007 from Lupicia I was quite excited to try out the Shincha from Uji. Uji is a famous region of Japan well known for its tea. The Nara Tsukigase is also from an area close to Uji and that also was a very good tea so I had high expectations for the Uji Shincha. I was actually quite disappointed.

The aroma and color to the tea was nothing special, it had a very faint grassy scent, but it was very weak and actually somewhat mundane.

The taste of the tea started off with a somewhat weak start and worked its way up and left with a medium sense of astringency. There was no bite to it as there is with many sencha teas, and to be honest no bitterness at all. The flavor for this tea was very hard to notice very much and left much to be desired.

Rating: 3/10

Conclusion: I expected more from this particular tea, but it looks like I was disappointed. All the aspects I was hoping to see in this tea were lacking or not even present. It was a very mundane experience. Not recommended at all.

Sayama Shincha 2007

Tea: Sayama Shincha 2007 - 6570
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Location: Saitama, Japan
Vendor Description: A Shincha from Sayama in Saitama with, sublte sweetness and deep flavor.

This is actually my first chance to try out a Shincha. For those who don't know the term Shincha refers to the tea from the first harvest of the year. It is actually a small subset of the first harvest.

I was actually rather suprised when I first opened the package, the tea was a lot more fine than I had expected. I was expecting something consisting more of large thin needles like a fine sencha. Instead the package contained very small particles, which when brewed formed an almost paste like substance. The only real downside of this was a fairly significant amount of material made it into my tasting cup.

The color of the tea is a bit murky, probably from the smaller particles, but an enchanting shade of green. It is not quite as brilliant of a green as some gyokuros produce, but rather a darker shade of green with hues of yellow. This is a rather difficult color to attempt to describe, but I keep finding myself gazing into this cup staring at the tea.

The tea itself is quite remarkable. At the initial onset it is not particularly strong, but rather a very delicate sweetness with a sense of grassiness. It is a very mild flavor, but not weak. There is no strong bite like there is with some senchas, but a sense of the bitterness develops in your mouth over time. It has a low level of astringency with each sip, but does build up over time with the drinking of a cup. This tea is rather remarkable and makes me think about the taste as I drink it more and more.

I normally don't run multiple extractions on green teas, normally the second extraction tastes very similar to the first, but normally not as good. In this case though I decided to try making another extraction. This one was a very unique exception. The second extraction for this tea had a very strong vegetal taste. I almost like the second extraction more than the first.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: If you are able to get yourself some of this tea I would highly highly suggest it. I noticed that it is not for sale on Lupicia's website, and I ended up getting my pouch from one of the actual stores. Granted due to availability this wouldn't be well suited for daily drinking, but it would serve well as a tea for special occasions, while sitting out at night just relaxing and enjoying the company of a friend and your tea.