So I have broke free of the (admittedly nice) tea rut finally and
begun to crave some greens outside of BLC now that it is Spring. I
just posted a bit on Upton's superior grade Sencha on teasphere, so I
figured I toss it up here as well for anyone interested:

OK, so finally back on the horse again and out of the rut I’ve been
in. The Sencha Yamato is Upton’s superior grade Sencha, which they
claim to have a “brighter flavor and smoother aftertaste.” So how did
it stack up? I’d have to say somewhere near the middle, but to be fair
the top of the middle range.

I wasn’t overly impressed with the leaf quality as there were a lot of
fannings and broken bits. It was however a very verdant green and did
posses a bright scent. The flavor fell a bit shy of the dry smell
though. It brewed to a pond-water green cup with little in the way of
nose. A bit roasty, vegetal, a bit astringent, barely a hint of fishy/
kelpy flavor, a touch thick and smooth, and as promised a smooth
aftertaste. It was less what I would consider “bright” though as they
state in their description. Nothing stands out as being in any way bad
or wrong, just nothing really stands out as being amazing.

On May 22, 9:19 am, "Dominic T." gmail.com> wrote:

On May 22, 10:19 am, "Dominic T." gmail.com> wrote:

On May 22, 11:41 am, TokyoB gmail.com> wrote:

Oh, yes, there are a bunch of teas for me to get through right now. I
have notes written down but just getting to posting them and making
sure my opinion/taste hasn't changed from those initial tastings.
Shincha will be given it's due, no worries :)

- Dominic

On May 22, 11:10 am, toci yahoo.com> wrote:

Yep. TJ16. I guess I would have been disappointed if I had had higher
expectations going in. I would say pulpy and nondescript is pretty
much it... just that it isn't harsh or terrible as some sencha could
be. It is a bit better than a lower grade sencha but I'd have a hard
time calling it "superior."

- Dominic

On May 22, 11:41 am, TokyoB gmail.com> wrote:

On May 22, 11:41 am, TokyoB gmail.com> wrote:

Does anybody else (Thanks, TokyoB!) have sugestions of specific get-me
places for shin-cha? My normal channels (from Japan) are blocked
right now :<

On May 23, 9:09 am, Thitherflit hws.edu> wrote:

Here are several places. I've ordered from Hibiki-an, as I believe
others from this forum have. I have tea that I bought in Japan from
Ippodo. The other places I've seen mentioned or wandered upon and they
look like they're ok.

http://www.hibiki-an.com/default.php

https://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/shop/en/

http://www.japanesegreenteaonline.com/

http://www.maiko.ne.jp/english/

http://www.maeda-en.com/

http://www.lupiciausa.com/

well I haven't really liked any sencha I've ever tasted! Nor any gyokuros.
They taste like grass and I like something nuttier.

On May 23, 6:37 pm, "Bonky" ra44sfdf.com> wrote:

Oh my! Say it isn't so. I can somewhat say that Sencha does tend to be
fairly one-dimensional but there are certainly low, mid, and high-end
Senchas/Shinchas. As for Gyokuro, it really is all in the brewing. It
is such an exact science with what I consider the least margin for
error (I'm not a big DJ or white tea person). I have tasted gyokuro's
that went into a number of flavor spectrums, nutty included.
Unfortunately the one nutty one I can recall recently was of unknown
origin from a small coffee roaster in Pittsburgh... however the
gyokuro they currently sell is the same stuff I bought last year when
it was even then slightly past fresh so I couldn't recommend it.

I have drifted slowly away from my Japanese greens over the years and
now prefer a really good Chinese BLC over just about any other green.
Sadly everything I have tasted this year is WAY below my threshold for
even passable BLC, and I received bad news from Teaspring confirming
my fears about this years bounty. I'm not a happy camper.

- Dominic