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Author: MelindaMelinda Date: Jul 2, 2008 04:25
Hi all,
I am not a knowledgeable sencha person and I know others on here are so
I will ask you. I recently went to a local better-quality Asian store
and bought a paper packet of sencha. The English on the stick...
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Author: Space CowboySpace Cowboy Date: Jul 2, 2008 06:16
My experiences parallel yours from what I find on the shelf. I keep a
lookout for those rare export 100g tins by a Japanese company in the
now $10-$20 range. I have one ten year old tin that cost $7. In the
past I've described the spent leaf as fluorescence almost glow in the
dark color. Sencha is the only tea I've seen where you get more
quality if you pay more. I dont see powder in my few higher priced
examples in the sense you noticed it stuck to the dry leaf. However
on the second infusion you will notice an explosive bright green cloud
before the particulate settles. I think a good sencha should match a
good matcha in color when dry. Commercially I think we still are
getting the leftovers. My local tea shoppe carries an Emperor Gyokuro
sencha 2oz/$10 which is pretty much what...
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Author: Dominic T.Dominic T. Date: Jul 2, 2008 08:15
On Jul 2, 7:25 am, Melinda wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I am not a knowledgeable sencha person and I know others on here are so
> I will ask you. I recently went to a local better-quality Asian store
> and bought a paper packet of sencha. The English on the stick-on label
> reads "Japanese green tea (Minamien sencha kanbai" Exported by Central
> Trading Co Ltd. and the URL on the front of the package which is the
> only English on the front says " http://www.minamien.jp". There's also a
> phone number but that's not important. This sencha is the first more
> expensive sencha I have bought, I think it was around $18 or something
> for 100 gms. It's much more finely shredded than any sencha I've had
> before, when I steep it it's not a powder but does make a rather thick
> soup before I strain it, and the liquor is a really intense almost neon
> green. I'm used to the regular sencha in the stores that is more dry,
> more large pieces, more like the Upton's basic sencha. More like what
> they mix in genmaicha. My basic question is: Is this more like what
> sencha "should" be like in terms of higher quality? Does anyone have any
> comments as to the character of a finer-textured sencha like this? The
> first thing that really struck me about this was the finer texture of ...
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Author: TokyoBTokyoB Date: Jul 2, 2008 11:00
On Jul 2, 7:25 am, Melinda wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I am not a knowledgeable sencha person and I know others on here are so
> I will ask you. I recently went to a local better-quality Asian store
> and bought a paper packet of sencha. The English on the stick-on label
> reads "Japanese green tea (Minamien sencha kanbai" Exported by Central
> Trading Co Ltd. and the URL on the front of the package which is the
> only English on the front says " http://www.minamien.jp". There's also a
> phone number but that's not important. This sencha is the first more
> expensive sencha I have bought, I think it was around $18 or something
> for 100 gms. It's much more finely shredded than any sencha I've had
> before, when I steep it it's not a powder but does make a rather thick
> soup before I strain it, and the liquor is a really intense almost neon
> green. I'm used to the regular sencha in the stores that is more dry,
> more large pieces, more like the Upton's basic sencha. More like what
> they mix in genmaicha. My basic question is: Is this more like what
> sencha "should" be like in terms of higher quality? Does anyone have any
> comments as to the character of a finer-textured sencha like this? The
> first thing that really struck me about this was the finer texture of ...
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Author: ThitherflitThitherflit Date: Jul 3, 2008 06:57
Hi--
SpaceCowboy is right that we get the lower-quality teas in the Asian
food stores in the US.
I ordered "shincha" from several dealers in Japan recently, and I have
to say that o-cha.com is the one that impressed me with their high-
quality offerings for quite reasonable prices. I also order from
Itoen, but it's always matcha I get from them, and I order from them
'cuz I can get it fast (from New York City), and they have a grade
that I like (koi-cha-yoo; for "thick tea"). Hibiki-an.com was another
place I ordered shincha from... I ordered their top of the line
shincha from the Uji district. The leaves were beautiful, shiny, dark
dark green needles with no powder, no dust-- but flavorwise, it was
probably no better than stuff $10 cheaper.
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Author: Dominic T.Dominic T. Date: Jul 3, 2008 07:30
On Jul 3, 9:57 am, Thitherflit hws.edu> wrote:> Derek mentioned "sencha," then followed that with "shincha," then
> compared them with first-flust teas? Shincha is a subcategory of
> sencha, and *is* first-flush. Some districts call this "hachiju-hachi-
> ya," meaning "88 nights" (meaning it was picked 89 days after some
> particular season-marking day. Shincha has a distinctive flavor. It
> becomes available in May, and many places sell out of it rather
> quickly. It blends well-- I mix it with other sencha, but the
> distinctive shincha taste is still obvious.
"Dominic" not Derek. Yes, I simplified it and was just trying to offer
some jumping-off points for more investigation for Melinda. It's hard
to learn when you don't know what you don't know, that's why I threw
out the names Gyokuro, Shincha, and Kukicha, but it is hard to write
much more than I did for just one post/reply to really dig into all
the specifics. And yes, Hibiki-an is a good source too and one I
forgot to mention. I tend to go more for o-cha out of habit but Hibiki
is just as good in my book and in some cases better.
- Dominic (not Derek :)
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Author: ThitherflitThitherflit Date: Jul 4, 2008 07:14
On Jul 3, 10:30 am, "Dominic T." gmail.com> wrote:
> "Dominic" not Derek.
Dominic: Sorry for that weirdness. I had just written a letter to a
friend named Derek, and obviously hadn't completely shifted gears.
Backing out of the room with bows and smiles,
james-henry
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Author: Dominic T.Dominic T. Date: Jul 4, 2008 08:04
On Jul 4, 10:14 am, Thitherflit hws.edu> wrote:> On Jul 3, 10:30 am, "Dominic T." gmail.com> wrote:
>>> "Dominic" not Derek.
>
> Dominic: Sorry for that weirdness. I had just written a letter to a
> friend named Derek, and obviously hadn't completely shifted gears.
>
> Backing out of the room with bows and smiles,
>
> james-henry
hehe, no worries. :)
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