Finally! Another Tea Video.

It is hot out side, but that doesn't stop me from filming myself brewing up some lovely Shincha!

Is it Spring yet?

Nothing like being in the throws of the worst stretch of days days I remember in west Michigan since I have been here, to really wish that it is Spring.  Those bright sunny days, the slow and steady rains,  and air temperatures that allow for shorts and short sleeves with comfort.  Oh wait, did I forget something?  Yes, Shincha, and other fresh spring harvest teas.

Oddly while I have come to believe that Shincha is no better ( though no worse), than its counterpart the rest of the year.  I am not so sure I can say the same about the Chinese or Japanese counterparts.  Every year I say I am going to try more and more, but this year, I have decided I do not want to run into the situation where I am finishing off my last Shincha order in January.

In fact 2012 was  a rather odd year compared to the previous year.  I had rebounded a little from going hog wild over Japanese teas, as such while I have had a decent bit of Japanese tea to try through swaps and tastings set up on Teachat, I haven't placed a Japanese tea order since last Shincha season.  This actually messed things up quite a bit, it means I've gone quite a long time without both Matcha, and have been rationing Gyokuro like I am stranded on an island.

What are my readers plans when it comes to fresh green teas this spring?

I say this every year but this year I honestly hope to place an order for several small packets of Chinese Green Teas.

While I also hope to place a single order for Shincha (the hard part is picking the vendor).

Shincha, how do I always still have some in August?

So granted my tea drinking habits have been a bit random lately, in part because I am painting my room in my parents house, something which sorely needed to be done if the house is ever going to be resold. Lets just say I was exploring my artistic side when I last painted my room, and while I like it, its something a bit so personalized it sorely needed to be painted as its questionable as to whether anyone else would like that room. So as the room is being redone, I am left moving tea items around to set up shop where ever I wish to have tea, and no where is ever quite as peaceful as when I have a room all to myself.

The real surprise, is while it is the second year I have ever ordered Shincha, somehow once again it is August and my Shincha supply is only at half gone. Thankfully it does not seem so tragic this year, as I only ordered 3 bags of Shincha, and part of the delay in finishing it seems to come from the fact that I placed an order from O-Cha when they were doing their blow out sale of teas from the previous year. Combine that with a wonderful order of Korean greens, and a rekindling of my interest in Roasted oolongs, and the Shincha is not going anywhere near as fast as I would have thought.

At least this year I am well underway in making plans of how to use up Shincha faster, I am about to make some cold brew Shincha, and open my final unopened bag. Being as my tea sessions have been a bit hap-hazard I haven't had much opportunity to take photo's. So I give you pictures of Yosemite National Park.

Yuuki-cha OkuYutaka

So classes start today, and I hope now that I develop a routine. As I am writing this Thursday before I think the fact that I am moved in with no real routine, has been somewhat detrimental to my tea drinking habits. It does not really make much sense but it seems with so much time available to me to have tea, I find myself always putting it off for later. So my tea drinking habits have been pushed further and further into the evening.

The dry leaf has an amazingly pine like aroma, which when infused somehow comes across as incredibly cereal like. Alright I have been known to give some wacky tasting notes in the past, but somehow the aroma of this tea reminds me of the aroma of Lucky Charms. But basically breaking it down, its a sweet aroma with a nice grainy cereal undertone.

The taste is remarkably clean and only slightly vegetal.

Yuuki-cha Gokujo Shincha

So I have had this tea several times now, and the first time I had it I was actually getting ready for a late night tea session but as I was heating up the kettle I crashed, so I turned off the kettle and left the leaves inside my kyusu over night unused. Surprisingly enough, the tea the next day reminded me quite a bit of Gyokuro. Something I did not get so much in later trials of this tea.

So I will have to note this in the future to not acquire so much Shincha, as in all honesty I do not go through it nearly fast enough.

I will say this much, I have been impressed with the Yuuki-cha teas I have tried so far, but then again I have liked just about every Asamushi (light steamed) sencha/shincha I have had recently. This one comes across with incredibly broth flavors, its like a subtle wave of umami that permeates the entire tea drinking experience. It is full of flavor and passes what I consider my primary test in a tea "Do I keep on wanting to drink infusion after infusion, and have this tea over and over again?"

Yuuki-cha Tenryu Misakubo

Realizing it is August already and that I still have unopened bags of Shincha, I decided to jump on consuming more of them. I got a bit caught up in the excitement of Korean tea and the 2010 Nada cakes arriving and Shincha took somewhat of a back seat.

From Tea

Amazed at how quickly the Korean teawares stains are crackling, I'm deciding to try and push my Deishi Kyusu a bit harder. The cracks in the Deishi kyusu are darkening on the inside, but the outside still has very little sign of darkening cracks. Though it has been speculated by a few of us on Teachat, that Hagi Kyusu's tend to get a special glaze on the inside aimed at preventing most if not all of the seepage of tea into the piece, which would then eventually work its way back out the outside, creating the marks in the cracks on the outside of the glaze.

I am also using a Hagi cup, that I might turn into a water cup, strictly because it is a massive cup, it holds probably somewhere between 12 and 16 ounces comfortably, and anything inside of it takes way to long to cool. But I might end up using it as a great winter cup.

From Tea

Alright so back to the tea. Lovely aroma, but somewhat commonplace for Sencha / Shincha. Asamushi while I love it does tend to get a little old at times. And while this greatly exhibits the vegetal aspects Japanese greens can have and the smooth mellow flavor that is borderline like olive oil in its texture. This teas most alluring aspect is its incredibly cooling aspect, and a rather nice finish.

In taste and aroma it is quite acceptable but rather standard fair for Shincha/ Sencha that is above the grade that it has obvious flaws.

In a simple cup,

a single flower reflects,

the tea vanishes time,

and hours later

the notion of time

comes flooding back.

--Adam Yusko

Yuuki-Cha Sayamakaori Shincha

I am sorry for the delay in tea reviews, I have been trying to finish up shincha I've had open for far to long due to vacation and the cold I came down with in June. So now that those are running dangerously low, I can start to open up shincha that has been stockpiled, and I literally mean stockpiled, as I have never had so much of a supply in one type of tea before.

The tea is a nice bright yellowish green with a very powerful aroma of fresh cut grass and steamed vegetables. Perhaps most surprising is the hints of cabbage coming through in the aroma.

I do not know if it is my fondness for Hagi yaki that makes this appealing to me, but I find it rather comforting and rustic, that when brewing Asamushi Sencha in Hagi yaki I usually get tiny little particles of leaf in the bottom of the cup. I know that bothers some people, but I absolutely love the simplicity of it, almost as if to show yes this brewed with real leaves!

This tea presents itself in a very nice manner, straight forward, clean and not trying to hide its identity. While there is no taste which jumps out at you, nor is it exceptionally broth like, but it asserts itself with a salad like flavor, that is cool and refreshing.

Temperatures drift even higher
letting old friends go unsteeped,
so I turn now to greener leaves.

--Adam Yusko

Yuuki-cha Honyama Shincha

Yuuki-cha has recieved a lot of bad press on Teachat lately, and I honestly hope the situation can be resolved as Yuuki-cha seems to offer a great deal of very appealing Japanese tea and teaware.

I really must say the dry leaves both look and smell great. As this was only a sample of their tea that I got, I'm brewing it in my Hohin to cause the sample to last a bit longer.

The color is an amazingly clear yellowish green, with an amazingly fresh clean semi sweet aroma. For an organic tea, this is quite nice, mellow but complex, and presents itself quite well.

If you love teas that are a bit more subdued and not in your face, this tea is great. It also seems to have a very wide range of brewing parameters which still produce a very good brew.

It lasts as many infusions as you can expect to get out of a Sencha / Shincha, and while its never really in your face in longer infusions it does develop a bit more of a presence on your palate.

O-Cha Kagoshima Shincha Yukata Midori

Yukata Midori/ YM for short is definitely a classic O-Cha offering, and I can not wait to taste this Shincha. I am an affiliate of O-cha because I like their teas and feel Kevin did a great job introducing a wide variety of Japanese teas to the English speaking market. I almost feel without him peoples exposure too Japanese greens would be limited almost to a more regional type setting. Not to mention the fact that I love the massive amount of information provided on the web page of each tea.

Wow this has a wonderful aroma, it is actually so very very sweet, it smells almost like a candy. The taste while mellow is nice and round with hints of hearty grains, and nuts, but its also got the natural sweetness of a carrot.

It feels good to be back into a more regular life style for now, and today I'm rather over indulging on tea, in the past 3 hours, I've had Matcha, and I'm on my second Shincha. (I felt in a rather Japanese tea mood today).

With a cat roaming the grounds,

the birds sound alarm.

Drink the tea with the moment,

and enjoy life for its subtle charm.

--Adam Yusko.

Green Tea - For Your Health

O-Cha Kirameki Asamushi Shincha

Now that it is basically summer, I can fully embrace spring. It has been hectic starting with finals, and working its way through Graduation. But I now own a very expensive piece of paper, and am moving on with my life.

I have been looking forward to trying this tea ever since I ordered it, and the wait was quite long as it arrived at my house about 3 weeks ago, but I only arrived here on Tuesday evening.

I do not know what made me more anxious to try this tea, the fact that I have a new Hagi Kyusu which only works well with Asamushi sencha, or the fact that this tea is quite talked about from repeat O-cha customers.

The first time I had this tea it did not disappoint, and I am hoping it will not today either.

The dry leaf smells potent, almost grassy and slightly nutty. I do not think the picture will do the first infuions color justice, its clear but almost toxic green in color (at least it appears that way in the blue cup). The aroma is quite nice nutty and buttery.

I went a little ligher on leaf this time, and it is still good. I recommend going heavy on the leaf if you want a very strong umami profile, but at a .6g per oz its like a refreshing soup with hints of umami and dare I say bok choy?

There are teas I try and say I want to order again, though part of this blog is about tea exploration, so I often try many different teas (though I do have favorite vendors), but as such I do not think I have ever placed an order for the same tea twice, but this is definitely on a buy list for next year.

The green grass is constantly growing,

while the days still have the cooling breeze.

Summer is quickly approaching,

but we welcome it with fresh spring teas.

-- Adam Yusko

Green Tea - For Your Health

Its Here Kagoshima Sae Midori Shincha

This Shincha is from O-Cha. It was the first one released by them this year, and I had made a preorder prior of ones I knew I wanted to have, but upon hearing this was to be the first released, I quickly pre-ordered some, and it came out and got to my door rather quickly.



I am actually amazed at how vibrant the dry leaf smells. I know its been awhile since I have had Sencha, but I do not think I ever remembered the leaves having this much of an aroma.


From the first sniff I know its the aroma I have been missing since I finished the last of my sencha. All I can say is it is beautiful, and I can see how this is the most welcome thing after a long winter. Its very essence goes to my core and warms from the inside, it is decidedly fresh, but yet somehow soup like. The soup effect is incredibly comforting, while the freshness invigorating. It surely is wonderful.