2012 Official Shincha Review Topic

[bambooforest]

Wowza, you are going higher ratio currently, at least with this selection! And shorter steeps. Is this a new approach for you or more an exception.

Thanks for sharing your results. I am currently waiting to open this selection!

This is just an interesting tea that, from my experience, really demands this kind of steeping to get delicious flavor. It has a piercing vegetal component that without proper care, won't really taste all that great. But use lots of leaf, low temperature, and short steeping time and something really great ensues. I can at least say that I really dig the flavor.

Before I was doing 1.5 minutes but realized that something still wasn't quite right. I believe 1 minute is optimum for this strong tasting, vegetal flavor.

Using so much leaf, and recognizing the potency of the tea... I find that even if I probably brew at too low a temperature for my first steep, it's still a nice tasting cup of tea.

Not sure if I will start brewing my teas in ways that more reflect these parameters. That said, experimentation for the teas I do have is in order after discovering how well this tea performs under the right conditions.

Once I finish this bag I look forward to diving into Kinari and seeing where the tea adventure takes me (haha).

[AdamMY]

Hoping I don't sway anyone's opinions on the O-Cha OTTI.

But the only Shincha I ordered from O-cha this year was Kirameki.

Leaves in preheated kyusu smell delicious, like buttered vegetables and a side of freshly cooked rice. Taste is very fresh, a cross between grassy, and grainy. I got a lot more flavor of it on my second infusion, my first infusion was a bit short at 30 seconds. It has a hint of raw spinach, adding a nice bit of heft/ bite.