Hashiri Shincha

This is the first year I decided to pre-order any shincha (a first flush sencha tea). My curiosity got the better of me and like the true tea addict I am, I had to see what the fuss was all about. There are several places to order shincha from, but I decided to go with Den’s because I have been very happy with the quality of all their products.

First of all, the dry leaves are incredible. Vivid green and vegetal with a bit of sweetness, the aroma is very fresh and delightful.

I steeped this is a Japanese style teapot which I believe is called a Tokoname kyusu – at least it looks like this one on Rishi’s website:

http://www.rishi-tea.com/product/fukugata-tokoname-teapot/teapots.

Mine is white and petite – it holds about 10 oz. of tea.

This tea liquor is much lighter than I thought it would be. I am getting lots of sweet vegetal notes like buttery cooked peas. It’s a bit brothy and a bit fruity at the same time. I’m thinking light notes of berries, perhaps? This is really nice, absolutely no bitterness involved at all. Just a delicate cup of tea. I can see why shincha is so highly prized but ack, it is expensive! This is the only shincha I am planning to buy this year and I’m sure I will enjoy it very much.

OMG. This tastes amazing. First of all, the liquid is a lovely pale green. Beautiful. It makes a large mugful with only a teaspoon full of leaves. Very economical. And, most importantly, it tastes amazing!
At first sip, I was immediately struck with the fruity taste. At first, I couldn’t figure out what fruit. Melon? No… Second sip. Hmmm…PAPAYA! That’s right folks. This tastes like a succulent, juicy ripe papaya. I can almost imagine the lovely orange fruit melting in my mouth. Of course it also brings to mind the humid summers of New York and my long departed anole lizards. They loved papaya pulp. And watermelon juice. I always wondered why a lizard whose diet is supposed to be entirely insects would appreciate sweet fruit juice. But my dogs also love apples and raspberries, so who knows! Nature is crazy.

Anyway! There’s also, of course, the slight ocean-y savory flavor, characteristic of Japanese green teas. So delectable. So smooth and full and brothy. Perfect for my cold fingers and toes.

Thank you, Tamm! I love this!

This review is for the newly-released 2012 Hashiri Shincha, which I just received from Den’s. I’m so glad I pre-ordered this. For some reason it really tickles me that the leaves I am brewing in Chicago today were still on the tree in Japan so recently.

Upon opening the bag, there is the unmistakable, intoxicating scent of fresh, grassy, sweet sencha. I followed the brewing instructions (160 F for 90 seconds) and was rewarded with a yellowish-greenish liquor. My first impressions upon sipping it were of buttered green vegetables, but the “buttery” sensation soon dissipates and shifts to a sweet vegetal sort of flavor. Grassy, but not bitter. Brothy. Savory and sweet at the same time — how does it manage that? The flavors are really strong and keep shifting from vegetal and grassy to sweet and almost herbal, and the flavors are long lasting; I can still taste this tea (in a good way) several minutes after drinking it. It’s delicious; like springtime in a cup.

The first time I brewed this I let it sit for just one minute too long and it came out a tad astringent, so I would say this is a tea that is, indeed, fussy about brew times. But if you follow the directions on the package, you’ll be rewarded with a remarkably sweet and flavorful cup.

Sipdown, 197. Thanks to Ellen for sending me a sample of this tea!

I have never had a shincha before but I am curious about them. Of course, I am totally going to butcher this tea because I am not steeping it Japanese style but in a more western way because that’s what I have the equiptment for right now. The leaf is very fine and a good amount made it through my very fine-holed infuser, but now I have a dark yellow cup that smells amazingly nutty and buttery.

Well shoot my steep was a little too long I think, as I am getting a bit of bitterness/astringency that others have noted with too long a steep. The very first thing I taste is fresh and so buttery, but then that astringency takes over.

I decided to try a resteep of these leaves at 90 seconds to see if I could end up with a more pleasant cup. This one smells less buttery but it tastes much sweeter, although there is still a hint of astringency here.

Honestly this is similar to my travails at the beginning of my experimentation of any somewhat fussy variety of tea. I could see myself a couple of years from now coming back to a shincha and brewing it properly and loving it, but that would take some time and I am not so much in my tea exploration phase anymore. But glad I have this one and another sencha from Den’s to experiment with a bit.

I wasn’t too excited about this year’s Shincha season because I ordered Shincha from O-Cha last year and I wasn’t that impressed.

I tried Den’s this time because they have never failed me before… and they still haven’t.

The taste is delicate, super sweet, and smooth. Hardly any astringency – only when I get to the bottom of the cup does the dryness start to build. No bitterness… just the silky smooth grassy flavor. Hands down, one of the sweetest green teas I have had to this point.

I’m stuck at home today waiting for the plumber (and then babysitting the plumber) because our dishwasher decided to stop draining last yet. Not the best set up for a good day. So I thought I’d break this in. No, I don’t know I’ve managed to let it sit a week without touching it either.

The dry leaf here smells like the freshest lawn clippings ever. And that is absolutely a good thing.

There was a little brewing hint enclosed advising that ramping up the first brewing temperature to 170-180 would bring out a stronger mouth and nose feeling, so I figured I’d try that first.

My first steeping was at 170 for 90 seconds, using the recommended rounded teaspoon per 2 oz.

I was blown away.

It’s grassy and subtly sweet with very very little astringency. It’s only at the bottom of my cup that I notice any dryness. There’s this wonderful savory brothiness going on too. My (probably bewildered) Fiance received a text that simply stated ‘You need to try this.’

I did a second steeping at the parameters on the package, as well (180 for 30 sec) The second steeping is similar to the first, only a little less full-bodied with more sweetness.

I can already tell this tea and I are going to be really really good friends.

I made a cup of this last night brewed according to the package directions- 1 rounded tsp leaves with 2 oz water. I tried to boil the water and then wait for it to cool to the proper temperature. I don’t have a very sensitive thermometer so I don’t know if I brewed it properly or not! It was VERY strong though. I probably killed it. So this morning I brought 1.5 tsp to work with me in a paper filter and brewed it with around 8oz of water from the instant hot water machine in the break room. I really like it this time! Bottom line, this tea is very good but also very finicky! Tastes like a sweeter/brighter version of my favorite sencha :)

On the eve of my fist exam, I’m lucky enough to be destressing with a wonderful cup of this tea. It actually came in the mail this afternoon, but I was too busy to actually try it until now.

I opened the foil package and was greeted with a strong freshly cut grass aroma. Using my brew basket and barely-steaming water, I let the leaves steep in my mug for 30 seconds, which is my standard for Japanese greens. The flavor of this tea is really amazing, with a very intense yet sweet grass flavor and a smooth texture that is defying description at the moment. Finally, the aftertaste of the tea has a bit of a metallic feeling which builds over the course of 45 seconds and then slowly fades away. This is a really remarkable Japanese green, and it was well worth the wait.

First time having hashiri shincha — first impressions…
I noticed the loose leaf was a nice, dark green color, of mostly whole (rolled up) leaves. Little or no leaf particles. Once steeped, the leaves opened up fully and you could see many veins or stems (I don’t know if I can tell the difference between the two, but I’m pretty sure it was mostly the veins between the leaf and not stems (kuki)).
I steeped it three times for my wife and I, and experimented a little on the 2nd two steepings.

The first steeping I did according to instructions (3 oz water per cup for 1.5tsp leaf). It tasted SO fresh, brisk/astringent, with just a tad bitterness (not too much at all in my opinion, just on the edge). The main flavor was freshness though. I read on his website that they try to process it as little as possible to maintain its fresh flavor, but I had no idea how that would actually translate into the tea…yes, one wouldn’t be exaggerating to say it tastes like spring! (Yes, that is a very ‘artsy’ phrase that I don’t very much like, but it isn’t an overstatement). The description says this has a very young flavor, as if you were picking the tea and steeping it right in the field — though I am no tea expert, I don’t think it could be described any better! The flavor surprised me in that way, even though I was expecting a ‘fresh’ flavor.

The 2nd steeping, I wanted to have a little more sweet flavor, a little more full/umami flavor, so instead of increasing the temperature, I left it at 160, and left it to steep for 1.5 mins instead of just the suggested 30 seconds. It didn’t have as much fresh flavor/astringency, and had a hint of sweetness that was very nice.

The third steeping was good too (I think boiling for 15-30 seconds), but the flavor wasn’t particularly strong.

I look forward to trying this out more and experimenting with the brewing. But for a first try, I liked it a lot and am not disappointed. If I can extract more umami/sweetness from it, then I will be impressed by it’s range of flavor.

Sip-down on this great shincha!

I never got to write a good detailed note on this one due to a long busy (and extremely hot) summer. I’m drinking my last cup, trying to clear it out of my cupboard to make room for a new asamushi sencha I’m eyeing.

Anyways, this was very light and subtly sweet with fresh grassy notes. No astringency or any bitterness when brewed correctly, just a light, sweet, and fresh green cup. I remember when I first opened the bag the smell of was very fresh and sweet.

Good Shincha, I ended up enjoying more the other shincha I got aside from this one, but this was still pretty good.

I’m just remembering this so a short note for now! :)
I got this for free from a member of a different board; it was almost a full bag and I’m so happy! This stuff blew my socks off. Before this tea I had never experienced sencha before or even unflavored greens. Just the smell alone is sweet and succulent. The leaves are beautiful, thin and unfurl into large pieces when steeped. This tea was an experience I won’t soon forget. A++++ flavor and a perfect tea for my first green tea experience.

Shirakata’s hashiri lot was very good this year. I am still enjoying my package this week.
I am usually wary of those earliest of crops that seem to rush to market, but I am very pleased with this one, and look forward to comparing it to his later shincha harvests arriving this week.

This is SOOO good!. MIld, fresh, naturally sweet. Love it!