It’s Shincha season! I decided to order a Fukamushi and an Asamushi (light steamed) sencha this year. For the fukamushi I decided to go with this tea from Yuuki-cha (therefore this note is for the 2012 new harvest) and for the asamushi I went with Den’s Hashiri shincha (which just arrived today!).
>Dry Leaf Appearance/Aroma
As a Fukamushi sencha, the leaves are mostly broken down into a mix of dust, small pieces, and extra fine needles. The color is bright vivid green with a super sweet fresh grassy aroma. The aroma is so delightful, that I sometimes just open the tin I have it stored in, just to smell the dry leaf.
>Brewing Method
I steeped this tea 3 times in a small kyusu. First infusion using 158F water and 1 minute steep time. 2nd infusion 160F water and 30 Sec steep. 3rd 165F water and 45 sec steep.
>Liquid Appearance
1st cup was cloudy with vivid deep green color. 2nd cup was darker and cloudier. 3rd cup resembled the first one with a lighter color.
>Taste/Aroma
My first cup had a fresh mellow sweet aroma. The taste was wonderful, very tasty and super fresh. I can only describe it as a refreshingly grassy sweet buttery cup. It has a very light astringent finish, but with a very enjoyable and refreshing lingering sweetness in the mouth.
My second cup was not as aromatic as the first, and taste remained mostly the same but perhaps a bit thicker. The fresh sweet grassy aftertaste remained there though not as strong as the first cup.
My third cup had no aroma, lighter in taste, but still very enjoyable. The astringent finish became more prominent in this cup but still not very bothersome.
>Wet Leaf Appearance
Nothing special (as most of the leaf is already broken anyways) other than the leaf had a very vivid green color after 3 infusions.
>Overall
I enjoyed this tea a lot! I’m usually not always in the mood for the thicker, fuller bodied fukamushis, but this one is so tasty! I have been drinking it non-stop since it arrived on Monday. The leaf, the brew, everything about it is super fresh, sweet, and deliciously buttery, yum!
Preparation
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Yay! I ordered one from Den’s Tea. :)
Awesome! I’m holding off to try the one from Den’s as it comes in a non-resealable bag. I ordered a few Japanese tins that should arrive on Monday though :)
I just got mine today and I decided to get the gift tin, which is ridiculous because I got 2 oz. of tea and the tin could easily hold 8 oz. of something! Oh well!
Well that’s good to know. At least you can reuse it for other teas once you run out of it right :P?
Yummyyy I love fukamushi, I’m sure I’m gonna love this one :)
If you ordered the Japanese tins from Den’s I can definitely recommend them. While they only fit up to 50g (which can be annoying at times because you have to be careful when getting tea out so as not to spill, since the sides aren’t very high), that is also the benefit, because you can split a 100g teabag into two tins, and thus keep it much fresher (you only have to open the one tin that you are using). I ordered Hashiri, Kunpu, and Houryoku, too… but all from Japan, since they come in bigger sizes!
The tins I ordered are actually from O-cha. I ordered one before and fell in love with it, so my natural reaction was to order more :P They hold about 100 grams each. Did you order from Den’s parent company in Japan? or was it another vendor that offers those three teas?
I ordered from the parent co. in Japan… it’s trickier since you can’t order online :
https://www.shirakata.co.jp/index.php?main_page=shippinginfo#2
Use google translate on that page… but basically you enter all the info you need and your order (not your payment details) at the email address there at the top… then after they confirm, you can fax your payment details to them, OR, if you’ve bought from Den’s Tea, they might be able to use the same info they already have on file.
Awesome! thanks for the info. As you said, I’m interested in the bigger sizes since I tend to go through my Japanese greens rather quickly. Anyways thanks again for the info.
You’re welcome. It’s also cheaper too, even taking higher shipping and the bad exchange rate factor into consideration…you just have to order enough to offset it. Shipping is EMS only: http://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/charge/list/ems2_en.html
Yay! I ordered one from Den’s Tea. :)
Awesome! I’m holding off to try the one from Den’s as it comes in a non-resealable bag. I ordered a few Japanese tins that should arrive on Monday though :)
I just got mine today and I decided to get the gift tin, which is ridiculous because I got 2 oz. of tea and the tin could easily hold 8 oz. of something! Oh well!
Well that’s good to know. At least you can reuse it for other teas once you run out of it right :P?
Yummyyy I love fukamushi, I’m sure I’m gonna love this one :)
If you ordered the Japanese tins from Den’s I can definitely recommend them. While they only fit up to 50g (which can be annoying at times because you have to be careful when getting tea out so as not to spill, since the sides aren’t very high), that is also the benefit, because you can split a 100g teabag into two tins, and thus keep it much fresher (you only have to open the one tin that you are using). I ordered Hashiri, Kunpu, and Houryoku, too… but all from Japan, since they come in bigger sizes!
The tins I ordered are actually from O-cha. I ordered one before and fell in love with it, so my natural reaction was to order more :P They hold about 100 grams each. Did you order from Den’s parent company in Japan? or was it another vendor that offers those three teas?
I ordered from the parent co. in Japan… it’s trickier since you can’t order online :
https://www.shirakata.co.jp/index.php?main_page=shippinginfo#2
Use google translate on that page… but basically you enter all the info you need and your order (not your payment details) at the email address there at the top… then after they confirm, you can fax your payment details to them, OR, if you’ve bought from Den’s Tea, they might be able to use the same info they already have on file.
Awesome! thanks for the info. As you said, I’m interested in the bigger sizes since I tend to go through my Japanese greens rather quickly. Anyways thanks again for the info.
You’re welcome. It’s also cheaper too, even taking higher shipping and the bad exchange rate factor into consideration…you just have to order enough to offset it. Shipping is EMS only: http://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/charge/list/ems2_en.html