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“First shincha of 2012! I’ve never had Maiko’s offering, and finally had to try it. It has lived up to the hype, too. Long, nicely rolled, uniform leaves. The cup is refreshingly bitter, sweet, and...” Read full tasting note
“This shincha brews up a deliciously mild first infusion, with hints of stewed spinach, followed by a pleasant second infusion that is even lighter. Although the taste is quite enjoyable, the...” Read full tasting note
“This review is for the 2011. This tea was recommended to me by Iannon who also reviewed this tea. For me, the was the best Shincha of 2011, even beating my usual favorite from Ippodo. Most Uji...” Read full tasting note
This is our least manufactured Shincha product with a strong fresh flavor of the harvest. Our recommendation for those customers who appreciate the full herb-like fragrance and taste of freshly harvested Sencha.
(this is tea entry not specific to a particular harvest year)
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First shincha of 2012!
I’ve never had Maiko’s offering, and finally had to try it.
It has lived up to the hype, too. Long, nicely rolled, uniform leaves.
The cup is refreshingly bitter, sweet, and leaves a wonderful aroma in the mouth. I can hardly write more because this is my first cup… thankfully, I hope, of many more to come!
This shincha brews up a deliciously mild first infusion, with hints of stewed spinach, followed by a pleasant second infusion that is even lighter. Although the taste is quite enjoyable, the stunning green of the leaves (both dry and infused) steal the show.
First infusion – 3 g. per 8 oz. water, 65 deg., 1 min.
Second infusion – 3 g. per 8 oz. water, 70 deg., 10 min.
I don’t know how you feel about higher sencha ratios (I usually do 1g to 1oz), but I found this one really good using an even higher ratio. I tried 6g leaf, 4oz water, at 160F for just a minute. (Maybe not the way to drink it every day, but definitely worth a try!)
I saw on your 2nd infusion you went for 10 minutes – if you used a higher ratio, you may not have to infuse for as long.
Thanks for your suggestions, Shinobi_cha.
The leaf-to-water ratio is one I have played with numerous times over the years. I am still experimenting with it. Currently, I am leaning towards small leaf amounts so as to maximise the no. of 1st infusions for a given quantity of leaf.
Best wishes,
sherubtse
This review is for the 2011. This tea was recommended to me by Iannon who also reviewed this tea. For me, the was the best Shincha of 2011, even beating my usual favorite from Ippodo. Most Uji shincha this season seemed to lack umami altogether and was week on sweetness, this one had both. Like all shincha, it was astringent and slightly bitter –in a the good way.
I have this one on order. It will be interesting to see if it lives up to the hype for me, as it did for you!
It is also my first order from Maiko. Not impressed so far, however: they have seemingly mangled my mailing address, and only shipped the tea 3 days after I placed my order.
Best wishes,
sherubtse
I think you will like it…but, hopefully it makes up for the bad service.
Did you email them about the problem? Their sales agent Dr. Faerber seems to be quick at responding and nice the couple of times I emailed them in the past (I only ordered once before, about a year ago).
No, I haven’t sent an e-mail, as it was just shipped today. We’ll see how long it takes to get to me, assuming that the postal authorities can make sense of the address.
Best wishes,
sherubtse
Package came yesterday, exactly one week after it was posted. Seems Canada Post had no trouble with the topsy-turvey address. Ordered the Kinari & Shincha Sencha. Will open the former next week, when I have time to really enjoy it!
Best wishes,
sherubtse
Cool; you know, I pre-ordered this one, and they still didn’t ship until a day or two after shincha was released. It took a week for me to receive it, too. But, I couldn’t complain, because shipping was only something like 350 JPY, and Kinari (so far) may be the best shincha I’ve had price-to-quality wise, or at least an excellent value. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.
Now that I have the bag open, and ready to go, I need some suggestions on how to brew this stuff. Any thoughts, Shinobi-cha?
Thanks.
Best wishes,
sherubtse
Heh, actually, you almost can’t go wrong. I do experiment, but usually I find myself falling into a similar habit, since it requires less thinking: 1g to 1oz ratio (sometimes a bit more leaf, but 1:1 is a good place to start), at 160F (70C) for 1 minute… up to 1.5 mins. Let me know how it goes for you.