O-Cha.com

Quite a nice Asamushi from O-Cha..actually from the Tsuen Tea house said to be one of the oldest in Japan. This tasting is the Shincha version btw. Went fairly cool and a min 30 first steep. nice astringency balance. second steep went 1 min and then back up on third and fourth while going a bit hotter each time. not my favorite Asa Shincha but definitely worth a shot

A very pleasant tea. A mIld and light fuka, tending to be a bit stronger on the 2nd infusion. Third infusion was quite weak, in spite of the long infusion time

First Infusion — 5 g. per 8 oz water, 65 deg., 1 min.

Second Infusion — 5 g. per 8 oz water, 65 deg., 45 sec.

Third Infusion — 5 g. per 8 oz. water, 65 deg., 5 min.

Wonderful! Once I got the brewing parameters nailed, this turned out to be a wonderfully strong fuka! And since I acquired it on sale, an outstanding tea for the money!

First Infusion — 5 g. per 8 oz water, at 70 deg., 50-55 sec.

Second Infusion — 5 g. per 8 oz water, 70 deg., 30-35 sec.

Third Infusion — 5 g. per 8 oz. water, 70 deg., 3 min.

This is definitely a mild, but smooth tea. It’s from the 2010 crop, so that could explain the muted flavor. Mild isn’t bad, but, I’ve had a hard time discovering what it actually tastes like… I’ve used a lot of leaf, or hot water, and/or vice-versa, but so far, what I can say is that it’s good – feels and even tastes a little creamy!

It’s enjoyable, but there are so many other options it’s unlikely I’d consider it again. Not that this matters, O-cha isn’t even currently offering it, as it comes from Shizuoka and there are a lot of fears about teas from this region presently. Eh, I’m not worried about buying tea from there at all . . . I’d say our prayers should be for the people who live in the midst of it and have no choice as to whether to eat or drink from contaminated sources!

Finally finished off the last of a 2010 packet of sencha, and have now started my first 2011 shincha:

Very deep green leaves, most fairly small pieces, sweet rich scent

between 5 and 6 oz water, 160 degrees in my Petr Novak kyusu, about 45 seconds first infusion

sweet, nutty, vegetal, lightly grassy, and delicate green color but can’t judge that well against the blue glaze of the teacup

2nd infusion, 20 seconds, 160 degrees, very similar, some grassiness a little more prominent towards the end of the infusion

3rd infusion, 170 degrees, 30-45 seconds, sweet, vegetal, a little less nutty, sugar snap peas rather than asparagus

4th infusion, 170 degrees, 1 minute, sweet, light, astringency absent

There was a 5th, but I was too distracted to note much—it was 180 degrees, for about a minute, quite light and tasty.

Addendum: 2nd series of infusions, about the same setup, except I started lower, 145 degrees, working up to 180 at the sixth, still all delicious, perhaps even a little moore so than the first time. Nice that it’s so flexible.

One sad note: my packet is 100 grams, so given my 2-4 times weekly sencha habit, it may not all be drunk while still ‘shincha fresh’. And that would be sad.

Smooth, and the flavors are delicious and well-balanced!

I think the best parameters I’ve tried thus far are:
1g per 1oz, 140 F: 2 mins, then 45 seconds, then 2 mins 15 seconds

All three steepings were very pleasing. The third was surprisingly still full of flavor and subtlety. This tea showed that I could find a good asamushi sencha outside of Honyama. I didn’t doubt that it was possible, but hadn’t had any light-steamed sencha that compared. I recommend it!

Rich. Delicious. Like a warm bowl of stew on a cold evening.
This is a very nice treat, but not like an ice cream, more like filet mignon.

Not only this, but it has such a nice aftertaste.

This is definitely one to keep around!

Ah, the delightful aroma of Sakura!

O-Cha’s Sakura Sencha is a wonderful tea to have in the cupboard when you want a little something to cleanse your palate, or for those times when you’d like to taste that intoxicating smell of “cherry” blossoms. It’s a proprietary blend of sencha, sakura leaf, and stems that’s pretty mild on the tongue (thanks to the abundance of kukicha), but heavenly in aroma.

It’s hard to stretch this past 3 steeps but it’s such a forgiving (and affordable) tea, you never have to worrying about making an undrinkable cup. A little bland towards the end, perhaps; but the smell and subtle taste of the first couple infusions more than make up for it. My preferred way of making this is to brew the first cup a little hot (around 180* for 80 secs), and then boil the water and make a strong cup to pour over ice and sweeten. A great spring/summer tea!

I’ve been enjoying my Kiri no Mori matcha for the last couple months iced, hot, and mixed together with powdered sencha (not bad!), but after receiving my first chawan as a birthday gift from my wonderful fiancée, I finally had an excuse to get a chasen and do things right. I rushed out and picked up a cheap 80-prong whisk to practice with, and I can finally say it’s worth every penny.

I’m just “OK” at mixing up my matcha, but my fiancée is amazing at getting a delicious, thick froth with the Kiri no Mori. I add two sifted scoops of matcha and about 2-4oz of water to my preheated chawan, and she uses her magic touch to feverishly whisk up a tasty froth. I’m a little paranoid of scratching up the bottom of my chawan (even though I soak my chasen beforehand), but she has no problem saying just above the bottom of the bowl to get the perfect foam. It’s similar to the brew I previously concocted with a milk frother/whisk, but MUCH creamier and more uniform — there’s just something special about sipping on seafoam!

So far, I’m incredibly pleased with the Kiri no Mori. Its taste and aroma are somewhat mild, but I love the way it retains its mellow sweetness in any preparation. It really is a wonderful beginner’s matcha.

Whipped up a quick bowl of this earlier today, and while it wasn’t as creamy or dreamy as it might have been with a chasen in a chawan, my little milk frother did the trick!

2 solid chashaku scoops in about ~10oz of recently boiled water was a little weak for my liking, but the deep “forest green” color was still outstanding! It had strong seaweed notes in it’s aroma, but had a relatively mild, slightly bitter “green” finish. I think it’s better (and sweeter) made strong.

A great “starter” matcha so far!

Opened this up earlier today and was immediately impressed by its aroma. It’s a deep, jade powder that smells strongly of freshly ground-up raw tea leaves. Compared to the other powdered sencha I’ve tried (Den’s Organic), this one seems like a more full-bodied and potently vegetal brew — two chashaku was more than enough for my tall glass of ice tea.

To me, O-Cha’s Powdered Sencha tastes more like finely ground raw tea leaves than a dry tea powder (if that makes any sense), so I’m going to try brewing/blending it a couple different ways before I make my final verdict. It’s an outstanding value for the amount of raw leaf you’re getting (¥980 for 100g), but I might opt for the organic solution next time.

First impressions: a mild, grassy sencha, light in flavor and color. More detailed notes to come. But so far I like it a lot.

Third steep. A surprising amount of flavor for a third steep.

Second steep. Pretty good flavor, still good body.

This tea has wonderful body to it. A definite weight and mouthfeel that is welcome with food. A deep green liquor with a slight golden hue to it. Grassy, astringent but not bitter. A stronger flavor than light-steamed sencha, and with much more body.

So I’ve wanted a houhin style teapot for a few years now but never looked in the right places. I remember them using this teapot for Gyokuro and other delicate Japanese teas at TeaSmith in London. Anyways, since I was ordering the teapot, I had to order some new tea to try with it, right?

My teapot and “Kame-Jiru-Shi” Gyokuro arrived today. I was not disappointed! The teapot is just the right size and the built in mesh strainer is perfect for Japanese greens. I’m worried that the steel strainer will “age” with regular use, but we’ll see.

The tea itself is amazing, of course. The first infusion was so sweet, one might mistakenly think the drink was sweetened with a drop of honey or something. The leaves are a deep emerald green and beautiful. I’ve not had any other Gyokuro tea from O-Cha so I can’t make a direct comparison; However, this is probably the best Gyokuro I have tasted.

Unfortunately this is one of my least favorite Sencha’s form O-Cha. It just tastes ‘dull’ and seems to lack the pleasant full-bodied/grassy taste that I’ve become so fond of. Still better then most of the stuff I’ve tried out there, but at this price I would have preferred the slightly cheaper Kagoshima Sencha Yutaka Midori more.

Probably the best Sencha I’ve ever had, I love how it tastes. I also like how it turns a cloudy dark green once steeped, which makes it visually appealing. Very relaxing and amazing to drink.

Pretty fantastic. The brightest green i’ve ever seen. I just wish good matcha wasn’t so expensive. I would drink it much more often.