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“Part of 2010 Official TeaChat TeaTasting Initiative Round 1 – Shincha. Initially, I was surprised by the overall lightness of the first steep. Maybe this tea could endure hotter water or a longer...” Read full tasting note
LIMITED EDITION ONCE A YEAR TEA. Shincha is a first crop, young bud sencha. This shincha is grown in Kagoshima Prefecture, one of Japan’s premier tea growing regions where the rich volcanic soil produces incredible teas. The mellow, approachable character of this tea is enhanced by its notes of sweet meadow flowers and toasty maize. The shincha leaves are hand picked and hand rolled into long and extremely fine needles. This tea has a soft taste like fresh spring green tea. The aroma is noticeably sweet and reminds one of wild orchid. Shincha’s key characteristic is its refreshing and invigorating scent of new leaves. Another feature of shincha is it’s less bitter/astringent taste. Shincha has a higher content of amino acids (L-Theanine) and vitamin C, giving it full-bodied flavor and sweetness.
L-theanine is linked to increased alpha brain wave production and is considered a natural antidepressant and stress reliever. Japanese studies link consumption of L-theanine with strengthening the immune system. L-theanine is often added to energy drinks and is known to give a 6-hour sustainable energy boost.
This tea is produced under ISO 14001 Certified Environmental Management Standards. Japanese steamed green tea’s have traditionally high antioxidant levels.
Hot Tea:
- Boil water and let cool to 178F/80C
- Steep for 30-40 seconds
- Use approx. 2 tsp per cup
- To re-infuse use higher temperature/less time
Iced Tea:
- Pour 1 1/4 cups boiled water on 5 tsps of tea
- Steep for 3-5 minutes
- Pour into pitcher while straining leaves.
- For a quart of tea add ice & top w/cold water
- Garnish and sweeten to taste
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Part of 2010 Official TeaChat TeaTasting Initiative Round 1 – Shincha.
Initially, I was surprised by the overall lightness of the first steep. Maybe this tea could endure hotter water or a longer initial steep. But, in the second session, the first steep revealed this tea’s true complexity, loaded with cooked pumpkin flesh and skin, fresh cut carnation stem, and young maple tree shoots. The second steep opens up some of the more briny and oceanic characters with detectable fresh, firm littleneck clam meat and brown seaweeds. The third steep was rather flat.
This tea can be defined by a raw, buddy green stem character that’s complex and not harsh, but floral and perfumed, like rose buds. Most of the green kelpy and chlorophyll heavy notes were reserved for the wet leaves. I went searching for a bit more sweetness and came up with little. This is a dry tea. The theanine glow is moderate to low and soft. Enjoyable, but perhaps a little quiet, yet maybe one to seek for its complex savory and stemmy flavors that dominate the first steep of this tea.
Blog post: http://tea.theskua.com/?p=59
