[Pre-order] Shincha Traditional (80g/2.82oz) Reviews

Out of Stock

Author	Sarah Longo (United States)
Review	I wanted to just add something I just re-learned while totally enjoying this Tea for the 2nd day to my first review of this 2014 Shincha Traditional Tea. After first trying it both cold-brewed because it is super refreshing in the Summer heat as well as the more "crisp/refreshing" method using hotter water, I realized that I should have maybe sat with this Tea a few more Times to really get ALL of it's nuances and harmony. At first I thought this harvest's was more bitter than last years's, but after enjoying 4 wonderfully delicious brews from my smaller so beautifully shaped and stamped yunomi of the SHIRO INKA Yunomi (handcrafted Teacup: pair) I was once again reminded of how the Tea Cup and/or vessel REALLY DOES make a difference, somehow & sometimes very greatly than some may think actually possible, in how you can taste, smell, and just percieve and enjoy your "Green Moment" with such awesome HIBIKI-AN Teas, especially the yearly specials each year (such as the Shincha Harvest Celebration or the Autumn Kuradashi) because today I experienced this Tea from that thin, earthenware SHIRO INKA Yunomi and it was tasting much sweeter from this cup. It was quenching yet refreshing so I had that very slight "dry" mouthfeeling but not anything at all bad because of the sweetness in taste that this yunomi brought out and an enhanced silky smoothness to the mouthfeel. It was basically like I was drinking a totally different Tea :) The sweetness really made my mouth water! I closed my eyes and just relaxed with the taste of this Tea and decided that it is, imagined for me, literally equal to the most dreamiest, sun-flooded, glowing green meadow of super sweet soft grass, as well as a bit of natural floral, almost honeysuckle like sweetness. From now on I'm not going to use the HANA KIKOH for this Tea, but either the earthenware SHIRO INKA Yunomi or my thin porcelain Whispering Water yunomi (1 of my very first and STILL favorite yunomis to enjoy such great Teas from!) because this Tea is TRULY WORTH IT! I just imagine that this lesser processed and EXTREMELY FRESH Tea is something quite similar to what the Japanese Emperors of old was proudly presented each Harvest and, indeed, was reserved as such a luxury and for it's health benefits for him and his Royal Family, only! I HIGHLY recommend trying this Tea in your best, thinnest, smaller yunomi cups. It is SO calming and as I said- like a super Sunny, beyond the most sweetest grass' ever known's perfume blowing in the perfect breeze, with honeysuckle hints, and Truly just a DREAMY moment to just sit back and enjoy fully! Also, the fact that SHIRO INKA Yunomi (still available here) is hand stamped to look like a bouquet of flowers presented to you at the bottom of the cup makes even a few more things just more sweet, mellow, and lovely. You are not overpowered by the color of this yunomi so you can still gaze at the bright liquid Sunshine color swaying in the cup and it makes a lovely presentation/look as it sways in the cup against and over the flower stamps- very "young," "dynamic, "fresh," and SO Spring Time! Then, when you finish your Tea your eyes are presented with a bouquet of flowers while at the same Time the aroma of the empty yunomi echoes that of the sweetest grass and honey floral scent that lingers just as the sweetness of the Tea itself makes your mouth water with a wonderful sweetness long after you have finished savoring your last sip. As I said earlier, I managed to get 4 nice brews out of even less Tea leaves than recommended that were ALL just great in their own way. I see in my review last year that I used a pretty rough strainer Dobin style pot and felt a "sweet, soft, dough like" mouthfeel (I could only guess that was the result of having a bit of Tea Leaves in my cup which made the brew perhaps seem "thicker" like a "soft, doughy, sweet, cloud.") Yesterdays' warm and cool trials did not have that, which led me to feel this year the Shincha Traditional was a tad bit more "bitter, crisp, refreshing," but this then this year I used a fine mesh strainer and made each brew by the cup individually 1 by 1 (yesterday in a HANA KIKO Series multi-cup and then the thinner, & today in the more elegant, small, and lightweight SHIRO INKA earthenware) and I did not really sense it yesterday as much in the thicker multi-cup and although the flavor was well balanced in mellowness and refreshing, using the finer mesh strainer in the thinner yunomi REALLY let all that spectacularly smooth mouthfeel- silky, sweetly well balanced, with a lingering aftertaste of sweetness which I really adore! Sorry for typing up a 2nd quite long review but I REALLY wanted to let others know how just your yunomi can so dramatically change the flavor profile, aroma, and all over atmosphere of your "Green Moment" so always try to be sure to use different styles and designs of yunomi, if you are able to, because it can definitely take your enjoyment up several notches when you have fun enjoying your Teas by the different ways of brewing them (such as warmer vs cold or even melting ice slowly in the kyusu methods) as well as varied brewing vessels and yunomi to drink from. I was REALLY and very happily surprised today after drinking from the SHIRO INKA Yunomi. This Tea deserves a great yunomi! I hope everyone is enjoying their Tea as much as I have been this Spring Harvest! Last year was not so good for me due to year round allergies and a chronic sinus infection that was really starting to affect my sense of smell and then taste (not to mention just breathing at all normally) & getting just increasingly worse that I had to have an operation because no medicines were working for me over many several months, which upsetted me greatly when the Shincha became available! So this year, I'm being as sure as I can to FULLY enjoy these treasures!! Thank You SO Much, HIBIKI-AN ! :D
Rating	Very bad... Bad... Very bad... Ordinary... Good... 5 of 5 Stars!
Date	June 28, 2014

Verified Purchase

Reviews Posted by this Author: 132