I recently purchased some Japanese Super Sencha Kamakura (TJ18) from Upton.
It came in a different package from most of Upton's teas. My first
impression was that it was way too grassy tasting. I'm not fond of
astringent, grassy green teas. However, if brewed with two teaspoons to the
cup, water around 150-155 F for one minute, it makes a very delicious cup of
tea. It almost has a hint of sweet woodruff, or new mown hay. I've been
enjoying it immensely.

Taste is such a subjective thing, but this one seems worth checking out.
And at $12 per 100g, it's very affordable. I should mention that I've never
had some of the very expensive Sencha's, so this may be a low grade for some
of you. For reference, my everyday sencha is Special teas Fine Sencha that
runs around $6 for a quarter pound. I understand that when you break it
down per cup a $40/100g sencha isn't that expensive, but since I have a 16
month old, diapers win out over tea. 8^).

Blues

"Blues Lyne" wrote
I recently purchased some Japanese Super Sencha Kamakura (TJ18) from
Upton.
It came in a different package from most of Upton's teas. My first
impression was that it was way too grassy tasting. I'm not fond of
astringent, grassy green teas. However, if brewed with two teaspoons to
the
cup, water around 150-155 F for one minute, it makes a very delicious cup
of
tea. It almost has a hint of sweet woodruff, or new mown hay. I've been
enjoying it immensely.


I had a look at the brewing suggestions on Upton's site and was surprised to
see
both the high temperatures and long steeping times suggested for the various
kinds of
Japanese green tea. As far as I know, few if any Japanese green tea profit
from a
time over 90-120 seconds, and most are usually best after 30 - 60 seconds.

180 degrees F (82 deg. C) is a little hot for quality sencha, your
suggestion of 155 deg. F
(~70 deg. C) is more reasonable. Generally, the higher the quality of the
tea, the lower the temperature
and longer the steeping time.

Have a look at these Japanese tea vendors for some brewing instructions:

http://www.kaburagien.co.jp/english/index_st.php

http://www.ochaya.com/eng/types.htm


Lars

-Norwegian green tea lover


Taste is such a subjective thing, but this one seems worth checking out.
And at $12 per 100g, it's very affordable. I should mention that I've
never
had some of the very expensive Sencha's, so this may be a low grade for
some
of you. For reference, my everyday sencha is Special teas Fine Sencha
that
runs around $6 for a quarter pound. I understand that when you break it
down per cup a $40/100g sencha isn't that expensive, but since I have a 16
month old, diapers win out over tea. 8^).

Blues

"Lars Mehlum" wrote in message
...



"Blues Lyne" wrote
I recently purchased some Japanese Super Sencha Kamakura (TJ18) from
Upton.
It came in a different package from most of Upton's teas. My first
impression was that it was way too grassy tasting. I'm not fond of
astringent, grassy green teas. However, if brewed with two teaspoons to
the
cup, water around 150-155 F for one minute, it makes a very delicious
cup
of
tea. It almost has a hint of sweet woodruff, or new mown hay. I've
been
enjoying it immensely.


I had a look at the brewing suggestions on Upton's site and was surprised
to
see
both the high temperatures and long steeping times suggested for the
various
kinds of
Japanese green tea. As far as I know, few if any Japanese green tea profit
from a
time over 90-120 seconds, and most are usually best after 30 - 60 seconds.

180 degrees F (82 deg. C) is a little hot for quality sencha, your
suggestion of 155 deg. F
(~70 deg. C) is more reasonable. Generally, the higher the quality of the
tea, the lower the temperature
and longer the steeping time.

Have a look at these Japanese tea vendors for some brewing instructions:

http://www.kaburagien.co.jp/english/index_st.php

http://www.ochaya.com/eng/types.htm


Lars

-Norwegian green tea lover


I have pretty much learned to ignore the brewing suggestions on Upton's site
for most green teas. Actually, many sites seem to suggest way too hot water
and too long steep time. Thanks for the links, I'll check them out.

Blues

"Lars Mehlum" wrote in message
...
Have a look at these Japanese tea vendors for some brewing instructions:
Lars
-Norwegian green tea lover


I'm amazed at the forebearance of this group - no-one's made a silly comment
about how hard it is to find Norwegian green tea in shops. So I won't
either.

DM

"Lars Mehlum" wrote in message
...
Have a look at these Japanese tea vendors for some brewing instructions:
Lars
-Norwegian green tea lover


I'm amazed at the forebearance of this group - no-one's made a silly
comment
about how hard it is to find Norwegian green tea in shops. So I won't
either.

DM



LOL - they are an aquired taste....

Lars

Lars /25/04



"Lars Mehlum" wrote in message
...
Have a look at these Japanese tea vendors for some brewing instructions:
Lars
-Norwegian green tea lover


I'm amazed at the forebearance of this group - no-one's made a silly
comment
about how hard it is to find Norwegian green tea in shops. So I won't
either.

DM



LOL - they are an aquired taste....

Lars



Lars,

Is it true what I've heard about the production methods of Norwegian beer?

Michael

Michael Plant writes:

Lars /25/04



"Lars Mehlum" wrote in message
...
Have a look at these Japanese tea vendors for some brewing instructions:
Lars
-Norwegian green tea lover

I'm amazed at the forebearance of this group - no-one's made a
silly comment about how hard it is to find Norwegian green tea in
shops. So I won't either.

LOL - they are an aquired taste....

Lars

Lars,

Is it true what I've heard about the production methods of Norwegian beer?

You mean that rumor about substituting Temple of Heaven gunpowder for
hops?

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

"Lewis Perin" wrote in message
news
Michael Plant writes:

snip

Is it true what I've heard about the production methods of Norwegian
beer?

You mean that rumor about substituting Temple of Heaven gunpowder for
hops?
...
Damn, who told you? Anyway, the keyword for Norwegian traditional food and
beverage industry is...fermentation.
And no, I'm not talking about oxidation...

Lars


/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html