Yep, you read that right. Shincha from May 2008. I guess I put a lot of faith in nitrogen flushing to let O-Cha’s most expensive shincha sit unopened for 10 months, but Japanese tea took a back seat to oolong after baozhong came into my life. Now that spring is in the midst of reawakening, the milder weather has me in the mood for greener things once again.
It’s quite a testament to nitrogen-flushed packaging that the 2008 Uji Kirameki tastes as fresh as it does. Considering that the Fukamushi Shincha I opened back in May is long past its prime, as well as the intrinsically short shelf life of shincha in general, I’m impressed. I can also breathe a sigh of relief–the $37.95 I shelled out for this shincha was neither a complete nor partial waste, and I finally get to savor a rare, hand-picked Japanese tea. All thanks to nitrogen, the happiest of gases.
When it comes to Japanese greens, I feel less is often more. While I have no shortness of appreciation for a bold sencha, I think I prefer the multidimensional quality of tamaryokucha and gyokuro. The Kirameki, as I expected, is right up my alley. Its big, gorgeous leaves suggest a gentler brew than the ‘08 Hatsumi and Fukamushi Supreme shincha, then they deliver it.
This tea was the perfect mix of sweet, savory, and refreshing, like the sencha version of Floating Leaf Tea’s 2008 2nd Place Baozhong. It almost seemed to elicit a reaction from the salty taste receptors–my tongue was lit up like a Lite-Brite. I used 5 grams in my 10-oz kyusu; when I finished, I was 30 ounces happier. The 2008 Uji Kirameki Shincha was sold out long ago, but the 2009 Kirameki is currently available for pre-order.
I also recently picked up O-Cha’s porcelain green teacup set. The cups are small, each holding about 40 mL, making them somewhat impractical for enjoying sencha if you like emptying your pot into a single cup. I bought them mostly to make photographing Japanese greens easier, but I expect they should be quite nice for gyokuro.
