Shincha Classic 2026 - Organic Japanese Green Tea

Shincha Set 2026 The feeling of spring in your cup! Shincha - the "new tea" heralds the beginning of the tea year every spring. The first tea from the fine, particularly aromatic leaf tips, which are harvested in the subtropical climate of Kagoshima after a shading period of 7-10 days as early as mid-April. In order to capture the fresh aroma in the best possible way, Shincha is dried somewhat lighter in the final processing step than is usually the case with Sencha. In Japanese tea houses and stores, the arrival of fresh Shincha is awaited with great anticipation, and long lines often form when the time comes. In Kagoshima, a big shincha event is held every year, where you can taste and buy shinchas from different farmers and companies to your heart's content. Depending on the cultivar used, the weather conditions, the time of harvest and the processing, even two shinchas from the same garden can turn out completely different. This results in new exciting tea experiences every year. The 3 KEIKO Shinchas give a good impression of this range of flavors. With their fragrance and taste, they take us to very different scenarios - what they have in common is the fresh spring feeling. The Shincha Set contains 50g each of Shincha Classic, Shincha Yume and Aracha Shincha as well as a Tea Tasting Notes Journal.

Aracha Shincha brings the uniquely green, fresh Ooika flavour of the Aracha raw tea to Europe. With its wild, intensely green and grassy scent of freshly harvested tea fields, it conjures up the tea spring directly in our cups and is the closest to the original flavour of the tea plant.Special Features Shincha (the ‘new tea’) is made from the first tender leaves of spring - a vintage tea from the first early plucking in April, which surprises with its fresh flavour every year. Aracha is a partially processed green tea, which is reflected in its original, natural flavour. When tasting the raw teas directly after harvesting, they are brewed in particularly high doses and hot in order to savour the special characteristics of the tea. The higher infusion temperature (around 70°C) also brings out the flavour of this tea particularly well - let yourself be whisked away to the tea gardens of Kagoshima with the intense grassy aroma of freshly steamed tea leaves! Cultivars:Yutaka Midori from the Komaki brothers in Minami-SatsumaAsanoka from Kawaji-san  in HiokiYabukita from Kawaji-san in HiokiThis year's Aracha is again composed of three cultivars, which are perfectly matched with their different flavours and aromas - grassy with a lively spiciness. Like many KEIKO teas, this tea is an intensively steamed tea (Fukamushi-cha, 100 - 120 seconds steaming time). The gentle steaming opens the leaf pores and the extracts are released from the tea leaf into the water more easily and quickly. This can be recognised by the deep green tea colour in the cup and the yield of the tea. Early harvests such as Aracha Shincha also have a particularly high theanine content, which is noticeable in the sweet flavour. Aracha is not yet ‘sorted’ as a raw tea - it therefore still contains some larger leaves as well as very fine bits of the leaves. PreparationTo emphasise the fresh fragrance, the infusion temperature can be set a little higher at 65-75°C.. Intensely steamed early harvests are particularly suitable for cold infusions (mizudashi). Even with cold water, Shincha Classic develops a particularly silky texture and a refreshing clarity after just a few minutes of infusion. The sweet theanine notes also come into their own particularly well, as the bitter substances do not dissolve as much in cold water. Storage Please note that Shincha Aracha is a raw tea and less dried than all other KEIKO teas. Aracha should therefore be enjoyed fresh and not stored for too long - we have set the best before date for this tea at 6 months from production here in Diepholz; we store it frozen! We therefore recommend closing the bag tightly and storing it in a cool, dark place in the fridge or freezer to preserve the tea's valuable flavours and ingredients as much as possible.

Soshun, "early spring" is from early first picking in the middle to end of April. It has a wonderfully rich, complex and sweet fragrance and a velvety harmonious taste. The cup is a luminous green. This tea is an unforgettable pleasure not only for connoisseurs. Kabusecha Kabusecha is a green tea for which the tea plants are shaded, thus forming a high content of chlorophyll and other active ingredients and at the same time little bitter substances. Their characteristic "shade aroma" is called "ooika".   Fukamushicha   Like many KEIKO teas, this is an intensively steamed tea (Fukamushi-cha, 100 - 120 seconds steaming time). Due to the gentle steaming process, the leaf pores open and the extracts from the tea leaf reach the water more easily and quickly. This can be recognized by the deep green tea colour in the cup and the yield of the tea - with top qualities up to 4 infusions are possible! Cold Brew       Intensively steamed early pickings are also particularly suitable for cold infusions (Mizudashi or Cold Brew). By infusing the leaves with cold water you will get an intensive and refreshing tea after only a few minutes. Since the bitter substances do not dissolve as strongly in cold water, the sweet aromas of the Kabusecha are especially noticeable. Storage In order to preserve the precious flavours and ingredients of the tea as best as possible, we recommend to seal the bag well and store it cool and dark - ideally in your refrigerator or freezer. 

For this year, we have combined the characteristically dreamlike, elegant fragrance of Yume Kaori (‘Dream Aroma’) with the delicately aromatic sweetness of the Sae Midori cultivar. Shincha Yume has a brilliant green liquor and is, once again this year, a treat for all the senses!Special features Shincha – the ‘new tea’ – heralds the start of the tea season every spring. It is the first tea made from the delicate, particularly aromatic leaf tips, which are harvested as early as mid-April in Kagoshima’s subtropical climate. To capture the fresh aroma as effectively as possible, Shincha is dried slightly more gently in the final processing stage than is usually the case with Sencha, giving the teas a special freshness that is particularly pronounced in Shincha Yume. Cultivars: 90% Yume Kaori from the KEIKO Organic Farm in Kawanabe (Chiran) 10% Sae Midori from Yamaguchi-san (Osumi)  Kabusecha is a green tea produced by shading the tea plants for 7–10 days prior to harvesting, which results in a high content of chlorophyll and other active compounds whilst minimising the formation of bitter substances. Its characteristic ‘shade-grown aroma’ is known as ‘Ooika’. Incidentally, early harvests such as Shincha Yume also have a particularly high theanine content, which is noticeable in their sweetish flavour.  Preparation  For Shincha Yume, we recommend a shorter steeping time of 40 seconds and a temperature of 65–70°C to allow the fragrance and velvety texture to fully develop. Allow the first infusion to steep for about 1 minute. After that, a few seconds are sufficient to draw out the leaves’ aroma. For the final infusion, you can increase the steeping time slightly to coax out every last bit of flavour. Should the tea still turn out stronger than desired, the intensity of the flavour can be easily adjusted by adding a little more water. Intensively steamed early-harvest teas are particularly well suited to cold infusions (Mizudashi). Even with cold water, Shincha Yume develops a particularly silky texture and refreshing clarity after just about 5 minutes of steeping. The sweet theanine notes also come into their own particularly well, as the bitter compounds do not dissolve as strongly in cold water.Storage To preserve the tea's valuable flavours and ingredients as much as possible, please close the bag tightly and store it in a cool, dark place in the fridge or freezer.

Aracha Shincha brings the uniquely green, fresh Ooika aroma of raw Aracha tea to Europe. With its wild, intensely green and grassy scent of freshly harvested tea fields, it conjures up the essence of spring right into our cups, offering a taste that is as close as possible to the tea plant’s natural flavour. This year, for the first time as a single-variety tea from the Sae Midori cultivar – a variety known for its beautiful liquor colour and sweet aroma, and therefore often used for high-quality tea, Gyokuro or Matcha. Special Features Shincha (the ‘new tea’) is made from the first tender leaves of spring - a vintage tea from the first early picking in April, which surprises with its fresh flavour every year. Aracha is a partially processed green tea, which is reflected in its original, natural flavour. When tasting the raw teas directly after harvesting, they are brewed in particularly high doses and hot in order to savour the special characteristics of the tea. The higher infusion temperature (around 70°C) also brings out the flavour of this tea particularly well - let yourself be whisked away to the tea gardens of Kagoshima with the intense grassy aroma of freshly steamed tea leaves! Cultivar: 100% Sae Midori by Kawaji-san in HiokiLike many KEIKO teas, this tea is an intensively steamed tea (Fukamushi-cha, 100 - 120 seconds steaming time). The gentle steaming opens the leaf pores and the extracts are released from the tea leaf into the water more easily and quickly. This can be recognised by the deep green tea colour in the cup and the yield of the tea. Early harvests such as Aracha Shincha also have a particularly high theanine content, which is noticeable in the sweet flavour. Aracha is not yet ‘sorted’ as a raw tea - it therefore still contains some larger leaves as well as very fine bits of the leaves.PreparationTo emphasise the fresh fragrance, the infusion temperature can be set a little higher at 65-75°C.. Intensely steamed early harvests are particularly suitable for cold infusions (mizudashi). Even with cold water, Shincha Classic develops a particularly silky texture and a refreshing clarity after just a few minutes of infusion. The sweet theanine notes also come into their own particularly well, as the bitter substances do not dissolve as much in cold water.Storage Please note that Shincha Aracha is a raw tea and less dried than all other KEIKO teas. Aracha should therefore be enjoyed fresh and not stored for too long - we have set the best before date for this tea at 6 months from production here in Diepholz; we store it frozen! We therefore recommend closing the bag tightly and storing it in a cool, dark place in the fridge or freezer to preserve the tea's valuable flavours and ingredients as much as possible.

New in the KEIKO Shincha family: a sweet and aromatic Asamushi tea made from 100% Sae Midori with a silky-smooth sweetness, a full-bodied flavour with a long finish that is somewhat reminiscent of Gyokuro.Cultivation and processing Shincha - the ‘new tea’ heralds the start of the tea year every spring. The first tea from the fine, particularly aromatic leaf tips, which are harvested in the subtropical climate of Kagoshima as early as mid-April. Kabusecha is a green tea that is produced by shading the tea plants for 7-10 days before harvesting, which results in a high content of chlorophyll and other active ingredients and a low level of bitter substances. Their characteristic ‘shade flavour’ is called ‘ooika’. Early harvests such as Shincha Sae Midori also have a particularly high theanine content, which is noticeable in the sweet flavour and is particularly evident in the Sae Midori cultivar. Shincha Sae Midori is an asamushi tea, i.e. only lightly steamed. The leaves are therefore dark green, shiny and needle-shaped. The infusion is light green in the cup  Preparation Due to the lower steaming, the tea extract dissolves somewhat more slowly than with intensively steamed teas - we recommend an infusion temperature of around 65°C and an infusion time of 70 seconds for the first infusion. For the second infusion, a brewing time of around 30 seconds is sufficient, after which it can be extended again. This tea also develops its wonderfully full flavour as a cold infusion after a slightly longer infusion time - the dosage can be increased depending on taste. Cultivar: 100% Sae Midori (Asamushi) from the Komaki brothers in Minami Satsuma and the Kumada Family in Satsuma-cho.Storage To preserve the tea's valuable flavours and ingredients as much as possible, please close the bag tightly and store it in a cool, dark place in the fridge or freezer.