Shincha Set 2024 - Organic Japanese Green Tea

Can't decide which tea should be your next? Looking for the perfect gift for a tea-enthusiast (to be)? This Tasting Set gives you the opportunity to test five of the KEIKO teas of the early first plucking to explore the different flavours - find your personal favourite.The set contains 15g of each tea variety: Kabuse Diamond LeafKabuse Tenbu FukaKabuse DanKabuse SoshunKabuse Tenko<h3>Tea Tasting Notes</h3>Also included is a notebook where you can record the results and observations from your tastings. The notebook contains info and tips on preparation and 20 evaluation pages that give clues on what to look for when tea tasting and help visualise the diversity of varieties, the influence of preparation on taste and the classification of flavours (German language, CO2 neutral printed on 100% recycled paper).The notebook is in German only, but you can download an English translation for it here.<h3>Kabusecha</h3>Kabusecha or Kabuse Sencha stands for shaded Sencha. For this green tea, the tea plants are shaded with special nets before harvesting. The nets allow only about half of the light to pass through, which means that the plants produce a high content of chlorophyll and other active substances and at the same time few bitter substances. Their characteristic "shade aroma" is called "ooika".<h3>Fukamushicha</h3>The teas in this set have all been intensively steamed (fukamushi-cha, 100 - 120 seconds steaming time). The gentle steaming opens the leaf pores and the extracts pass from the tea leaf more easily and quickly into the water. This can be recognised by the deep green colour of the tea in the cup and the yield of the tea - with top qualities like these, 4 infusions are possible!<h3>Preparation</h3>We recommend an infusion temperature of 60-65°C for these teas. Let the first infusion steep for about 1 minute, for later infusions just steep briefly and pour out after a few seconds. For the last infusion, the infusion time can be extended a little more to get all the goodness out of the tea. Intensely steamed early pluckings are also particularly suitable for cold infusions (Mizudashi). Even with cold water, you get an intense and refreshing tea after just a few minutes. Since the bitter substances do not dissolve as strongly in cold water, the sweetish aromas of Kabusecha come into their own. For a cold-brew steep the tea leaves in cold water for at least 5 Minutes.Incidentally, the early pluckings also have a particularly high theanine content, which is noticeable in the sweet taste and comes out best at a low infusion temperature!<h3>Storage</h3>In order to preserve the valuable aromas and ingredients of the tea in the best possible way, we ask you to close the bag tightly and store it in a cool, dark place in the fridge or freezer.

The Yutaka Midori cultivar gives the Shincha Classic its familiar fresh green aroma and rich colour. The combination with a proportion of the exquisite cultivar Sae Midori results in a full-bodied, smooth flavour with fine umami, a light fruitiness and a subtle astringency. Special features 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.  In order to capture the fresh flavour in the best possible way, shincha is dried a little more lightly in the final processing stage than is usual for sencha. Cultivars:80% Yutaka Midori from the KEIKO organic farm in Kawanabe (Chiran) and from the Komaki brothers (Minami-Satsuma)20%Sae Midori from the Komaki brothers (Minami-Satsuma) 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 bitterness. Their characteristic ‘shade flavour’ is called ‘ooika’. Early harvests such as Shincha Yume also have a particularly high theanine content, which is noticeable in the sweet flavour. Preparation We recommend an infusion temperature of around 60-65°C. Allow the first infusion to infuse for about 1 minute. A few seconds are then enough to extract the flavour from the leaves. For the last infusion, you can increase the infusion time again to tease out all the flavour. If the tea still turns out stronger than desired, the flavour intensity can be slightly adjusted by adding a little more water. Deep steamed early harvests are particularly suitable for cold infusions (mizudashi). Even with cold water, Shincha Yume develops a particularly silky texture and a refreshing clarity of flavour after just 5 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 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.

A harmonious, multi-layered tea with a velvet-like soft texture, that develops into a fruity sweetness on the tongue. This year, we have once again refined the dream flavour of the Yume Kaori cultivar with the sweet note of the Sae Midori cultivar. Special features 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. In order to capture the fresh flavour in the best possible way, shincha is dried a little lighter than usual for sencha in the final processing stage, giving the teas a special freshness that seems particularly pronounced in Shincha Yume. Cultivars: 70% Yume Kaori from the KEIKO organic farm in Kawanabe (Chiran) 30% Sae Midori from the Komaki brothers (Minami-Satsuma) Kabusecha is a green tea produced by shading the tea plants for a period of 7-10 days before harvesting, which results in a high content of chlorophyll and other active ingredients and a low level of bitterness. Their characteristic ‘shade flavour’ is called ‘ooika’. Early harvests such as Shincha Yume also have a particularly high theanine content, which is noticeable in the sweet flavour. Preparation We recommend an infusion temperature of around 60°C for a particularly round, flowery flavour. Leave the first infusion to infuse for about 1 minute. A few seconds are then enough to extract the flavour from the leaves. For the last infusion, you can increase the infusion time again to tease out all the flavour. If the tea still turns out stronger than desired, the flavour intensity can be slightly adjusted by adding a little more water. Deep steamed early harvests are particularly suitable for cold infusions (mizudashi). Even with cold water, Shincha Yume develops a particularly silky texture and a refreshing clarity of flavour after just 5 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 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.

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 Yamaguchi-San 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.

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 KEIKO organic farm in Kawanabe (Chiran) Asanoka from the Komaki brothers (Minami-Satsuma)Yabukita from the KEIKO organic farm in Kawanabe (Chiran)This 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.