Anyone into green tea, in particular Japanese green teas?

I've been making a pot (using a large spoon of real, Japanese tea leaves) in the morning, and can refill it a couple of times.

It seems to have a more smooth effect, compared to coffee (making me less nervous than coffee does). You can also eat the tea leaves after (although the leaves have a lot of caffeine).

Nice thread

I have some sencha variety right now [only a tiny bit left], but haven't drank too much of it lately. I'm a huge silver needle white tea head, but certainly right up there for me is a nice quality green tea. Green tea is something I've fallen back on for many years. Great way to start the morning.

I also used to drink quite a bit of micronized matcha, had quite alot of that stocked up at one point, take a nice big heaping teaspoon of it in some lukewarm water [not hot water].

I'll take 2 faat teaspoons of sencha anytime before I lift or go workout/run.

Tea is my major vice. I drink it constantly. I'm also partial to the silver needle, being my top choice, but I honestly find myself drinking moar sencha due to it's wider availability. Currently I'm drinking a nice Dragon Well, which is a variety I'm also very very fond of.

If you haven't stepped into the world of Pu'erh yet, do yourself a favor and taste a properly aged (10+ year) Sheng variety. Absolutely sublime! This (fairly expensive) tea is truly connoisseur grade stuff. Be mindful of "young" or unaged Sheng varieties, as well as the fast fermented Shou varieties, as the former tends to taste grassy, and cheaper varieties of the latter can tend to be bitter/astringent or fishy in flavor. There are higher grade Shou varieties that offer the same health benefits as an aged Sheng and are easier on the pocketbook as daily drinkers, but it takes some diligence in sourcing them amidst the plethora of cheap mass market Shou Pu'erh.

Thanks, I want to get some good quality Matcha in the future and would like to do a proper Japanese tea ceremony one day in the future (although, I don't think there are any Geishas to serve tea where I live).

There's a fair selection of green teas in my tea cupboard - matcha, bancha, jade Oolong and some Japanese stuff with a label I can't read. For me they're an occasional treat, due to my being a bit of a coffee fiend at the moment, as well as being partial to my daily cup or several of black tea.

Now, thanks to dreamer, I'll be talking to the tea merchant today about Sheng Pu'erh

Tea is good but japanese ones tastes to me like a fish. Some good varietyes have a really good taste if you prepare them properly. Oolong teas like Mei Shan or Ali Shan are very good. From darker ones I like Mi Lan Xiang or Phoenix Tanchung. The red ones like Dian Hong Jin Zhen (Silver needles)are also good. I have to instantly change the types or even the best one is not so tasty in a while. I think Ill make some buy today and get stick with the tea instead of coffee again

Yes I am into japanese teas, partucarly into sencha. Sometimes I treat myself with sincha, tamaryokucha or even gyokuro.

What I like about japanese green teas is the way of preparation, by steaming instead of roasting, thus preserving the freshness. Go only for the vacuum-sealed loose tea.

Usually 5-7 grams of Sencha is great for concentration (e.g. writing, learning).

Unfortunately, I found I easily get addicted to strong japanese teas so I quit caffeine altogether. It disturbed my sleep cycle too much. Even moderately strong green tea made me restless.

But boy I like the taste - yes it's kind of salty-fishy but it goes well with sweets and you will learn to sip and enjoy the taste over time.

Oolong teas are great too.

Loved that one High grade white teas are a chapter of its own...

I have recently switched to tea from coffee as it was too addictive and stimulating. Now been drinking a 12yr pu'erh and that is amazing and earthy tasting but expensive. switch through many types of tea, even cheap ones are good if brewed right. I find some green teas to be very tannic while others are smooth. Also I feel much calmer and dont need to re-dose constantly as I do with coffee. Thanks for the great info everyone Im looking up lots of tea related things now

To the people that complain of a fishy taste in green tea - this typically means the water has been poured too hot. Maybe some teas are just fishy, but a very fine Japanese tea I had was not fishy when prepared with properly cooled water (~80°C).

I've pretty recently discovered matcha. If it wasn't so expensive that would probably be the only thing i would drink from now on. It is realy amazing.
It's almost a sort of soup actually, because it has a slight umami taste to it, and it is also a bit creamy.

I've always wondered about snorting matcha. Presumably the post-nasal drip wouldn't be too bad

Maybe my local tea merchant has some, hmmm...