Harvest time starts from mild area like Kagoshima, and move northward like cherry blossom's blooming. "Shincha" and "First crop tea" is basically same tea and just has a different name. "First crop tea" is usually called a name as comparison with "Second crop tea" or "Third crop tea" those picked after "First crop tea".
Also "Shincha" is called as "now in season" that means the first tea of the season. A tea tree stores norishment during the winter, and when the spring comes, fresh leaves that contain a lot of norishment will grow. Those leaves become Shincha(the first tea of the season). The day after 88th days count from the first day of spring(February 4th) is called "Hachijyu-hachi-ya". Risshun is in early February of the solar calendar, so that the 88th day is usually around May 2.
According to a tradition, if you drink tea that be picked in 88th days, you will being healthy for a year. The characteristic of Shincha is "refreshing scent" of new leaves, after all. Shincha has less catechin and caffein than "second crop tea" or "third cop tea" and has more flavor and Amino acid(Theanin) that is a component of sweetness. Farmers usually pick the first crop of tea around the 88th day because the tea at that time is filled with nutrients stored over winter and most delicious.
【Noodle soup base mixed with green tea】
Recipe
Ingredients_2 servings
・Noodle soup base Cup 1/2
・Green tea Cup 1/2
・Daikon-oroshi (Japanese term for grated daikon radish) Cup 1/2
・Naganegi (Japanese green onion) as needed
・Katsuobushi (Dried bonito shavings) as needed
How to cook
1. Mix Noodle soup bass with green tea.
2. Make Daikon-oroshi, Either grate it yourself using a grater or put the daikon radish into a food processor.
3. Garnish Daikon-oroshi, Naganegi and Katsuobushi.
Thank you.
