"Shincha" means "new tea." It refers to tea made from the first flush of new leaves, carefully picked at the beginning of the season between March and April. These tender young leaves are then gently prepared for immediate sale without ever going into storage, making it the freshest tea that you can possibly buy. While first harvest green tea is available throughout the year, shincha is only available from March through the middle of July. While typically referring to sencha, “shincha” gyokuro and matcha are also available in the fall, as a short period of aging improves the taste of the delicate new leaves. Read more here.