A Tour of Japanese Green Tea
Most Japanese tea meets steam soon after harvest. From there, shading, rolling, sorting, blending, and final heating can lead to cups that are grassy and clear, dense and marine, softly roasted, or creamy with umami.
Before the tea gets its final name
Primary processing creates aracha, a rough tea containing leaf, fine particles, and stems. During shiage, it is sorted, dried further, sometimes blended, and given a finishing fire.
Steaming depth also matters:
- asamushi (light steam) often leaves clearer liquor and more intact needles;
- fukamushi (deep steam) breaks more leaf and can make a thick, cloudy green cup;
- chumushi sits somewhere between.
These are style words, not universal stopwatch settings.
Pick your cup
- Sencha: everyday steamed and rolled leaf; green, citrusy, sweet, and savory.
- Kabusecha: shaded before harvest, usually less heavily than gyokuro.
- Gyokuro: strongly shaded tea with concentrated sweetness and umami.
- Tencha: shaded leaf dried without ordinary final rolling; the main material for matcha.
- Matcha: finely milled tencha whisked into water, leaf and all.
- Bancha: usually later or more mature leaf, though regional meanings vary.
- Hojicha: roasted green tea, warm and comforting; brown is its correct color.
- Genmaicha: tea blended with roasted rice.
- Kukicha: sorted stems and leaf stalks.
- Tamaryokucha: curled rather than needle-shaped; steamed and pan-fired versions exist.
- Kamairicha: pan-fired, often fresh and nutty.
Generic green powder is not automatically matcha. Matcha starts with tencha and an appropriate milling process.
Starting recipes
| Tea | Leaf and water | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sencha | 3–5 g / 100–150 ml | 65–80°C | 45–90 sec |
| Fukamushi sencha | 3–5 g / 100–150 ml | 65–75°C | 30–60 sec |
| Gyokuro | 4–6 g / 60–100 ml | 50–65°C | 90–150 sec |
| Bancha / genmaicha | 3–5 g / 250 ml | 80–95°C | 1–2 min |
| Hojicha | 3–5 g / 250 ml | 90–100°C | 30–90 sec |
For matcha, sift 1.5–2 g, add 60–80 ml of water at 70–80°C, and whisk until evenly suspended.
Note
Because you drink the powdered leaf, compare matcha caffeine by the amount of powder used — not by how pale or bright the bowl looks.
Fresh Japanese tea fades quickly after opening. Protect it from air, moisture, heat, and odors. If chilled, let the sealed pack warm to room temperature before opening so condensation stays outside.