There are many different types of Japanese green tea. We’ve compiled a list of the most popular ones, as well as their distinguishing qualities.
We’re sure you’ve seen names like Sencha, Bancha, Gyokuro, and Tencha while shopping for Japanese green tea. There are around 100 different varieties of Japanese green tea names in use today.
Each type has its own taste and aroma. A variety of variables influence the diverse varieties of Japanese green tea, including:
- Pre-harvest treatment
- Processing after harvest
- Harvest season
- Part of the plant was used
- Region and elevation
- If they’re shade-grown
These differences lead to different health benefits, flavors, caffeine levels, and so on. It’s impossible to list them all, so here are the most popular and distinctive Japanese green tea types.
The Different Types of Japanese Green Tea
Sencha, Bancha, Gyokuro, Tencha, Genmaicha, Hojicha, and Matcha are the most popular types of Japanese green tea. There are a few more that aren’t well-known in the West, and we’ll introduce you to them down below.
Here’s a more detailed explanation of the many kinds of Japanese green tea.
Sencha
Japanese sencha tea is one of the world’s most famous green teas. Sencha is a first-flush tea that is grown in the sun and made from the youngest leaves.
Sencha is a type of steamed tea. Steaming is the technique that prevents oxidation and distinguishes green tea from black or oolong tea. This procedure might be as brief as 10 seconds or as long as 2 minutes.
Sencha is categorized into three types:
Asamushi Sencha: This is a slightly steamed tea. The leaves are bright and unbroken, and they appear to be quite clean. The brewed tea is likewise exceptionally clear, with a striking yellowish-green hue.
Futsumushi Sencha: This is a medium-steamed sencha. The leaves are more needle-like with less small material, and the brewed tea is clearer, albeit still a little cloudy.
Fukamushi Sencha: A deep steamed tea with a striking green hue and a strong taste. Brewed tea will be appealingly green, with little particles floating at the bottom.
Bancha
This is a kind of Japanese green tea commonly known as “everyday tea.” Bancha is prepared from the more mature lower leaves of the Camellia sinensis tea plant, plucked during the second flush of summer sencha in Japan.
It is a low-grade Japanese green tea that is inexpensive. It’s “daily Japanese tea,” as it’s called in many Japanese households.
Bancha is a fantastic place to start if you’re looking for a light and refreshing tea for everyday consumption. It has a distinct astringency and bitterness, which are the components of the flavor you should appreciate while sipping a Bancha.
It’s tough for the typical individual to tell the difference between Bancha and Sencha. The pricing difference is the most noticeable: Bancha is always less expensive than sencha.
Gyokuro
This is another type of Japanese green tea. Gyokuro translates to “jewel/jade dew,” which relates to the pale green color it acquires when infused.
The Gyokuro plant is shaded from the sun for 20 days, enabling the caffeine levels in the leaves to rise as well as the amino acids to get stronger, providing a sweeter and more powerful flavor.
In addition, the shadow inhibits the amino acid L-theanine from turning into tea catechin. Gyokuro tea’s high L-theanine content leads to a smoother caffeine delivery. That is, you get the energy boost without the peaks and downs associated with coffee.
This is one of the most costly types of green tea available. This is due to the longer growing procedure as well as the plants’ delicacy. The price is certainly worth it.
Tencha
Tencha is the term given to tea leaves before they are processed into fine powder for Matcha. This is a shaded Japanese green tea that is grown similarly to Gyokuro.
Tencha has no stems or stalks and resembles little green flakes. Tencha, like Matcha, isn’t exactly inexpensive. The leaves are a lovely vivid green, but the brew has a slight yellow color to it. The flavor is rich and mellow, and the delicate noble aroma stays in the mouth for some time.
Genmaicha
This is a Japanese green tea blend of the Sencha or Bancha type and roasted brown rice. The proportion of roasted and puffed brown rice to pure tea is frequently 50:50.
In most versions, it is a blend of roasted rice grains and puffed rice grains, the latter of which may have somewhat popped, earning Genmaicha the gourmet name of “popcorn tea”!
The flavor you perceive will be determined by the type of green tea used. It has a fairly mild scent, with the rice grains counteracting the minor astringency that green tea may have on its own. Many people enjoy it because it has nutty undertones and a subtly sweet taste from the caramelization of the puffed rice.
Hojicha
This is a roasted Japanese green tea. Hojicha is only created from steamed Japanese green teas, mostly by roasting Bancha, Sencha, or Kukicha green tea leaves.
Roasting alters the color of the leaves and tea liquid, as well as the taste, flavor, aroma, and chemical makeup of tea. That is one of the reasons why Hojicha may have a lower caffeine concentration than other green teas and is an excellent choice for late afternoon tea.
Hojicha is a catch-all name for any type of roasted Japanese green tea.
It has a smokey flavor that is robust and deep, with a hint of natural sweetness. When green tea leaves are roasted, the bitterness is gone, and the flavor is smokey and earthy. Because of its smokey taste, it is typically served with sweet pastries and in lattes.
Good Hojicha leaves are dark brown in color and have an earthy scent. If you see black leaves, it means they were burnt during the roasting process and have a burnt flavor. Do not buy such leaves.
Matcha
This is a unique powdered green tea that is prepared by finely grinding tea leaves using a stone or ball mill. It is particularly popular because of its rich, sweet flavor and brilliant green color, which distinguishes it from other types and makes it popular with everyone.
Tamaryokucha
This is a Japanese green tea with a unique form compared to typical Japanese green teas. Instead of straight leaves, they are spherical and curly (visually, it resembles Chinese tea more than other Japanese teas).
Tamaryokucha is grown and processed in the same way as Sencha, except for the last stage. Instead of being rolled and straightened out, the tea leaves are placed in a spinning drum and dried with hot air.
Actually, there are 2 types of Tamaryokucha: steamed-Guricha and pan-fried-Kamairicha; this is the only Japanese pan-fired tea.
Tamaryokucha is far less astringent than its Japanese green tea counterparts. It’s mellow while being rich in umami and strong.
Kabusecha
This is a shade-grown Japanese green tea that tastes and looks like Gyokuro and Sencha, with dark, blue-green leaves that brew out a light emerald color.
Farmers cultivate Kabusecha in the shadow, the same as they do Gyokuro. The difference is that cultivating Kabusecha takes half as long (7 to 10 days) as growing Gyokuro (20 days).
Kabusecha is a milder variant of Gyokuro that is also a tastier green tea than Sencha.
Kukicha
Often known as “twig tea,” Kukicha is created from young twigs and stems that are removed from the leaves during the manufacturing process.
Kukicha is mostly produced with sencha or matcha tea leaves. The finest grade of Kukicha is prepared from first-flush Sencha leaves, while second-flush (or Bancha) Kukicha is considered poorer quality but more affordable.
This variety of Japanese green tea has less caffeine than other types of green tea. Due to its low caffeine levels, it is acceptable for drinking at any time of day.
Shincha
This Japanese green tea variety, sometimes known as “new tea,” is made from first-harvest sencha in the spring. Shincha is made from the finest of the highly prized first-harvest leaves.
It is only accessible in limited amounts throughout the spring season, making it a highly prized tea. Shincha is crafted from the highest quality leaves, and it is also the freshest tea available.
Mecha
Mecha, a unique variety of Japanese green tea, is manufactured by harvesting only the tea leaves’ buds. In Japanese, “Me” signifies “buds,” hence Mecha literally translates as “bud tea.”
During the production of Sencha or Gyokuro, the buds are separated from the leaves. The Mecha has a particularly intense umami flavor since the buds are immature leaves that have yet to develop. The tea’s color and scent are both powerful and distinct.
It has a variety of applications, but one of them is as a “wake-up” tea to substitute for morning coffee. Another benefit of mecha is that it can be re-steeped multiple times without losing flavor, whereas sencha can only be re-steeped two or three times.
Konacha
Also known as powder or bud tea, Konacha is a variety of Japanese green tea created from tea buds, dust, and tiny leaves leftover from the production of Sencha and Gyokuro.
Although it is called powdered tea, it is not finely processed into a powder-like Matcha, but rather has little bits and parts.
Brewed Konacha has a vivid green hue and a powerful flavor. Because the components of green tea dissolve fast in water due to their small size, the brewing time should be kept short to avoid an overpowering flavor.
Kamairicha
This is not like other Japanese green teas. Kamairicha is pan-fried, not steamed as the Chinese do. In addition, the form of Kamairicha differs from that of other Japanese teas.
Kamairicha’s tea leaves are curled as a result of pan-frying, whereas other Japanese tea kinds have straight needle-like shapes or powder forms.
However, after pan-frying, certain Kamairicha leaves are massaged (or rolled). This method is used to straighten curled tea leaves, and this form of tea is known as Kamanobicha.
Kokeicha
Translated as “solid tea” or “fixed form tea” Kokeicha is a tea that is prepared into a paste and extruded to resemble tea leaves.
Any variety of green tea, such as sencha, kukicha, or even matcha, can be used as foundation tea. It’s sometimes a combination of these, therefore it’s difficult to determine for sure unless it’s written on the packaging.
Finally, we hope that we have assisted you in learning about the different types of Japanese green tea. It’s up to you to decide, or perhaps you could sample a few of these green teas and see which one works best for you. Enjoy your perfect cup of green tea.
