Exploring Green Tea

Bancha:
The most common green tea in Japan. It has a strong, organic straw-like smell. It is picked later than sencha and is considered to be a lower quality green tea. It’s an inexpensive tea suitable for everyday drinking.

Genmaicha:
A subcategory of bancha, the leaves are combined with roasted brown rice. It is sometimes referred to as “popcorn tea” because the brown rice sometimes pops during the roasting process. Genmaicha has a fresh grassy flavor. Recommended brewing times are very short, usually around 1-2 minutes.

Sencha:
The tea leaves are first steamed for 15-45 seconds to prevent oxidization, after which they are rolled, shaped, dried and fired. Sencha usually has a slight seaweed flavor. It can be very strong and a little bitter. Brewing times should be kept to around one minute. Sencha can be served either hot or iced.

Gyokuro:
A very expensive grade of sencha. Gyokuro tea leaves are shielded from direct sunlight for two weeks prior to harvesting. This causes the amount of theanine and caffeine to increase, and decreases the amount of catechan, which is the source of bitterness. Gyokuro should be steeped for around ninety seconds in water heated to approximately 122° - 140°).

Mecha:
The quality of this tea falls somewhere between Gyokuro and Sencha. Its flavor can be described as astringent with a bitter aftertaste. Mecha is popular in sushi restaurants because its astringency cleansing the palate.