Types of Japanese Tea

Sencha

Sencha is the most commonly consumed and well-known type of green tea. It is made using the most common processing method, where the tea leaves are steamed and rolled to create rough tea.

Deep-steamed Sencha

Green tea that is steamed for about twice as long as regular sencha is called "deep steamed sencha" or "deep steamed green tea." Deep steaming means "steamed for a long time." Because the leaves are thoroughly exposed to the heat of the steam, the tea leaves become powdery and have a strong flavor and a deep green color. There is no "grassy smell" or astringency. Because the leaves are steamed for a long time, the tea made from them has a high leaf content.
Therefore, deep-steamed sencha is characterized by the fact that it contains many active ingredients that do not dissolve in water.

Gyokuro

Gyokuro tea trees are covered with cloth or reed blinds (covered cultivation) about 20 days before picking. By limiting the amount of light that reaches the shoots as they grow, the production of catechins from amino acids (theanine) is suppressed, resulting in less astringency and a richer flavor. Gyokuro is also characterized by its seaweed-like aroma. Kabusecha is also a type of green tea grown under soil cover, but the soil cover period for kabusecha is shorter than that for gyokuro, about one week before picking.

Matcha

Matcha is the tea that is ground in a stone mill just before shipping. Thick matcha ( koicha ) is used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony and was previously made from the leaves of very old tea trees that were over 100 years old. In recent years, varieties suitable for koicha have been selected, and soil fertility management techniques and cover cultivation methods have been developed to provide tea that is best suited for koicha. Matcha is also widely used in the production of traditional Japanese sweets and a variety of delicious dishes. Another unique feature of matcha is that, unlike sencha and other teas, the entire leaf is consumed when drinking matcha.