Skip to content
Japan
Deutsche Version

Food & Drink

Green tea

緑茶りょくちゃryokucha

Steamed leaves, shaded gardens and the right temperature

Japanese tea is almost entirely green tea, made by steaming freshly picked leaves to stop oxidation, which gives it a grassy, savoury character. Sencha is the everyday tea; gyokuro and matcha come from shaded leaves, and Shizuoka, Kagoshima and Uji are the best-known growing areas.

Tea arrived in Japan with Buddhist monks returning from Tang China in the early ninth century, but only spread after the Zen monk Eisai brought seeds and new customs from Song China in 1191 and wrote a treatise on the health benefits of tea. Powdered tea became the drink of monasteries and the samurai elite and, in the sixteenth century, the heart of the tea ceremony.

Leaf tea as most Japanese drink it today goes back to 1738, when Nagatani Sōen of Ujitawara near Uji perfected a method of steaming, rolling and drying leaves that produced a bright green infusion. Steaming, rather than the pan-firing common in China, remains the defining feature of Japanese green tea and gives it its fresh, marine and umami-rich taste.

Step by step

  1. 1Cool the waterBoil water and let it cool to around 70–80 °C for sencha, or 50–60 °C for gyokuro. Pouring it into the cups first both cools it and warms them.
  2. 2Measure the leavesPut about two teaspoons of leaves in the pot for two cups.
  3. 3Steep brieflyPour the water over the leaves and wait about one minute for sencha, less for fukamushi-cha and around two minutes for gyokuro.
  4. 4Pour in turnsPour a little into each cup in turn, going back and forth so that every cup has the same strength, and pour out the last drop.
  5. 5Brew againGood leaves give two or three infusions; use slightly hotter water and a shorter time for each one.

Types of tea

Japanese teas differ in the part of the plant used, the time of harvest, whether the bushes are shaded before picking, and how the leaves are processed. Shading for several weeks reduces bitterness and increases the amino acid theanine, which gives gyokuro and matcha their sweet, savoury depth. The first harvest of spring (ichibancha or shincha) is the most prized.

  • Sencha

    煎茶sencha

    The standard leaf tea, steamed and rolled into needles; fresh, grassy and slightly astringent.

  • Fukamushi-cha

    深蒸し茶fukamushi-cha

    Sencha steamed two to three times longer, giving a cloudy, deep green, mellow infusion; typical of Shizuoka.

  • Gyokuro

    玉露gyokuro

    Tea from bushes shaded for about three weeks, brewed at low temperature; intensely sweet and savoury.

  • Matcha

    抹茶matcha

    Shaded leaves dried flat without rolling (tencha), destemmed and stone-ground into fine powder; whisked with water.

  • Bancha

    番茶bancha

    Tea from later harvests or larger leaves, simple and low in caffeine.

  • Hojicha

    ほうじ茶hōjicha

    Roasted bancha or stems, reddish-brown, toasty and low in bitterness.

  • Genmaicha

    玄米茶genmaicha

    Green tea blended with roasted rice, nutty and mild.

  • Kukicha

    茎茶kukicha

    Tea made from stems and twigs, light and sweet.

Growing regions

Tea grows from Kyushu to northern Kanto, and most prefectures have some production. Shizuoka and Kagoshima are by far the largest producers, followed by prefectures such as Mie, Miyazaki and Kyoto. Many regions sell their tea under their own name.

  • Uji tea

    宇治茶Uji-cha

    Kyoto Prefecture's historic tea, especially matcha and gyokuro, supplied to the shogun's court in the Edo period.

  • Shizuoka tea

    静岡茶Shizuoka-cha

    From one of the two largest producing prefectures; the Makinohara plateau was cleared for tea after the Meiji Restoration.

  • Kagoshima tea

    鹿児島茶Kagoshima-cha

    Early-harvest, mechanised tea from southern Kyushu, including the Chiran area.

  • Yame tea

    八女茶Yame-cha

    From Fukuoka Prefecture, known for traditional shaded gyokuro.

  • Sayama tea

    狭山茶Sayama-cha

    From Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo, one of the northernmost commercial tea areas, with a rich, full taste.

Tea in daily life

Green tea is the everyday drink of Japan: served free with meals in most restaurants, offered to visitors at home and in offices, and sold cold in bottles from vending machines throughout the year. Barley tea (mugicha) is the standard cold drink of summer, though it contains no tea leaves.

At home tea is brewed in a small teapot, often a side-handled kyūsu, and poured in turns into several cups so that each gets the same strength. The last drops, the most concentrated, are poured out completely so that the leaves do not stew before the next infusion.

  • Kyusu

    急須kyūsu

    Small teapot, often with a side handle and a fine built-in strainer; Tokoname in Aichi is a famous centre.

  • Yunomi

    湯呑みyunomi

    Handleless tea cup, usually of ceramic.

  • Mugicha

    麦茶mugicha

    Caffeine-free roasted barley infusion, drunk cold in summer.

Timeline

  1. Early 9th century

    Monks returning from Tang China introduce tea; it is drunk at the imperial court and in temples.

  2. 1191

    Eisai returns from Song China with tea seeds; in 1211 he writes Kissa Yōjōki on tea and health.

  3. 13th–14th century

    Tea cultivation spreads, with Toganoo near Kyoto and later Uji as prized origins.

  4. 16th century

    Sen no Rikyū shapes the tea ceremony around powdered matcha.

  5. 1738

    Nagatani Sōen develops the Uji method of steamed and rolled sencha.

  6. 1830s

    Gyokuro, from shaded leaf tea, is developed in the Uji area.

  7. Meiji era

    Tea becomes a major export; large plantations are established in Shizuoka.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between sencha and matcha?

Sencha is leaf tea: steamed, rolled leaves are infused in water and removed. Matcha is made from shaded leaves ground into powder and whisked into water, so the whole leaf is consumed.

Why should green tea not be made with boiling water?

Boiling water draws out bitter catechins and caffeine quickly and suppresses the sweet, savoury amino acids. Cooler water gives a rounder taste, especially with gyokuro.

Does Japanese green tea contain caffeine?

Yes. Gyokuro and matcha contain the most, sencha a moderate amount, and hōjicha, bancha and kukicha relatively little. Barley tea contains none.

Is tea free in Japanese restaurants?

In most traditional restaurants, green tea or barley tea is served free with the meal and refilled. In cafés, and for premium teas, it is ordered like any other drink.

What is shincha?

Shincha, 'new tea', is the first sencha of the spring harvest, picked from around late April to May and prized for its fresh aroma.

Related

Sources

  1. 1.日本茶業中央会 (opens in a new tab) — 公益社団法人 日本茶業中央会 (Japan Tea Central Public Interest Incorporated Association)
  2. 2.農林水産省 (opens in a new tab) — Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
  3. 3.Japan National Tourism Organization – Official travel guide (opens in a new tab) — JNTO

Editorial team · Published: