Skip to content
NeKKo

Japanese tea in Sweden

Japanese tea: sencha, hojicha and genmaicha

Japanese tea is green tea from Japan where the leaves are steamed right after harvest, unlike Chinese tea which is often pan-roasted. This gives a fresh, green taste and clear umami. The most common types are sencha, hojicha and genmaicha: sencha is brewed cool around 70°C, hojicha is roasted and mild, and genmaicha is blended with roasted rice.

Nekko Kitchen chooses Japanese tea that is easy to understand, easy to brew and nuanced enough to become a returning everyday ritual.

Here you will find green tea with fresh umami, roasted tea with warm aroma and tea with roasted rice for soft nuttiness.

Last updated 24 July 2026 · By the Nekko Kitchen Team

Sencha

A fresh green tea with clear umami, grassy notes and a clean finish. Choose it when you want a classic everyday Japanese tea.

See our sencha

Hojicha

Roasted Japanese tea with gentle warmth, low bitterness and a nutty, almost caramel aroma.

See our hojicha

Genmaicha

Green tea with roasted rice. The taste is rounded, nutty and easy to drink with food or during a quiet pause. Included in our tasting box together with sencha and hojicha.

Try genmaicha in the tasting box

Tea selection

Choose tea by taste and moment

View the full collection
Uogashi Sencha - Japanese green tea (80 g)

Uogashi Sencha - Japanese green tea (80 g)

Uogashi Sencha is a Japanese green tea with a golden hue, fresh green aroma, distinct umami, and a clean, slightly astringent finish. It is suitable both as a first step into Japanese tea and as a recurring everyday cup when you want a clear cup with distinct character. The leaves are steamed immediately after harvest and carefully rolled into their thin, needle-like shape. This sencha is grown in Japan in full sunlight, without shading, which results in a lighter golden cup, lively aroma, and more balanced astringency than a shade-grown tea. Brew Uogashi Sencha with 4-5 grams of leaves, approximately 80°C water, and a steeping time of 30-40 seconds. If the tea tastes bitter, it is usually the water or the time that needs adjustment: lower the temperature slightly, shorten the brewing time, and let the leaves show their softer green side. Drink it with rice dishes, mild fish, vegetables, small sweet treats, or as a peaceful break when you want a Japanese green tea that feels fresh, clean, and easy to return to.

169 kr

View product
Chaginza Houjicha - roasted hojicha (100 g)

Chaginza Houjicha - roasted hojicha (100 g)

Chaginza Houjicha is an unusual hojicha made from the stems of the ChaGinza sencha by the tea house Uogashi Meicha. It resembles kukicha in raw material and feel but is roasted in the same style as a classic hojicha. The roasting results in an amber-coloured cup with soft warmth, low astringency, and aromas leaning towards roasted grains, nuts, and mild caramel. The stems make the expression lighter and airier than a leaf-based hojicha, without losing the roasted character. Brew Chaginza Houjicha with 3 grams of tea, 100°C water, and a steeping time of 30-60 seconds. It tolerates hot water better than many green teas and becomes smooth in the cup without quickly turning bitter. Drink it with rice dishes, roasted food, dark chocolate, fika (coffee break), or as a calming evening cup when you want a roasted Japanese tea with warmth, clear aroma, and a smooth finish.

199 kr

View product
Cha Cha Cha - Japanese Tea Tasting Box (23 g)

Cha Cha Cha - Japanese Tea Tasting Box (23 g)

Cha Cha Cha is a Japanese tea tasting box for those who want to explore several teas at home without starting with large bags. The box contains five portion-packed tea bags: three different sencha, one genmaicha, and one hojicha. Each bag is portioned for a full pot and can be brewed multiple times. This makes the box an easy way to feel the difference between fresh sencha, mild genmaicha with roasted rice, and roasted hojicha with warmer aroma. Cha Cha Cha works both as an introduction to Japanese tea and as a small Japanese tea gift. The content is the same in all colors, so choose the box that best suits you or the recipient.

229 kr

Choose variant

Brewing basics

How to brew Japanese tea without bitterness

Three things shape the taste: water temperature, brewing time and how much tea you use. Lower temperature and shorter time give a sweeter result. More heat lifts umami and roasted notes but risks bitterness if the leaves steep too long.

Calculate your brew in the tea calculator
Read the guide to mizudashi sencha

Sencha

Temperature
70°C
Time
60 sec
Dose
2 g per 180 ml

Lower temperature gives a sweeter note. Higher temperature lifts umami but risks bitterness.

Hojicha

Temperature
95°C
Time
30 sec
Dose
2 g per 180 ml

The roasting lets it handle near-boiling water without turning bitter.

Genmaicha

Temperature
80°C
Time
60 sec
Dose
2 g per 180 ml

The roasted rice balances the green tea and keeps the taste rounded.

Choosing guide

Which Japanese tea suits you?

For everyday

Sencha is our everyday choice. Quick to brew, fresh in taste, hard to tire of.

Sencha

With food and in the evening

Hojicha suits roasted and grilled food and works as a calm evening tea. Less caffeine, more warmth.

Hojicha

As a gift

The tasting box gives the recipient three teas to compare and a small introduction to Japanese tea.

Japanese tea tasting box

Reading guide

Go deeper into Japanese tea: all our guides

Glossary

Japanese tea from A to Z

Short definitions of the terms we use when we talk about Japanese tea.

Umami
Umami is the fifth basic taste: a soft, savory, slightly salty flavor that in Japanese green tea largely comes from the amino acid theanine. Umami is what gives sencha its velvety depth.Source: Umami Information Center: What is Umami
Sencha
Sencha is Japan’s most common green tea. The leaves are steamed right after harvest to preserve fresh green color and umami, then brewed at a low temperature (around 70°C).Source: Global Japanese Tea Association: Japanese Tea Kinds
Hojicha
Hojicha is Japanese green tea roasted over high heat until the leaves turn brown. Roasting gives a warm, nutty aroma and a mild, rounded taste that suits the evening. According to the Japanese food composition tables, the caffeine in a brewed cup is on par with sencha, far below matcha and coffee.Source: MEXT: Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan 2020
Genmaicha
Genmaicha is Japanese green tea blended with roasted rice. The rice adds a soft, nutty sweetness that balances the tea’s freshness, making genmaicha easy to drink with food.
Theanine
Theanine is an amino acid found almost exclusively in the tea plant and central to green tea’s characteristic taste. Research links it to a calm, relaxed feeling without drowsiness, one reason Japanese tea feels harmonious.Source: Juneja et al. (1999), Trends in Food Science & Technology