- Tea variety
- 煎茶
Sencha
Japan's everyday tea, the cup you serve without asking.
Flavor profile
The strengths are editorial judgments on a scale within the family, not measurements. They can be compared across the green tea varieties, not directly against another family.
Sencha is Japan's most common tea and accounts for the bulk of the country's tea production. The leaves are steamed right after harvest, rolled into needles and dried, which gives a fresh, grassy and lightly sweet cup with distinct umami. Sencha is Japanese everyday life: the tea you serve without asking.
Sensory analysis
Pyramid and character
Aroma
dry leaf and freshly brewed
- freshly cut grass
- steam
- citrus
Cup
mid-sip
- umami
- green freshness
- light saltiness
Finish
what lingers
- clean
- cooling
- brief sweetness
Character 0-100 per axis, set relative to the other entries in the same family. An editorial judgment of a typical serving, not measurements.
Background
Facts
- Processing
- steamed (mushi), rolled into needles, dried
- Shading
- none, grown in full sun
- Caffeine
- moderate
- Origin
- all of Japan; Shizuoka, Kagoshima and Uji are well-known areas
In the cup
Brewing
- Temperature
- 70-80°C
- Time
- 1-2 minutes
- Note
- water that is too hot draws out the bitterness; cold brewing (mizudashi) gives a cup almost entirely free of bitterness
Keep exploring
Related in the Zukan
Shop and journal
At Nekko
Evidence
Sources
- Sencha (Wikipedia) (retrieved 2026-08-08)
- Nekko Journal: Sencha, en hyllning till det japanska vardagsteet (retrieved 2026-08-08)