Sencha Green Tea
Over three quarters of all tea produced in Japanese tea gardens is Sencha (煎茶), a tea selected for its fresh qualities complementing a leaf of high uniformity and rich color.
Sencha literally means roasted tea. An old name pertaining to the main processing stage once dominant in the making of this most popular of all Japanese green tea. In the modern sencha-making process, the leaf is initially steam treated to a precursor tea called ara-cha, before further processing by hot-air drying, rolling and finally light roasting. The leaf of the best Sencha has a high degree of size uniformity and possesses an aromatic & polished emerald colour. Tamaryoku-cha is frequently used as an all-embracing term for fine Sencha. Indeed, some western tea traders prefer to use this name as a label. The earliest season Sencha is most often named, Shincha. Shincha is available in April in the south of Japan, and prized by green tea lovers for its high vitamin content, sweetness and superior flavor. But in Japan this term is only applied in the first weeks of marketing new tea, and is normally dropped as June approaches. Sencha is certainly Shincha before the end of May. After that date regional names take precedence. Sencha may also be of a type called kabuse-cha if cultivated under shade. This Sencha is very often the highest quality. Sencha may also be hukamushi-cha if the processing has involved a heavier steaming cycle. Hukamushi-cha is fragrant and heavily flavoured Sencha. Tea harvested towards the end of spring and into the summer months are usually called bancha.
Later harvests of Sencha have more astringent qualities, a more robust flavor and generally less aroma.
Then there’s the use of fine Sencha for kona-cha making if the leaf is finely chopped or kukicha if the tea includes soft stems. However, in terms of leaf form, two basic kinds of Sencha leaf are processed; the needle leaf and the twisted ‘comma’ leaf. The needle leaf is, as its name suggests, long/short and thin, & often highly glossy. Needle leaf Sencha is favoured in Shizuoka and in the Yame region of Fukuoka. While in other areas, including most of Kyushu, the comma-shaped leaf form is much favoured.
Sencha is stronger than most Chinese-style green teas. It goes well with seafood and is brilliant with chocolate. Steep briefly at a water temperature between 160 and 170. Good for several infusions. Japan’s tea-making style is similar to that during China’s Tang dynasty, when the Buddhist monk Eisai brought tea from China to Japan. The fresh-picked leaves are steamed thoroughly before drying, rather than withered before drying. The steaming makes the tea leaves immune to oxidation. Then the leaves are dried and rolled into shape. Heat is further applied during that drying process.
Sources: sencha.com,
wikipedia.org,
www.inpursuitoftea.com