Sencha, the most popular tea in Japan, is a green tea invented by Nagatani Sōen in 1738 in the town of Uji, within the prefecture of Kyoto Japan. Nagatani Sōen’s method of rolling the tea leaves paved the way for the creation of modern bagged and loose leaf tea that we enjoy today. Sencha comes from camellia sinensis evergreen shrub, once the leaves are harvested either by machine or by hand, they are steamed for approximately 30-40 seconds preventing oxidation, preserving the signature green color, umami flavor, and the fresh aroma. After steaming the leaves are dried and rolled forcing the flavors hidden within the inner cell walls leaf to the outer surface, allowing for a greater release of flavor when infused with water.
Regions such as China, and South Korea produce unique variations of sencha tea, with their own signature taste, aroma, and color, due to different processing methods, such as the pan-fried method used in China which prevents oxidation, resulting in a sencha with a more toasted nutty flavor; unlike Japanese sencha, where you can expect a more fresh grassy flavor.
Regions such as China, and South Korea produce unique variations of sencha tea, with their own signature taste, aroma, and color, due to different processing methods, such as the pan-fried method used in China which prevents oxidation, resulting in a sencha with a more toasted nutty flavor; unlike Japanese sencha, where you can expect a more fresh grassy flavor.
Caffeine Content in Sencha:
- Moderate to low caffeine, ranging from 20 to 40mg, which is less than the 80-200mg of caffeine you’ll find in a typical cup of coffee. At most the caffeine in a cup of sencha can reach 120mg in 1 session (1 session= 3 servings).
Brew like a pro:
- Heat soft water (not distilled) within the range of 158°-178°F. Soft water creates the best tea experience, the extra minerals in hard water will clash with the contents of the tea creating an undesirable film on top of the tea.
- The great thing about high-quality sencha is that you can steep it more than one time, up to 3 times. To make the most out of the 3 steepings I recommend starting with around 165°F for the first steep, around 158°F for the second steeping, and 175°F for the third infusion.
- Timing is the other important area to keep in mind when making sencha. During the first steeping, keeping the time around 15-35 seconds depending on the sencha (time range suggestions will be on the package of sencha), followed by dropping the time slightly for the second steeping, and then rasing the time to around a minute for the third steeping.
- Infusing (steeping) sencha for too long and/or at too high of a temperature will result in a bitter and undesirable flavor. Timing and temperature are something of personal preference, so play around with them until you find what works best for you.
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