Japanese Teas
Aracha – 荒茶 – Literally "coarse tea". Japanese tea production can be understood (simplified) as harvest –> steam –> roll –> dry –> sort –> post-process. Aracha tea leaves are leaves that have been dried but remain unsorted. The sorting process separates the leaves from stems, fannings, and dust. True aracha also retains about 5% moisture and is not complete yet as a commercial product - refinement factories (who are also usually wholesale companies) will green-roast the aracha to reduce the moisture to 1-2% or so. Commercially available aracha, is generally green-roasted at least a little, but might remain unsorted.
Asamushicha – 浅蒸し茶 – Light-steamed tea, usually referring to sencha. In general, the highest quality teas are light-steamed, i.e. for about 30 seconds. This preserves the shape of the leaf. Chuumushi or Fukamushi (mid or deep steamed), breaks down the leaves making it easier to draw out more flavor so is used for leaves that are not as infused with the goodness that is tea.
Awa Bancha – 阿波番茶 – Awa Bancha is a slightly fermented bancha tea from Tokushima Prefecture that contains lactic acid, also known as milk acid, which gives the tea a slight pungency.
Bancha – 番茶 – Literally "ordinary tea", this refers to leaves that have been allowed to grow large for maximum volume (maximum crop yield), as a result, the catechin level is maxed making it very healthy but also more bitter. However, bancha is usually summer or autumn-harvested and therefore contains less overall catechin than spring harvested teas. Be warned, this definition of bancha is primarily used in Eastern Japan, where as the equivalent term would be Yanagi Bancha 柳番茶 in Western Japan (Kyoto etc). In Western Japan "bancha" would refer to roasted tea or hojicha.
Batabatacha – バタバタ茶 – A post-fermented tea that is usually drunk by whisking, batabatacha is produced in Toyama Prefecture on the coast of the Sea of Japan, batabatacha is served at events such as when introducing the bride after the wedding ceremonies in the region. A blend of herbs and tea from neighboring town of Itoigawa in Niigata Prefecture also uses the same name. "Batabata" refers the sound of whisking.
Botebotecha - ボテボテ茶 - A way of consuming tea that arose among the steel laborers of Shimane Prefecture in the Edo Period possibly in imitation of the Japanese tea ceremony. Tea is whisked up into a froth while standing, and various pieces of food are placed inside the tea. Then you drink the entire bowl...drinking the food as well as the tea.
Boucha – 棒茶 -Boucha or Bōcha (literally "stick tea") is another name for roasted kukicha (stem tea) and can be considered a subset of kukicha or hojicha. The stems used are USUALLY larger (either the center stems of large, mature leaves, or the stems to which the leaf is attached) and give the tea the appearance of sticks. May also be called Kuki Hojicha.
Bukubukucha - ぶくぶく茶 - A method of whisking and drinking tea traditionally practiced in Okinawa, bancha or sanpincha is whisked into a mountain of foam, and drunk / eaten with a small amount of sekihan rice (rice with red beans).
Cha – 茶 – Cha is a generic term for tea. It refers to all types of tea made frmo camellia sinensis, however, in Japan, the term "cha" is used for tisane/herbal teas as well.
Chumushicha – 中蒸し茶 – Literally "mid-steamed tea", refers to tea leaves that is in between Asamushi and Fukamushi (steam time is longer than Asamushi but shorter than Fukamushi). It could be said that Chumushicha is the standard tea. The leaves become smaller than Asamushi and the tea steeps greenish-yellow.
Fukamushicha – 深蒸し茶 -Literally "deep-steamed tea", refers to tea leaves that have been steamed longer (for 1-3 minutes) than Asamushicha or Chumushicha. The tea leaves become more powdery compared to standard sencha, and as a result, the color of the tea steeps deeper-green with rich flavor.
Imagine what happens when you over-boil your spinach; the leaves become extremely soft, breaking apart easily, and the water you boil them in is dyed green with the essence of the spinach leaves.
This is exactly what happens to tea leaves when you steam them for a long time. Perhaps the most popular tea in Japan today, fukamushicha is a variant of sencha in which the leaves are steamed for 60 seconds or longer (vs 30-40 seconds for normal sencha). Of course, with younger more tender leaves, a shorter amount of time will result in a fukamushicha while 60 seconds may not be enough for larger leaves to create the deep green effect.
As a result of the long steaming, the leaves become very soft, and break apart during rolling. The dry leaf is very powdery, and when steeped, the water is dyed a deep, opaque green with the leaf particles, so you are actually drinking much more of the leaf and its components - catechin, cholorophyll, theanine, vitamins, minerals.
Deep steaming seems to sweeten the tea leaf, though this is entirely dependent on the base leaf. For higher grade spring tea leaves, you'll find a much richer umami flavor than you would otherwise for a similar, normal sencha.
Like other sencha, steeping at a lower temperature (60C/140F) will results in a sweeter tea, while steeping at a hot temperature results in a much stronger, bitter brew.
Time is the factor your should watch for as the leaf will steep more quickly than leaves that are more intact. At a higher temperature 30 seconds should be enough to create a decent strength while 45-60 seconds may be needed at a lower temperature (everyone has their own strength preference, so do experiment!)
Recommended cold-steeping with this tea. A good starting recipe is to use 10g per 500 ml of cold water, and let it steep in your refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
Sencha was invented 250 years ago in 1768 by Nagatani Soen in Kyoto. More specifically, he invented the method of steaming tea leaves instead of pan-firing them. Deep-steaming tea leaves, though, probably began in the area now known as the Makinohara Plateau, Shizuoka (modern day Shimada, Makinohara, and Kikugawa Cities), and the story is an interesting one.
During the feudal period in Japan, or the Edo Period ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate from 1600-1868, travel in this area required employing ferrymen to cross the Oigawa River. When a bridge was built over the river by the Meiji government that took power from the Tokugawa Shogunate, the entire ferrying industry turned to farming.
However, the area itself had soil that was quite poor for farming rice and other food crops, so at the start of the new Meiji era in 1872, a 500 hectare site was set aside for farming tea. The tea leaves though grew too fast in the flat plain of Makinohara, and became thick and stiff. Deep-steaming was employed to soften the leaves creating what we know today as fukamushicha. The initial site is now the famous Makinohara tea fields, some 6000 hectares farmed by hundreds of families. Gaining popularity in the 60's, this method is now utilized all over Japan, but is most famous from its origin in Shizuoka.
Futsumushi - 普通蒸し - Ordinary or regular steaming. See Chumushicha.
Genmaicha – 玄米茶 – Genmaicha is a type of tea made by mixing sencha or bancha with toasted rice. Though there are different types, 1:1 ratio of toasted rice and bancha is regarded as the standard genmaicha. Because the tea leaf used is half the amount of usual tea, genmaicha contains less caffeine compared to sencha or other green tea. It is also known as "brown rice tea" or "popcorn tea" due to the inclusion of popped rice kernels. Common variations include mixing in matcha and mixing in other ingredients such as black soybeans.
Goishicha – 碁石茶 – Goishicha is Japan’s only fermented tea and made with a special method known as after fermentation. Made in Kochi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, the name goishicha is taken from the Japanese game Igo. The tea has a bit sour taste.
Guricha – ぐり茶 – Guricha is another name for tamaryokucha.
Gyokucha / Tamacha – 玉茶 – Literally "round tea" are teas made during the sencha rolling process. Usually teas are made into needle shape but instead some teas get rolled into balls. The tea itself is a sencha but can be steeped several times. It can also be eaten as a snack.
Gyokuro – 玉露 – Gyokuro is a type of sencha, but grown under a different condition; while sencha is grown under the full sun, gyokuro is shielded from the sun (shaded for approximately 20 days, but length vary by farmer and region). Catechin that causes bitterness in taste is decreased under the shade, and instead preserves a high L-theanin amino acid content. As a result, the umami taste in the tea increases.
Gyokuro is a premium shade-grown Japanese green tea with a high concentration of rich umami flavor. While sencha is usually grown under the full sun, gyokuro is shielded from the sun (shaded for approximately 20 days, but length vary by farmer and region).
Under the broadest definition of sencha as a steamed, rolled green tea, gyokuro would be considered the pinnacle of flavor. The catechins (a kind of antioxidant) that create bitter flavors in tea are prevented from forming due to the shading of the plant while the leaves are growing. Instead, the plant preserves a high level of L-theanine amino acid content resulting in an increase in umami flavors. The shading also increase chlorophyll generating beautiful deep green colors in the leaves.
Shading - There are two variables in shading techniques used for all shaded teas including kabusecha, gyokuro, tencha and matcha) - setup and material.
More expensive shaded teas are created using a canopy setup. Scaffolding is built over the tea field to ensure that the shading material rests above the tea plants. This allows the plants to grow freely, and allows for space when picking by hand. The less time consuming method is to lay the shading material directly onto the plants. The method is suitable for machine harvesting; the leaves are constricted under the weight of the material, and may become damaged if wind causes the shading to flap against the leaves.
In terms of material, farmers may use either some kind of plastic sheet which is cheaper and will last longer. Or for more premium teas, various types of straw or reed material may be used allowing for layering (and therefore a gradual adjustment of sunlight that reach the leaves). Using natural material is also much more time consuming increasing production cost.
Harvesting - The easiest method to harvest teas is by machine. Smaller farms may use a single or 2-person cutting machine that blows the cut leaves into a bag, and larger farms on flat areas may use a tractor-style harvesting machine that can harvest 1-3 rows of hedges at a time depending on their size. The hedges are pre-shaped before leaves come out by an initial cutting, creating a base from which new leaves appear. This base allows the farmer to minimize inclusion of older leaf/stem plant material in the harvest.
Handpicking the tea leaves is common to produce the most premium levels of tea...and usually only a very small amount is produced (even the largest farms will produce a few dozen kilograms at most). Picking is often done by volunteers, friends/family of the farmers, and occasionally by part-time workers (though not a sustainable method in Japan where minimum wages are high).
A compromise between machine harvesting and handpicking is the use of sheers / scissors with a bag attached to catch leaves that are cut. This allows the harvester to pick more leaves at once but be more selective than a larger harvesting machine.
Processing - Gyokuro is processed like sencha with the many possible variables that can be adjusted, the most important being the steaming time. A light (short) steaming time allows the farmer to maintain the shape of the leaf, this results in long perfectly shaped needles when rolled. The resulting tea is produces a light, translucent yellowish color. Meanwhile a longer steaming time will produce a darker green color, but it will be more opaque due to the more broken leaf.
Gyokushin – 玉真 – mecha (small leaf tips) filtered out from unrefined gyokuro during the gyokuro production processed. This name is used primarily in Kyoto.
Hojicha – 焙じ茶 – Roasted tea, generally roasted bancha green tea. However, the base leaf may be anything from spring leaf to stems to branches from autumn harvest. When non-green teas are roasted, in Japan, there is usually a qualification that it is a non-green tea, i.e. hoji kocha or roasted black tea. "Roasted tea", generally understood to mean some form of green tea that has been roasted. The most common form is hojicha made from large, mature leaves - bancha - that have been roasted. So in Western Japan, "bancha" is often to mean "hojicha". This collection includes all roasted tea, both standard hojicha and interesting innovations, flavored hojicha, roasted tea powders, etc.
The flavor can change subtly based on:
- the roasting method - generally gas-powdered fire that heats a spinning metal barrel. But some machines use firewood to provide the heat, some use charcoal, and some involve sand or ceramic balls which heat up. The amount of infrared radiation provided by the heated material can affect how much of the leaf is roasted. Only the outside, or deep into the center of the leaf or leaf stem;
- the roasting time & heat level (which is rarely given since it will change based on the temperature and humidity of the day);
- and the biggest factor that changes the flavor is arguably the base leaf - whether large or small leaf stems are used, whether the leaf comes from a spring, summer, or autumn harvest, the size of the leaf (young leaves or large mature bancha leaves).
Ichoucha - 萎凋茶 - "withered tea". This refers to a green tea (generally a sencha) that has been slightly withered to create floral aromas but primarily retains its appearance, aroma, and flavor characteristics as a green tea. Withering of green tea is a processing technique borrowed from oolong tea processing. During withering (a few hours between harvest and before steaming), the leaves undergo a very slight amount enzymatic oxidization, the same process used to create oolong and black teas. Doing this adds floral notes to the leaf.
Ishizuchi Kurocha - 石鎚黒茶 - Literally "Stone Hammer Black Tea", this folk tea is named after Mt. Ishizuchi in Ehime Prefecture. A post-fermented tea, whole branches are cut from plants with large leaves in the summer, then steamed in a barrel until the leaves fall of the branches. The tea is fermented with mold from the Aspergillus genus for about a week, then lightly rolled, undergoes anaerobic fermentation again for 2-3 weeks using lactic acid bacteria, then finally sundried for 2-3 days.
Kamairicha – 釜炒り茶 – "Pan-fired tea", Kamairicha is made by heating the leaves in a pan instead of steaming. Many Chinese teas use this method to make green tea and has been practiced in Southern Japan for generations.
Kancha – 寒茶 – Literally "cold tea", this is a folk tea made from large, thick, mature tea leaves picked in the height of winter (Dec - Feb). There are several variations of this folk tea depending on the specific village in which it originates. In the Shishikui Village in the mountains of Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku Island, for example, the picked leaves are made by steamed, rolled individually by hand, sundried, and rolled again. In the Asuke Village of Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku Island, however, the leaves are not rolled at all, but steamed then sundried. Tea Farm Mitocha, based in the mountains of Nara, is currently making kancha in the style of Asuke Village.
Karigane – 雁 / 雁ヶ音 – Karigane refers to kukicha leaf stem tea made from gyokuro or high-grade sencha, and a term used mainly in the Kansai region (western Japan). Karigane is translated as "the sound of geese", the motif geese symbolizing beauty in the traditional Japanese poetic aesthetic.
Kabusecha – 被せ茶 – A tea that is categorized in between gyokuro and sencha. Shaded for approximately one week (after the leaves bud), it has a good balance of rich taste and savoriness. Kabusecha refers to green tea leaves that have been shaded for enough time to create a strong umami flavor though not as strong as gyokuro. This is generally about two weeks of shading before harvest, and generally the shading is a direct covering for machines harvesting though some farms do handpick the leaf. Generally, it also refers to steamed leaves, so it may be considered a form of sencha, including fukamushicha if deep steamed or asamushicha if light steamed.
Koicha – 濃茶 – Koicha is the term for matcha made to be very thick. In tea ceremony, koicha is made by putting three chashaku scoops of matcha in a bowl with small amount of warm water. It is more like kneading rather than whisking, creating a thick, dark matcha. Koicha is said to be the most important way to welcome and treat the guests. Often times the bowl is passed around among the guests where each guest take a sip. Practice may vary depending on the school of tea ceremony.
Konacha – 粉茶 – Literally "powdered tea", konacha is often confused with tea powder but it is actually a tea made up of smallest bits of tea leaves that are left after processing. It is known as a tea served in Sushi restaurants for its short steeping time, bitter taste that erases the fishiness, and its low cost.
Kukicha – 茎茶 – Kukicha is a type of tea made from twigs or stems of tea plant. Stems is separated from leaves during processing and the collected stems become kukicha. Compared to other teas, kukicha is less astringent in taste.
In the finishing step of creating green tea, leaf bits, stems and stalks are sorted from the unfinished ("aracha") tea leaves. By gathering together these leaf stems and stalks, tea producers create kukicha - 茎茶, literally "stem tea".
When the stems are larger, particularly when they come from larger summer or autumn harvested leaves and are roasted, they may look like twigs and are sometimes called "twig tea" in English.
Producers may often sell the stems and stalks together with smaller leaves, or even reblend them with sencha leaves to create their kukicha product.
Karigane – 雁音 – When made from gyokuro or high grade sencha, kukicha leaf stem tea is often given a more elegant name, karigane or "the sound of geese". The motif of geese is, in traditional Japanese poetic aesthetic, a symbol of beauty; it was said that when migrating, geese would carry a twig or branch to rest on in the sea. Karigane is named after this image.
In general, you can expect kukicha (and especially karigane) to have a slightly lighter and sweeter flavor than the equivalent tea leaf from which it was made.
Kuradashicha / Jukuseicha – 蔵出し茶 / 熟成茶 – Kuradashicha refers to sencha that has been picked in spring (shincha season) and aged or matured in storage. These matured shincha becomes rich in umami with a more round flavor.
Kyobancha – 京番茶 – Kyobancha is a tea from Kyoto, and is type of bancha or houjicha. Unlike standard tea, the leaves are steamed, dried, and roasted. Because the leaves are not rolled during processing, the size remain big. It has a smokier flavor than houjicha and has lower (or almost no) caffeine. Producers in other regions also make similar unrolled/roasted bancha but may harvest in the autumn instead.
Matcha – 抹茶 – Matcha is powdered tea made from tencha. Tea leaves of tencha is produced in a similar manufacturing method as gyokuro but is dried without rolling the tea leaves. The tea leaves are then ground into fine powder using a mill. High grade matcha is used for tea ceremonies, whereas regular grade matcha can be used for cooking, baking, or mixing into drinks.
Mecha – 芽茶 – Mecha refers to tea made from the tips of the leaf or small, soft leaf that are separated from other leaves during processing. Mecha is deep green in color and rich in savory umami flavor.
Mimasaka Bancha – 美作番茶 – Slightly fermented tea from Okayama Prefecture. Leaves and stems are boiled in an iron pan. Boiled tea leaves are spread out onto a straw mat. Cooked water used for boiling the tea is sprinkled onto the tea leaves as it is dried under the sunlight. As a result of tea incrustation from the water sprinkled onto the tea, color of the dried tea leaves become amber.
Nihoncha – 日本茶 – The term for Japanese tea, generally referring to traditional Japanese teas, not Japanese black teas or Japan-produced oolong teas
Ryokucha – 緑茶 – The Japanese word for green tea. This is often used when the manufacturer doesn’t want to say that they used lower quality leaves to make, for example, a bottled tea or a tea bag. It is also used sometimes when the producer has innovated in a way that prevents categorization under tradition terms. Fukushima-san’s Royal Emerald Tea powder is one such innovation.
Sanpincha - さんぴん茶 - Traditionally drunk in Okinawa, sanpincha is made from Chinese oolong tea and jasmine flowers. On one hand, it isn't strictly a Japanese tea in that the ingredients come from China, but has been a staple of Okinawan culture for centuries.
Sencha – 煎茶 – Sencha is a type of green tea made in Japan in which the tea leaves are steamed, rolled, and dried immediately after harvest to prevent oxidization. It can also refer more specifically to tea leaves that are unshaded when compared to shaded teas such as gyokuro and kabusecha, as well as leaves that are not deep-steamed (fukamushicha). Products listed here exclude gyokuro, kabusecha, and fukamushicha.
Shira-ore – 白折れ – Shira-ore is another name for kukicha (stem tea). Stem tea made from high grade sencha, kabusecha or gyokuro is often called Karigane.
Shincha – 新茶 – Shincha, literally new tea, is a term used for to new harvest tea or first-flush tea of the season. Some producers market any of their teas in the first 1-3 months after harvest as "shincha" while others (particularly larger companies) only market an extra premium / early harvest of young leaves as "shincha". The latter version has often led to confusion that "shincha" is a specific type of tea. However, any type of tea can be called "shincha" in the first few months after harvest.
Tamaryokucha – 玉緑茶 – Tamaryokucha, literally "ball green tea", is a type of sencha. While virtually unknown outside of Japan, tamaryokucha is a major tea category drunk primarily in the southern Japanese island of Kyushu (Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga, etc). It can be pan-fired (kamairi tamaryokucha) or steamed (mushiguri or guricha). Although it is made in the same process as standard sencha, it skips the last very last step known as fine rolling, where the leaves are made into a needle-like shape. The leaves are dried in a rotating pan after rolling and as a result, the leaves curl slightly. Tamaryokucha is often made in southern Japan (Kyushu region) where pan-firing was common.
Temomicha – 手揉み茶 – Tea that has been handrolled.
Tencha – 碾茶 – Tencha is made in a similar process as gyokuro, where the leaves are covered and shaded from the sunlight. The leaves are shaded at least 20 days (length may vary by farmer and region), and unlike gyokuro it skips the rolling process so the leaves remain flat. Shaded, steamed, then dried without rolling, the leaf is then refined by removing leaf stems and veins, then chopped into smaller pieces to make grinding into powder more consistent. As a tea in itself, the lack of rolling means that tea steeps into a very light tea, like white tea, while the shading produces a rich aroma. Tencha is the tea used for making matcha.
Toubancha – 糖番茶 – Most Japanese green teas are either steamed or pan-fired before processing and drying. Toubancha, in order increase the amount of polysaccharides in the tea leaf, skips this step and is immediately rolled, and dried simultaneously.
Tosa Bancha – 土佐番茶 – A type of bancha from Tosa, Kochi Prefecture.
Usucha – 薄茶 – Usucha is the term for matcha made to be very thin. In tea ceremony, usucha is made by putting one and a half chashaku scoop of matcha in a bowl with warm water, resulting in a bright light green color. In general usucha is used for casual settings. Each of the 70+ schools of tea ceremony have different rules however, and this may differ depending on the school.
Wakocha – 和紅茶 – The term for Japanese black tea, or more specifically, black tea made in Japan. Often times these wakoucha use tea plants originally meant for making green tea, so the taste and aroma is different from other imported black teas. (Also spelled wakoucha.)
(Source: Yunomi Life)