Sencha is the green tea most people in Japan drink every day. It is fresh, slightly sweet and full of umami, the savoury taste Japanese tea is famous for. But the same leaves can taste smooth or harsh depending on how you brew them. Here is a simple method anyone can follow.
What you need
- Sencha leaves: 3–4 g per cup (about one heaped teaspoon)
- Water: about 150 ml per cup
- A small teapot (a Japanese kyusu is ideal, but any pot with a strainer works)
- A thermometer or a temperature-controlled kettle, if you have one
Five steps to a good cup
- Measure the leaves. Put 3–4 g of sencha per cup into the pot.
- Cool the water. Use water at about 70–80°C, never boiling. A simple trick: pour boiled water into your cups first, then into the pot. Each pour lowers the temperature.
- Steep for about 1 minute. Deep-steamed sencha (fukamushi) needs less time, around 30 seconds.
- Pour every last drop. Share the tea between cups a little at a time so each cup tastes the same, and pour out the final drops. Leaving water on the leaves makes the next brew bitter.
- Brew again. Good sencha gives two or three infusions. For the second, use slightly hotter water and a shorter time, because the leaves have already opened.
Why temperature matters
Very hot water pulls out more of the bitter, astringent parts of the leaf. Cooler water brings out sweetness and umami. If your tea tastes bitter, lower the temperature or shorten the steeping time. If it tastes weak, add a little more leaf rather than steeping longer.
Wondering how sencha compares with matcha? Read Sencha vs Matcha: What’s the Difference?
Bringing Japanese green tea to the world
Dewan Trading is preparing to export Japanese green tea to buyers overseas. If you are an importer, distributor, café or shop interested in sencha, we would be happy to hear from you. Contact us here.
Akbar Dewan
Founder, Dewan Trading
Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan