Japanese green tea comes in many different forms, so it can understandably be confusing when you first begin to learn about it. Therefore, here is a simple easy-to-understand guide on the many types of green tea, specifically: sencha, tencha, and bancha. These three important varieties represent different points in the tea production process, resulting in unique flavors, textures, and uses. Although they all come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, their cultivation, processing, and intended purposes vary greatly.
Sencha: The Everyday Green Tea
Sencha is the most widely consumed green tea in Japan, making up nearly 80% of the country’s tea production. It is known for its fresh, grassy flavor and vibrant green color, which reflects its careful production process.
Cultivation and Production
Sencha is typically made from young tea leaves harvested during the first flush of the season (known as shincha). These young leaves are steamed to prevent oxidation immediately after picking, preserving the green color and maintaining its grassy, vegetal flavor. After steaming, the leaves are rolled into fine needle-like shapes and dried.
The key to sencha’s flavor lies in the fact that it is grown in full sunlight. This exposure to the sun increases the production of catechins (antioxidants) and gives sencha its characteristic astringency. The sunlight also boosts the production of vitamin C, making sencha a tea known for its health benefits.
Flavor Profile
Sencha has a bright, refreshing flavor with a balanced mix of sweetness and bitterness. Its grassy and vegetal notes are often compared to spinach or seaweed, and it leaves a mild astringency on the palate. Depending on the region and season, sencha can vary in flavor intensity, ranging from light and sweet to more robust and astringent.
Uses
Sencha is typically brewed as a hot tea and enjoyed daily in Japan, making it an integral part of the country’s tea culture. It’s versatile and can be consumed on its own or paired with meals.
Tencha: The Tea Behind Matcha
Tencha is a lesser-known tea variety because it is not often consumed directly as a brewed tea. Instead, it is the raw material used to create matcha, the famous powdered tea used in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies.
Cultivation and Production
Tencha is grown using a unique shading process that differentiates it from sencha. Several weeks before harvest, tencha plants are covered with large mats or tarps to block out about 90% of sunlight. This shading technique forces the tea plants to produce more chlorophyll, resulting in darker leaves and increasing the levels of amino acids such as L-theanine. L-theanine gives tencha (and matcha) its signature umami flavor.
After harvesting, tencha leaves are steamed to prevent oxidation, much like sencha. However, unlike sencha, tencha leaves are not rolled; instead, they are laid flat to dry. This gives tencha its light, flaky texture. The dried leaves are then stone-ground into a fine powder, which becomes matcha.
Flavor Profile
Since tencha is typically not consumed as a brewed tea, its flavor is best experienced through matcha. When made into matcha, tencha has a rich umami flavor with mild sweetness and very little bitterness. The shading process enhances the amino acid content, creating a creamy, full-bodied tea that is known for its complexity and depth.
Uses
Tencha’s primary use is in the production of matcha. However, in rare cases, some tencha is brewed as loose leaf tea, producing a mild, sweet flavor. The tea’s delicate, flaky leaves are prized for their smoothness and lack of astringency.
Bancha: The Everyday Tea for Later Harvests
Bancha is often considered a more accessible, everyday green tea. It is made from the later harvests of the tea plant, generally after the more delicate, premium leaves have been picked for sencha or gyokuro. Bancha offers a simpler and more rustic flavor, making it a staple in many Japanese households.
Cultivation and Production
Bancha is harvested later in the growing season, typically in the summer or autumn. Because it is made from older, tougher leaves and sometimes stems, bancha is coarser than other teas like sencha or gyokuro. After being picked, the leaves are steamed, rolled, and dried, similar to the sencha process.
Since bancha leaves are more mature and fibrous, they contain fewer catechins and amino acids, resulting in a tea that is less intense in flavor and lower in caffeine.
Flavor Profile
Bancha has a mild, earthy flavor that is less bitter than sencha, with subtle notes of hay or straw. It is smooth and refreshing, but lacks the bright, grassy intensity of younger tea leaves like those used for sencha. This makes bancha an excellent choice for casual, everyday consumption.
Uses
Bancha is often consumed as a daily tea, similar to sencha, but because of its lower caffeine content and softer flavor, it’s also suitable for children or those sensitive to caffeine. Bancha is also sometimes roasted to make hojicha, a tea with a toasty, nutty flavor.
Other Variants and Comparisons
While sencha, tencha, and bancha are the primary categories, there are several other varieties of Japanese green tea that are worth mentioning for comparison:
-
Gyokuro: Like tencha, gyokuro is shade-grown but processed like sencha, resulting in a tea with a rich umami flavor and very little bitterness. It is considered one of the highest grades of Japanese green tea.
-
Kabusecha: A tea that is partially shade-grown (about 1-2 weeks), kabusecha has a flavor profile that sits between sencha and gyokuro. It retains the fresh, grassy notes of sencha with a hint of umami from its shading.
-
Kukicha (Twig Tea): Made from the stems and twigs of the tea plant, kukicha has a light, nutty flavor and is often consumed for its low caffeine content.
Key Differences at a Glance
- Sencha: Grown in full sunlight, steamed, rolled into needle-like shapes, and known for its grassy, vegetal flavor and mild astringency.
- Tencha: Grown in the shade, not rolled, and used primarily to make matcha. It has a rich umami flavor and smooth texture when ground into powder.
- Bancha: Harvested later in the season, offering a coarser, milder tea with earthy flavors and lower caffeine content.
Conclusion
While sencha, tencha, and bancha all come from the same tea plant, their differences in cultivation, processing, and flavor profile make them distinct in the world of Japanese tea. Sencha is the bright, grassy tea loved for everyday drinking, tencha is the foundation of rich and complex matcha, and bancha offers a more rustic, mellow flavor for casual consumption. Each variety holds a unique place in Japanese tea culture, providing a wide range of tastes and experiences for tea lovers around the world.