Types of Tea in Japan

Types of Tea in Japan The Varieties of Tea in the Land of the Rising Sun ChaptersSencha: The Most Common Tea in JapanBancha: Japan’s Second TeaGyokuro: Japanese Luxury TeaMatcha: The Tea Used in the Japanese Tea CeremonyGenmaicha: A Mix of Tea and Roast Popped RiceTamaryokucha: Fruity Japanese TeaOther Types of Japanese Tea“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” - C.S. LewisYou’d be surprised at just how much tea is consumed in Japan.4.1 million tonnes of tea are produced yearly and China is the main producer. The Japanese tend to consume everything they make. Only 3% of their production is exported. There are dozens of Japanese tea varieties with the main differences occurring during manufacturing and how they’re consumed.Let’s have a look at the different types of tea in Japan. NanaJapanese Teacher 5.00 (3) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EllyJapanese Teacher 5.00 (1) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MomokoJapanese Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Melan ieJapanese Teacher £14/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YukoJapanese Teacher 5.00 (3) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JamesJapanese Teacher 5.00 (5) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PippaJapanese Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarikoJapanese Teacher £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsSencha: The Most Common Tea in JapanSencha is a green tea that accounts for two-thirds of production in Japan. Leaves are steamed for a minute to stop them oxidising during the drying process. It’s hard to come by outside of Japan and most sencha produced is consumed in Japan. If you find tea growing in Japan, it'll probably be sencha. (Source: Pharaoh_EZYPT)It’s green and has a slightly bitter taste. It needs to be infused at 80 ºC minimum. If you want a stronger taste, you can increase the temperature. It only takes between a minute and 90 seconds to infuse.There are different levels of quality and the first harvest tends to be of the highest quality and most sought after. This is known as sencha.Did you know that green tea is a non-oxidised tea?Learn more about attending a Japanese tea ceremony.Bancha: Japan’s Second TeaBancha is a lower-quality tea whose production is very similar to that of sencha. Bancha is from tougher leaves which are usually harvested from the second flush. As a result, it’s cheaper than sencha. Bancha tea is considered to be of a lower quality than sencha. (Source: xegxef)There are several different types of bancha:Hakuta bancha and kyobancha: The leaves are steamed and then sun-dried. This results in large brown leaves.Kageboshi bancha: The entire plant is harvested and then hung out to dry in the shade.Kancha: This is the bancha harvested in winter.Hojicha: The Cheapest Japanese TeaInvented in Kyoto in the 1920s, this is a green tea that comes from bancha, sencha, or kukicha. It’s roasted at 200 ºC before being rapidly cooled. Its leaves take on a red colour and it has caramel flavours.It barely contains any caffeine and can even be given to children despite its strong taste. It’s served in Japanese restaurants and aids digestion.Did you know that differences in tea comes from the manufacturing process and harvest not the plant?Discover what happens in a Japanese tea ceremony.Gyokuro: Japanese Luxury TeaThe gyokuro, literally “jade dew”, is one of the most luxurio us teas in Japan. 20 days before the harvest, the plants (usually yabukita) are put into the shade under a komo to protect them from the sun. The chlorophyll and flavours concentrate in the softest leaves. Afterwards, the process is the same for sencha and bancha tea. The leaves are steamed and then dried. The leaves are then rolled into small pine-coloured needles.The result is a tea that’s less bitter as there’s less catechin. This production method originated 2 centuries ago in the Uji region while nowadays, gyokuro is cultivated near Kyoto, Nagoya, Okabe, and Yame.The tea can be infused at a lower temperate (50-55 ºC) for two minutes maximum or 60 ºC for a minute. It has a very pronounced taste and contains a lot of caffeine. Drink it slowly on account of how strong the taste is. NanaJapanese Teacher 5.00 (3) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EllyJapanese Teacher 5.00 (1) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MomokoJapanese Teacher £20/h1st lesson free !Discover all our tutors MelanieJapanese Teacher £14/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YukoJapanese Teacher 5.00 (3) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JamesJapanese Teacher 5.00 (5) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PippaJapanese Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarikoJapanese Teacher £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsMatcha: The Tea Used in the Japanese Tea CeremonyMatcha is made from tencha, which is why you’ll find the two names. The leaves for this tea often come from gyokuro. The unrolled tencha is turned into a powder using a machine that takes up to an hour to make just 50g of matcha. Matcha is the tea used in Japanese tea ceremonies. (Source: naturalogy)Matcha originates in China where the tea was used as a medicine once turned into a powder.  Nowadays, it’s often used in Japanese tea ceremonies (Chanoyu). You don’t need to infuse matcha as you can just pour 85 ºC water over it and whisk it for 30 seconds to create a foam. Matcha is also used in baking.Learn about the history of the Japanese tea ceremony.Genmaicha: A Mix of Tea and Roast Popped RiceGenmaicha is often served in restaurants. This is sencha, bancha, or even gyokuro that’s mixed with puffed rice. In some cases, matcha will be added to create an even more original blend.  There’s a very particular taste and the flavours from the tea mix with the flavours from the rice to create notes of dried and roasted fruit. It’s brewed in water at 80-85 ºC for between 3-5 minutes.Tamaryokucha: Fruity Japanese TeaOther types of green tea use the ancient Chinese method of steaming the leaves just after har vest. Tamaryokucha uses the current Chinese method of drying the leaves out.  The result is a fruity and flowery flavour which is unlike the usual flavours you find in Japanese teas.Other Types of Japanese TeaTea lovers will have a great time in Japan! There are so many varieties of tea that you could spend your entire trip trying them. Forget about flavoured teas like Earl Grey and Darjeeling and enjoy Japanese flavours tea:Aracha: The term means “unrefined”. The production process is the same but omits the sorting process. This tea is sold in bulk where a third party will often charge to sort or process it. Several teas can be made from these leaves.Fukamushicha: This is more a production method than a type of tea. All teas can be fukamushi. The leaves spend between 1 and 2 minutes being steamed. The result is a brittle tea that can dissolve in water.Funmatsucha: This is a process that’s similar to matcha but at a much lower quality.Kabusecha: Much like gyokuro, the leaves a re covered before harvest but only for between 10 and 15 days. The result is a tea that’s halfway between the flavour of gyokuro and sencha. It’s quite a rare variety that only accounts for 4% of Japanese production.Kamairicha: Here the leaves aren’t steamed but rather cooked at 45 ºC.Kocha: From black tea, the leaves are oxidised a lot.Konacha: This is made from the dust after processing gyokuro and sencha. It’s a strong-flavoured tea powder.Kukicha: This is a tea made from stems, stalks, and twigs. It’s refreshing with a nutty and creamy sweet flavour.Mecha: This is made from the early leaf buds.Sanpincha: This is a jasmine tea that’s consumed a lot in Okinawa. Japan has many different types of tea. (Source: chezbeate)The Japanese are also fans of oolong tea that’s harvested in Taiwan and China. It’s a lightly oxidised tea that’s been steamed. Similarly, you can also find pu’er tea which is an affordable dark tea from China.So which Japanese tea will you try?If you'd like to learn the language before you go to Japan or a Japanese tea ceremony, you should get in touch with one of the many talented and experienced private Japanese tutors on Superprof. With three main types of private tutorial available, face-to-face tutorials, online tutorials, and group tutorials, there's a solution for every type of learner and budget.Group tutorials are great for those on a budget as the cost of the tutor's time is shared amongst all the students in attendance. While you won't get as much one-on-one time with your tutor in these tutorials, if you and a group of friends are going to Japan and would all like to learn a bit of the language, they're a great option.Face-to-face tutorials tend to be the most effective tutorials because they're tailored to an individual student who'll have the tutor's undivided attention throughout the session. However, with all the extra work the tutor will put into tailoring their tutorials, you can expect to pay more and these types of tutorials are usually the most expensive.Online tutorials are similar to face-to-face tutorials but your tutor won't be in the room with you. Thanks to the internet, you can get Japanese tutorials via webcam. Your tutor might even be in Japan!Before you decide upon your tutor, remember that many of the tutors on Superprof offer free tuition for the first hour. Try a few of them out and see who you get along with, who offers the best tuition, and ask them about their teaching approach, rates, and what you'd like to learn.Personally, when you first start learning a language, you might want to start with the cheaper option of group tutorials and move onto online or fa ce-to-face tutorials once you start to get a better idea of what you want to learn. However, at the end of the day, the choice is yours.