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The Sencha tea (煎茶) is one of the most popular Japanese green teas, constituting about 80% of tea production in Japan. It is a widely consumed tea (ps. we just wrote an article on how to write "tea" in Italian, take a look), often found as the base of many flavored blends, but this does not diminish its value: a Sencha from the first harvest can indeed reach very high quality.
It is an unoxidized green tea, characterized by a fresh and sweet aroma. It has an herbaceous flavor, like its similar Bancha tea, but relatively bitter, pungent, due to the high presence of catechins and polyphenols and the reduced chlorophyll content. It is one of the most bitter among green teas and is very digestive, excellent as a coffee substitute after lunch for its energizing and digestive action, gentler on the stomach than coffee. Its infusion has a cloudy appearance and an intense color, similar to that of olive oil.
DISCOVER THE SELECTION OF JAPANESE SENCHA BY TERZA LUNA
There is often confusion between Sencha and Bancha. In reality, both derive from the same plant, the Camellia Sinensis, yet they are two different varieties of tea, with Sencha considered the most precious and Bancha the most common: read our article on the tea plant to discover how different types of tea are obtained.
The difference between the two teas lies in the type of leaf and the harvest time. In spring, in Japan, the first harvest of tea leaves takes place, after the plant has faced dark and foggy winter conditions and stored nutrients. The first flush, or first harvest, is that of Sencha, of the new tender leaves, with a high nutrient concentration, found higher up on the plant. The Sencha first flush is therefore produced from the first leaf selection and is a delicious and highly prized tea.
The second harvest moment is that of Bancha first flush, the first harvest of larger, less young leaves found lower down. Unlike Sencha, Bancha leaves have less caffeine, which is a poison for insects: being less young, Bancha leaves are more resistant to external factors, harder, and less attractive to insects. In return, Bancha contains more minerals and has received a slight shading from the younger leaves above, which has stimulated the production of L-theanine, a very important antidepressant molecule. Bancha has fewer antioxidants than Sencha tea, which is particularly rich in them.
After the harvest of Sencha and Bancha first flush, a second harvest can be carried out, always in the same order. This will result in a Sencha second flush, and then a Bancha second flush, both less valuable than their respective first harvests. It is important to clarify that what changes between a Sencha first flush and a second flush are not the properties, but the flavor.
Sencha is a very popular tea, so much so that a web application development company, developer of the well-known Java tool Sencha Ext JS, took its name, using a tea leaf as its logo.
Sencha tea is an unoxidized tea. After harvesting, the leaves are steamed, a process that stops the oxidation. Oxidation is always stopped by a heat source: in China, for example, the process is carried out by cooking in large pots, while steaming tea leaves is a purely Japanese method. After steaming for about a minute, the leaves are rolled and put in the oven to dry, a process that helps prevent mold and aids in preservation.
The properties of Sencha tea are multiple and derive from the particular chemistry of the leaf, which is what fundamentally differentiates Sencha from Bancha. In Sencha, the first harvest of leaves has more polyphenols and more catechins: these are more bitter leaves but extremely rich in antioxidants. This property is due both to the plant cultivar and to the steaming, which 'stabilizes' the leaf. This type of processing, carried out for all green teas, is what gives Sencha its antioxidant properties.
Sencha is also rich in bitter substances, in fact, it has a rather bitter taste: these substances give this Japanese tea liver-cleansing properties, as they stimulate the secretion of gastric juices. It is a draining tea, and has high levels of theine, therefore it is an excellent energizer. It can be drunk as a substitute for coffee and is particularly recommended after lunch.
Sencha tea has no particular contraindications, except for those who are intolerant to the plant or caffeine. Due to its high theine content, Sencha is not recommended for pregnant women and children, as well as for those suffering from stomach disorders. It is a tea with a high tannin content, slightly astringent, so it is not ideal for those suffering from constipation or digestive problems.
We have explored the differences between Sencha and Bancha, but we cannot talk about a fine Japanese tea without mentioning another one, Matcha tea. Matcha is one of the finest and most expensive Japanese teas; its plants are shaded for 20 days before being harvested, which helps develop the classic sweet taste of this tea. The leaf harvest, tencha, is dried. The leaves are then subjected to a slow cold stone grinding, which produces a very fine powder rich in antioxidants and L-theanine.
Matcha tea is prepared by making a tea powder and water emulsion, using a bamboo whisk typical of the tradition called chasen and other accessories. If you are particularly interested in this topic, you cannot miss our article on matcha preparation and its properties. It is not an infusion of leaves, the finely ground leaves are drunk with the beverage. This preparation is very particular, and different from that of Sencha, which we will now explore in various ways, to learn how to fully enjoy its flavor and benefits.
Preparing Sencha tea is a classic infusion. The doses vary depending on the type of Sencha you want to enjoy. In general, we can stick to these proportions to prepare a good sencha tea:
The infusion times for sencha tea vary in case you want to opt for multiple infusions, where smaller amounts of water are used, suitable for oriental tea sets, more delicate than western ones, but with larger quantities of tea. The infusions will be short and multiple, increasing in length.
This method represents the most suitable way to taste Japanese tea, which with multiple infusions will acquire character and a more pronounced flavor.
If you prefer cold brewing, sencha tea can be prepared using the oriental Kōridashi method of ice infusion. The doses for this preparation are 10 grams of Sencha for 500 grams of ice, which will slowly melt at room temperature, creating the tea infusion that can then be filtered and enjoyed. It is important to keep in mind that Sencha is a precious tea, and each variety may require different preparation methods to fully appreciate its characteristics.
Nowadays it is easy to buy sencha tea online, but it is difficult to find good quality, especially since Chinese sencha teas have entered the market, which are decidedly cheaper than Japanese ones and of lower quality. In our experience, and driven by the passion we have been putting into our online tea shop for ten years, we have selected 4 varieties of premium Japanese sencha teas. True gems that lovers of Japanese teas will certainly appreciate.
Among the varieties of Sencha, one of the most renowned is that of the Yabukita cultivar from which the Japanese green tea Sencha Yabukita is obtained. Terzaluna offers a premium Sencha produced in Hioki, where the harvests are protected by mountains and the tea is further shaded, making it rich in chlorophyll and sweeter than the typical bitter taste of green tea, for a delicate tea with citrus notes.
Another precious variety available in our online tea shop is Sencha Kagoshima, originating precisely from the province of Kagoshima in Japan, in the extreme south of the island. The infusion of this precious Sencha tea boasts an olive green color, with distinct notes, extremely pleasing to lovers of Japanese green tea.
If you want to try a truly special Sencha tea, we recommend Sencha Benifuki, also originating from the province of Kagoshima and of organic origin. This Japanese Sencha tea is produced from the Benifuki cultivar, a young cultivar, registered in '93, which over time has been found to give the leaves a very high percentage of EGCG epigallocatechin gallate, one of the green tea polyphenols with the highest antioxidant properties.
Aside from its fantastic properties, this Sencha, harvested in spring 2022, has a fresh taste with marine notes, in short, a classic Sencha, but of excellent quality, at a reasonable price, also due to the many infusions that can be made with the same leaves.
Asanoka is the name of the cultivar that distinguishes this exceptional Japanese green tea, a rare cultivar that gives life to a first-quality Sencha. Its notes are rich in umami, never astringent but rather with a remarkable sweet touch. The result of excellent work for this Shincha 2022 (meaning tea from the first harvest) from the Kirishima area. Perfect also for a cold brew that quenches our thirst in summer; to prepare this cold Sencha green tea, we recommend putting 20g per liter and letting it infuse for about 1 hour directly in cold water.
The taste of a first flush Sencha is very different from that of a second flush, cleaner, more decisive, and slightly less bitter. Although pairings or blends with Sencha tea as the protagonist can be suggested (such as our Sencha del Bosco with red fruits), we suggest making them with Sencha blends or with a second flush, and instead appreciate a precious first flush in its purity. For flavored Sencha, we recommend adding ginger and lemon to the infusion to enhance its digestive properties, or pairing it with Japanese umeboshi plums to catalyze the purifying function.
If this article has piqued your interest and you are thinking of purchasing Sencha tea, explore our selection of green teas specially chosen from the best Japanese cultivars and find the taste that suits you.
DISCOVER THE SELECTION OF JAPANESE SENCHA TERZA LUNA
