Ryokucha or green tea is the predominant tea beverage consumed throughout Japan today. There are many kinds available. We have grouped ten of the most popular kinds of green tea, which are still produced in most of Japan’s tea gardens. Japanese green tea is generally classified by the type of cultivation and production methods, and is historically named according to the main processes undertaken. Tea origin is obviously important; with regional names often appearing prefixed, or assigned in some modified form within the name. Japanese production techniques have centred exclusively on perfecting and diversifying forms of green tea, traditionally showing no interest in the ‘fermented’ (black) tea much favoured by the Western tea drinker. Even so, a remarkable selection of teas are produced in Japan and much is made of regional and seasonal variations among the many kinds of green tea available, particularly the higher grades of tea. Early season sencha, the new season tea or shin cha, are generally regarded as the best of each year’s crop, and different regions compete on quality and seasonal availability. There are also those special occasion teas such as gyokuro, (a rarity and extravagantly priced); houjicha - a roasted tea and very much an evening drink; and the famous ceremony beverage, a powdered tea called maccha.

Gyokuro
Gyokuro or jade dew. A reference to the pale green colours of the infusion. This green tea is actually selected from a precursor grade known as ten-cha and is regarded as the highest grade of tea made in Japan. Seen very much as a luxury, and rare commodity, the gyokuro teas are made only with the limited first flush leaf in order to achieve a rich and round flavour with a delicate, pale lemon-green colour. Gyokuro’s organoleptic characteristics are produced from the special cultivation used. The tea plant is grown in the shade for approximately twenty days before harvesting is commenced. Removing direct sunlight in this way has the effect of reducing leaf photosynthesis, which alters the proportions of sugars, amino acids, flavanols and other substances responsible for tea aroma and taste. Gyokuro tea is generally sweet and delicate in flavour, as well as having a soft palate texture. It makes an excellent light evening tea. The main gyokuro producing regions of merit are Yame in Fukuoka, Uji in Kyoto and Okabe in Shizuoka Prefecture. Gyokuro teas are certainly rare outside of Japan and generally prohibitively expensive.

Sencha
Sencha, literally meaning, ‘roasted tea’, pertains to the past processing methods used to make this most popular of all Japanese green tea. Today, sencha is initially steam treated before further processing with hot-air drying and finally pan-frying. Over three quarters of all tea now produced in the Japanese tea gardens is in fact graded as sencha, a tea selected for its pleasant sharpness and fresh qualities complementing a leaf of high uniformity and rich emerald colour. However, the flavour, colour and general quality of sencha is highly variable, and depends not only on origin but also season and the leaf processing practises locally employed. It is well known that later harvests of sencha have more bitter qualities, a more robust flavour and generally less aroma. Furthermore, the leaf of late season teas is generally less uniform. Much is said of the shin cha, the earliest becoming available in April in the south of Japan, and sold because of its high vitamin content, sweetness and superior flavour. Most regions make a number of kinds of sencha, which are named according to the kind of processing used. Sencha is the tea most likely to be offered in a Japanese household or restaurant. Certainly sencha is starting to appear outside of Japan in food stores, specialist food shops and even supermarkets. The higher grades of sencha are available from some tea merchants, but the best teas remain largely unobtainable.

Kamairi-cha
Kamairi-cha also known as pan-fired tea. This is sometimes referred to as ‘Chinese green tea’ by the Japanese owing to the pan-frying processing which predominates in the making of this richly flavoured tea. Kamairi teas do not undergo the usual steam treatments. After a short withering, these teas are fired in hot iron pans of up to 300°C with repeated agitation to prevent charring. This Kamairi process develops sweet, mildly roasted flavours, which are very similar to the pan-fried teas produced in China today. The different rolling techniques used can give rise to teas of different leaf form, and Kamairicha can be processed as a pelleted leaf or flat leaf. Several southern regions are known for making fine Kamairicha; Sechibaru and Ureshino are two of the most respected for their pan-fried manufacture. Kamairicha is generally not available in the West, however one or two specialist tea merchants are making this tea more well known.

Maccha
Powdered or ground tea. This is the well-known powdery green tea of the Japanese Tea Ceremony (Chano-yu). Maccha is regarded as a ‘heavy’ green tea by the Japanese, but in fact it can be prepared as a strong (koicha) or weak tea (usucha) depending on the way it is made. Quite often the best maccha is used for Chano-yu, and the bitter end to the tea ceremony shocks the uninitiated who attend such gatherings. Usucha is very easy to make, simply add hot water and stir, to give a kind of ‘instant’ tea. No prior knowledge of Chano-yu is needed. Maccha has similar origins to gyokuro, i.e. an early season, high grade, shade-grown tea. After steaming the maccha leaf is comprehensively stone ground to a light and fine green powder. The tea is rich in amino acids, vitamins, and minerals and high in caffeine and catechin antioxidants (the latter being a consequence of the very small particle size of the processed leaf). The highest grades of maccha have more sweetness and deeper flavour than the coarser teas of later harvests. The most famous maccha-producing region is Nishio in Aichi (on the main island of Honshu). This tea is specifically referred to as Nishiocha. Good ceremony teas are very hard to find outside Japan.

Mecha
Mecha or bud tea. The name of this tea derives from the early leaf buds needed to make this special green tea. Meccha is renowned for its depth of flavour, considerable astringency and bitter green aftertaste. Mecha is harvested in spring and made as rolled leaf teas that are graded somewhere between gyokuro and sencha in quality. In fact Mecha are made from a collection of leaf buds and tips of the early crops. The distinctive, sharp flavour and aroma of Mecha is well understood by tea connoisseurs, and is often regarded as being as good as the best sencha. The best Mecha produces an aromatic tea with a clear, soft yellow appearance. The Sushi restaurants more usually referred to as Agari, use top quality Mecha served with the meal. Owing to the bitter qualities of Mecha, this is a good tea to drink after meals to cleanse the palate.

Hukamushi
Hukamushi (also Fu-) or deep-steamed tea. Hukamushi-cha is a heavily steamed green tea, and often given the name ‘misty green tea’ because of the slightly cloudy effect of the tea’s infusion. The steaming period for the Hukamushi teas is much longer than for any sencha. This prolonged steaming has the effect of reducing bitterness and makes for a more mild tea, with less ‘green’ aroma. The leaf of Hukamushi green tea is characteristically non-uniform, a broken grade, in factory terminology where the time needed for infusion and temperature of water are much less critical than for other Japanese green teas. To date Hukamushi teas are virtually unheard of outside Japan.

Kukicha
Kukicha or stalk tea. Also called stick tea owing the long thin shape of this leaf-stalk blend. The tea is made by collecting the stalk fractions of gyokuro and sencha and processed to an emerald leaf and pale green stalk blend. Kukicha is strictly made from stalks produced by harvesting of one bud and three leaves. The leaves go on to make gyokuro and high graded sencha. The main characteristics of Kukicha are its light flavours, and fresh, green aroma with a very light yellow-green colour. In fact for Kukicha, the thinner and less green the infusion; the higher is the quality of the tea. For the best stalk tea, the flavour is considered to be as good as highest quality sencha. Inexpensive and an enthusiasts tea, rarely seen outside Japan.

Bancha
Bancha meaning common tea and possibly a reference to the coarser grades and heavier, late season crop from which this full-flavoured tea is made. Bancha is made from larger leaves than are usually available for sencha grades. However, it should be made clear that bancha are generally seen as other kinds of sencha which are harvested as a second flush tea between summer and autumn. It should be said that bancha usually lacks the delicate sweetness of quality sencha. Nevertheless, bancha is respected because of the tea’s well-defined character, vivid yellow colours and refreshing and deep flavours. The strength of flavour held by many bancha means that they go well with food. Becoming more widely available in the West owing to the lower price of these green teas.

Houjicha
Houjicha a pan-fried or oven roasted green tea commonly encountered in teashops throughout Japan. Houjicha holds very little bitterness, they also tend to be aromatic teas as well as being light on the palate and quite refreshing. Both bancha and Kukicha are used to make houjicha grades. The tea is fried at high temperature, the leaf colours then alter from green tints to red, and the roasted flavours are extracted and predominate. The main types of houjicha are light and deep-fried. As expected, the deeper fried leaf produce teas with a deeper roast aroma and taste. Houjicha infusions have a distinctively clear red appearance (as distinct from hongcha) and are reputedly low in caffeine as well as catechin antioxidants. The clean, roasted flavours of houjicha go with any kind of food, particularly oily foods, and is often appreciated as an after-dinner tea. Inexpensive, but rarely encountered in the West.

Genmaicha
Genmaicha or roasted rice tea is a blend of bancha green tea and Genmai (roasted rice grain). The flavours of Genmaicha, are a melange of the green tea and the roasted rice. The roasted aroma of Genmai teas has the effect of lightening the bitterness of the lower grade sencha. The proportioning of tea to rice is important, the more aromatic Genmai teas have a higher amount of rice. Other blends are known including maccha and Genmaicha. Moreover, the tea can be infused with high temperature water and for longer infusion periods than most Japanese teas. The Genmai teas are seen as a modest source of vitamin B1 and like bancha and houjicha contain less caffeine. Genmaicha can be drunk late into the evening without fear that it will disturb sleep. A very common beverage in Japan, manufactured by most tea producing regions. Many travellers who have spent some time in Japan also know the tea.