Sencha Tea

Sencha tea is the most popular whole leaf tea in all of Japan. About 80% of all tea leaves harvested in Japan are used to make sencha. However, it’s not a common export for them. Sencha is the best option if you love steeping your tea.

What is Sencha Tea?

Sencha tea is a variety of steamed Japanese tea. It is brewed by steeping or infusing the leaves into hot water. Sencha is often harvested three times a year, first in spring, then summer and fall. The raw tea leaves (camellia Sinensis) are harvested, steamed, and dried to eradicate moisture and prolong their shelf life. Due to its processing methods, the Japanese sencha tea is the most versatile tea because it differs in color, taste, and flavor based on steam time.

Benefits Of Sencha Tea

The sencha tea benefits, as we know them are mostly health-focused. Once we show you how beneficial green tea can be to your health, perhaps it’ll convince you to purchase some good sencha.

• Weight Loss: Asides from plying you with energy to exercise, the number of catechins available in a cup of sencha green tea will speed up your metabolic rate, causing you to burn more fat at rest.
• Improves Heart Health: Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death in the world. However, a cross-sectional study of 1371 men aged over 40 from the Journal of American Medicine showed that regular consumption of green tea can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
• Slows Down Aging: The presence of free radicals in your body can cause genetic damage in the long run and make you age faster. But through regular consumption of sencha green tea, you can reduce the aging process to a large extent.

Origin of Sencha Tea

Sencha tea originates from both Japanese and Chinese cultures; however, the Japanese variety is the most popular of the two. The Japanese Sencha tea leaves are steamed to stop oxidation, preserve the color, nutrients, and flavor. Sencha is mostly grown and processed in three different regions of Japan namely; Miyazaki, Shizuoka, and Kagoshima.

Types of Sencha Tea

The types of sencha tea differ based on their season of harvest and steam time during processing. Here are the major varieties to guide you.

Powdered Sencha

Powdered Sencha tea is often considered an alternative to matcha in Japan. However, sencha is not shade-grown. The powdered sencha works great for baking.

Shincha

This organic sencha green tea, also known as “new tea”, is highly demanded by the Japanese people. It is harvested in spring, at the start of the planting season. It is sweeter and has a subtle flavor, compared to its counterparts.

Asamushi Sencha

This type of sencha is the least altered Japanese tea, as it’s only steamed for 30 seconds for a delicate flavor. This tea has full leaves and light green color.

Chumushi Sencha

The chumushi sencha tea is somewhere at the intermediate level of the sencha varieties. It is typically steamed for a minute and has a stronger flavor/aroma compared to Asamushi.

Fukamushi Sencha

This type of sencha green tea is steamed the longest during processing. It’s steamed for about 90 seconds to two minutes. When infused, it gives off a dark green hue and has a stronger flavor. This tea variety features more broken leaves, unlike asamushi sencha that has whole leaves.

What To Look for In Sencha Tea

Before you decide on which sencha green tea to buy, we have outlined some important factors to look out for, to guide your purchase.

• Origin: Japanese Sencha has a distinct flavor compared to those made in China and Korea. So read the labels carefully to be sure which brand you’re buying.
• Dryness: Sencha leaves are steamed, then thoroughly dried to eradicate moisture completely. If your tea leaves are wet or moist, it’s bad.
• Uniformity of Leaves: Good sencha leaves are typically cylindrical. They are rolled together tightly, to give the semblance of needles. The leaves in your sencha tea bags should have the same needle-like shape and similar sizes.

Best Sencha Tea for You

When deciding the best sencha tea for you, consider your preferred tea flavor and brewing method. If you like tea with subtle flavors, then the asamushi sencha tea is ideal for you. It also goes well with the loose-leaf brewing method. But if you prefer your tea strong and bitter, fukamushi sencha, is exactly what you need. Aside from being highly nutritious, Sencha tea is a quick fix. All you have to do is steep the leaves in hot water and strain after a few minutes. This easy preparation is probably sencha has become the go-to tea for the Japanese, and millions of others all over the world. Look through our table for the top sencha teas you can get within your budget.

FAQ

What is sencha tea good for?

It’s impossible to name just one sencha tea benefit. Sencha green tea is good for sharper vision, weight loss, preventing cardiovascular diseases, and anti-aging. It’s a great way to boost your overall immune system.

How much caffeine is in sencha green tea?

You can get about 20-30 milligrams of caffeine in a cup of sencha tea, unlike coffee that has 80-200 milligrams. However, younger sencha leaves typically have more caffeine content than older ones.

Where to buy sencha green tea?

Many grocery stores and health stores have sencha on their shelves.

What does sencha tea taste like?

The taste of sencha tea depends on the variety you purchase. Sencha may taste vegetal, with a rich aromatic flavor. It may also taste grassy or like seaweed.

How much does the best sencha tea cost?

The price of the best sencha differs from brand to brand. However, you can find most sencha teas cost between $16 and $30. Shop our sencha brands to get the best value for your money.

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