Did you know that all the tea is made from the leaves of exactly same tea plant, Camellia sinensis? They might be grown in different countries in different climates, but yes, English Breakfast tea, Japanese Sencha tea, Chinese Oolong tea or Sri Lankan Ceylon tea … any tea is from the same leaves. The difference is just the process of how to make them from leaves into a tea. I found it very fascinating that the same tea leaves can taste so different just by how it is treated.
In Japan we have several types of tea. Unlike Chinese tea most of Japanese tea is steamed and unfermented. That is why it has kept a clean green colour and aroma with lighter flavour. Some of the famous ones are as follow.
- Sencha (generally drunk, very good with Japanese sweet)
- Bancha (everyday use, slightly brown colour and mild taste)
- Gyokuro (higher graded tea with more process in growing)
- Matcha (powdered tea normally used for ‘Tea Ceremony’)
- Hojicha (roasted tea, reddish brown colour and aromatic)
- Genmaicha (green or brownish tea with dried rice grain, aromatic)

‘Sencha’ – Green Tea
These are the most known types of Japanese tea. I personally drink either ‘Sencha’ or ‘Hojicha’ normally and occasionally ‘Matcha’ when I have a good Japanese sweet. In summer time we have chilled tea called ‘Mugicha‘ but this is made from roasted Barley and not from Tea plant.

‘Hojicha’ – Roasted Tea
I am amazed these days that lots of people started knowing about Japanese tea. Many people believe the great health benefit factor especially in Green Tea.
‘Matcha’ is a Powdered Japanese Green Tea which we traditionally use for Tea Ceremony. Only the soft part of young leaves are carefully picked, steamed, dried without fermentation and powdered. I thought Matcha would be the least tea Western people could be interested but I was wrong. More and more people are liking Japanese tea especially ‘Matcha’ Green Tea and know it as ‘Matcha’ in Japanese. That is amazing!

‘Matcha’ – Powdered Green Tea
Another amazing thing is that it became so much easier to get ‘Matcha’ outside of Japan. You can find it in a Japanese food shop of course but even a local health food shop sells it nowadays. If you don’t know where to get it, buying it from on-line shop is the easiest choice.
One of the online shops with a good selection of Matcha Green Tea I found is Grace & Green. Great thing about this shop is that all their Matcha tea is Organic.
Happy Teatime 🍵
Matcha green tea flavor has snuck into everything, cookies, ice cream, bubble teas, pocky and iced tea . So people easily recognize it now, especially after they’ve done studies about the health benefits. It is inevitable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great! So thanks to the study ‘Matcha’ became global! I wonder which Japanese word will be added to the Oxford English dictionary next?
LikeLiked by 1 person
It may have… I haven’t checked.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks delightful! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! 🙂 🙂
LikeLike
I am a big tea lover, especially black tea although I know it does not have the same health benefits as green tea 😦 But as for Japanese tea, my favourites are Hojicha and Genmaicha even if my friends find its smoky taste a bit tough! Back in Paris (I miss the beautiful tea shops in Paris! we don’t find any in Nairobi) I used to buy also Mugicha, such a different and tasteful discovery!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like Hojicha and Genmaicha too. In Japan some tea shops are roasting Hojicha at the front of their shop. The street nearby gets filled with the fantastic aroma. I think it is a very good tactic for selling tea but the smell became kind of nostalgia to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It shouldn’t! Next time you visit Japan, just buy a fresh packet of Hojicha so that you can take a deep smell of it when back in London! 🙂
LikeLike
Oh yes, I do bring one or two packet from Japan now. The packet from a tea shop which is roasting & selling in the shop and not from a supermarket. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That sounds great, Japan is one of the countries I dream of visiting one day!
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLike
Reblogged this on kissmyskindeep and commented:
More on Japanese teas 🍵
LikeLiked by 1 person