What Is Sencha? Taste, Grades and Brewing

In short: Sencha is Japan's most popular green tea. The fresh leaves are steamed within hours of picking, then rolled into slim, dark-green needles and dried. The cup is bright yellow-green, grassy and sweet with a savory, umami depth and a clean, slightly brisk finish. Brew 2 teaspoons (4-5 g) per 8 oz (240 ml) at 160-175°F (70-80°C) for 60-90 seconds, and re-steep the same leaves two or three times.

Roughly six out of every ten cups of tea drunk in Japan are sencha: the tea served at home, in offices and with lunch. This guide covers how it is made, how it tastes, the terms you will see on a label, and how to brew it well.

What makes sencha different from other green teas

All green tea is heated soon after harvest to stop the leaves from oxidizing. Chinese green teas such as Long Jing (Dragon Well) are pan-fired in a hot wok, which gives them a toasty, chestnut character. Sencha is steamed instead, for anywhere between 20 seconds and two minutes. Steam keeps the leaf vivid green and locks in the fresh, vegetal flavor Japanese teas are known for.

After steaming, the leaves go through several rounds of rolling and drying that press them into tight, flat needles. This rolling breaks the leaf structure slightly, which is why sencha gives up its flavor fast and why the brewing times below are so short.

Sencha is grown in full sun, unlike shaded teas such as gyokuro and matcha. Sunlight builds more catechins in the leaf, so sencha has more of the brisk, slightly astringent edge that balances its sweetness. If you enjoy matcha but want something lighter to drink all day, sencha is the natural next step.

What sencha tastes like

A good sencha is a balance of three things:

• Sweet and grassy: fresh-cut grass, spring greens, a touch of steamed spinach or sugar snap peas.
• Umami: a savory, broth-like depth, more noticeable in early-spring harvests and deep-steamed teas.
• Brisk finish: a gentle, pleasant astringency that cleans the palate, closer to a crisp white wine than to bitterness.

The aroma is green and marine, sometimes with a hint of seaweed or fresh pine. Over-brewed sencha turns bitter and drying, so if your cup tastes harsh the fix is almost always cooler water or a shorter steep, not a different tea.

Sencha grades and harvests

Japanese sencha is sold by harvest and by steaming style rather than by a single grading system. These are the terms worth knowing.

Deep-steamed (fukamushi) sencha has become hugely popular in Japan because it is forgiving and bold. The long steaming breaks the leaf into smaller pieces, so the dry tea looks more like fine flakes than whole needles, and it brews a thick, opaque green cup. Our Fukamushi Sencha Kakegawa is a classic example from Shizuoka's Kakegawa district.

Where sencha comes from

Shizuoka, on the Pacific coast south of Mount Fuji, grows about 40 percent of Japan's tea and is the home of deep-steamed sencha. Kagoshima, in the far south of Kyushu, is the second-largest region and the first to harvest each spring thanks to its warm climate; teas from the Chiran area are known for a clean, rich sweetness. Uji, near Kyoto, is the oldest tea region of all and produces refined, elegant senchas alongside its famous matcha and gyokuro.

The cultivar matters too. Yabukita covers most of Japan's tea fields and gives the classic balanced profile; Saemidori and Yutakamidori lean sweeter and deeper green.

How to brew sencha

Sencha rewards care but does not need special equipment. A small teapot with a built-in mesh strainer (a Japanese kyusu) is ideal because the fine leaves need room to open and a strainer that catches them. Any teapot or infuser basket works.

1. Heat the water, then let it cool. Boil, then wait 3-5 minutes, or pour the water into the empty cups first to drop the temperature. Aim for 160-175°F (70-80°C). Light-steamed sencha likes the cooler end; deep-steamed can take slightly hotter water.
2. Measure the leaf. 2 level teaspoons (4-5 g) per 8 oz (240 ml). Sencha needles are light, so a teaspoon holds less than you expect.
3. First steep: 60-90 seconds. Fukamushi needs only 30-45 seconds. Pour out every last drop; tea left sitting on the leaves makes the next steep bitter.
4. Second steep: 20-30 seconds with water a little hotter. The leaves are already open, so it brews almost instantly.
5. Third steep: 60-90 seconds with hotter water, around 185°F (85°C), to draw out what is left.

If you only remember one rule, remember this: cooler water and a shorter time than you would use for black tea. Water straight off the boil is the single most common reason people decide they "don't like green tea."

Cold-brew sencha

Put 2 tablespoons (8-10 g) of leaf in a 1-quart (1 L) pitcher of cold water, refrigerate for 3-6 hours and strain. Cold water pulls out sweetness and umami but almost none of the astringency, so the result is smooth and refreshing with no sugar needed. Deep-steamed sencha cold-brews especially well.

Three senchas to try

• Sencha Tenkaichi: a medium-steamed, first-flush style sencha with the classic balance of grassy sweetness and gentle briskness. A good first sencha and a dependable everyday cup.
• Fukamushi Sencha Kakegawa: deep-steamed Shizuoka sencha with a thick, cloudy green liquor, rich umami and very little astringency. The one to choose if you have found other green teas too sharp.
• Chiran Sencha: from the Chiran district of Kagoshima, with fine dark needles, a sweet rounded taste and a lingering savory finish.

You can browse the full range on our Japanese green tea page, or compare sencha with Chinese styles across all green tea. If you like sencha with a toasty twist, genmaicha blends it with roasted brown rice.

Frequently asked questions

Does sencha have caffeine?

Yes. A typical 8 oz (240 ml) cup of sencha contains roughly 20-35 mg of caffeine, about a third of a cup of coffee. First-flush and deep-steamed senchas sit at the higher end, and later steeps carry less.

What is the difference between sencha and matcha?

Both are Japanese green teas, but matcha is grown in shade and ground into a powder that you whisk and drink whole, while sencha is grown in full sun and steeped as loose leaves. Sencha is lighter, brisker and far easier to drink several cups of in a day.

Why does my sencha taste bitter?

Almost always because the water was too hot or the steep was too long. Let boiled water cool to 160-175°F (70-80°C), steep for 60-90 seconds and pour the pot out completely between steeps.

How many times can I re-steep sencha?

Two or three times is normal. The second steep is often the best, with the leaves fully open and the flavor at its roundest.