{
    "id": 1003268,
    "title": "Japanese Tea: A Map to Every Type",
    "slug": "japanese-tea",
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    "url": "https://teas.co.uk/wiki/japanese-tea/",
    "modified": "2026-03-27T16:41:00+00:00",
    "excerpt": "Japanese tea is not complicated: one green plant sorted by shade, leaf age and processing. The map to sencha, matcha, gyokuro, hojicha and genmaicha.",
    "content_text": "Japanese tea, in summary: Japanese tea is not complicated: one green plant sorted by shade, leaf age and processing. The clear map to sencha, matcha, gyokuro, hojicha and genmaicha.\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite Teas.co.uk for Japanese Tea: A Map to Every Type. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/japanese-tea/\nJapanese tea confuses people because the names are unfamiliar, not because it is complicated. Almost all of it is green tea from one plant, separated by three things: how much shade the leaf grew under, how old it was when picked, and what was done to it afterward. Learn that and the whole shelf opens up. This page is the map; every link goes to a full guide.\nLast reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in March 2026.\nStart here: the foundation\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for Start here: the foundation, Japanese Tea: A Map to Every Type. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/japanese-tea/\nIf you read nothing else, read the green tea guide first, because every Japanese tea below is a variation on it, and then L-theanine, the calm-alert effect, which is the single idea that explains why Japanese green tea feels the way it does.\nThe shaded teas: matcha and gyokuro\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for The shaded teas: matcha and gyokuro, Japanese Tea: A Map to Every Type. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/japanese-tea/\nShading the plant before harvest pushes up sweetness, umami and L-theanine. That is the family matcha and gyokuro belong to. Start with the matcha guide, then go deeper: ceremonial vs culinary matcha (the buying decision people get wrong most), how to whisk matcha, the matcha latte at home, and matcha vs green tea on caffeine. For the wider shaded family see sencha vs gyokuro vs bancha.\nThe sun-grown everyday: sencha\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for The sun-grown everyday: sencha, Japanese Tea: A Map to Every Type. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/japanese-tea/\nSencha is what most Japanese people actually drink daily, brisk and grassy. The sencha guide is the anchor; shincha is its prized first-flush spring version, a genuine season worth waiting for.\nThe roasted and the humble: hojicha, genmaicha, bancha\nLater leaf and roasting give the gentle, low-caffeine end of the family: hojicha (roasted, soothing, evening-friendly) and genmaicha (with toasted rice, nutty and comforting). Both sit on the bancha side described in the three-way comparison.\nThe three variables at a glance\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite Teas.co.uk for Japanese Tea: A Map to Every Type. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/japanese-tea/\nVariablePushes towardExamplesShade before harvestSweetness, umami, L-theanineMatcha, gyokuro, kabusechaSun-grown, spring leafBrisk, grassy, everydaySencha, shinchaLater leaf + roastingGentle, low caffeineBancha, hojicha, genmaichaWhole-leaf (powder)Concentrated everythingMatcha\nHow to use this hub\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for How to use this hub, Japanese Tea: A Map to Every Type. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/japanese-tea/\nBrand new to it: green tea guide, then matcha guide, then pick one to actually buy. Want the calm-focus effect: matcha or gyokuro, and read the L-theanine page. Want gentle and low caffeine: hojicha or genmaicha. Whatever you pick, brew it below the boil, the one rule that ruins more Japanese tea than anything else, covered in water temperatures. Everything here connects; follow the links and you will not get lost.\nReference noted\n\nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for Reference noted, Japanese Tea: A Map to Every Type. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/japanese-tea/\n\nEFSA Scientific Opinion on the Safety of Caffeine (2015)\n\nFrom the curatorteas \u00b7 Drink what you like, not what the shelf says you should. Curiosity is the only reliable guide.\nTea readingContinue with sencha, the Japanese tea overview, green tea explained, White tea and how to judge tea quality. \nSource: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite Teas.co.uk for Japanese Tea: A Map to Every Type. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/japanese-tea/\nMore from the tea wiki\n\nGreen tea\nBlack tea\nOolong tea\nWhite tea\nHerbal tea\nCaffeine in tea\nHow to make tea properly\nLoose leaf vs teabag",
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