{
    "id": 1070282,
    "title": "Kamairicha: Japan's pan-fired green tea",
    "slug": "kamairicha",
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    "url": "https://teas.co.uk/wiki/kamairicha/",
    "modified": "2026-09-18T00:45:35+01:00",
    "excerpt": "Almost all Japanese green tea is steamed. Kamairicha is pan-fired instead, which makes it rounder, toastier and much less grassy. How to buy and brew it.",
    "content_text": "Nearly all Japanese green tea is steamed. Kamairicha is the exception. Instead of steaming the fresh leaves to halt oxidation, the makers fire them in a hot pan or drum, the way most Chinese green teas are made \u2014 and the result tastes noticeably different.\r\nIt is made mainly in Kyushu, in Miyazaki, Saga and Kumamoto, and Japan's agriculture ministry lists it as one of the country's tea types. MAFF on Japanese tea\r\nWhat the pan does\r\nSteaming gives Japanese green tea its familiar deep green colour, its slightly vegetal taste and its fine needle shape. Pan-firing gives you:\r\n\r\na pale gold-green cup rather than a deep green one,\r\na toasty, nutty, gently sweet aroma instead of a grassy one,\r\na curled leaf, because pan-fired tea is not rolled into needles,\r\nless astringency, which makes it forgiving to brew.\r\n\r\nIf you have tried sencha and found it too much like spinach, this is the Japanese tea to try next. If you like Chinese green tea, it will feel familiar.\r\nHow to brew it\r\nKamairicha is one of the easier Japanese teas to get right.\r\n\r\nLeaf: 3g per 200ml.\r\nWater: 80\u00b0C. A little hotter than sencha, because the toasty notes want the heat.\r\nTime: 60 to 90 seconds for the first infusion; 30 seconds for the second, a touch hotter.\r\nVessel: a pot or basket with room; the curls are bulky.\r\n\r\nDo not use boiling water and do not leave it to stew: it is still green tea, and it will turn bitter. See how to brew green tea.\r\nKamairicha, tamaryokucha, hojicha: keeping them straight\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nTea\r\nWhat it is\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nKamairicha\r\nJapanese green tea, fired in a pan rather than steamed\r\n\r\n\r\nTamaryokucha\r\nCurly Japanese green tea, made in both steamed and pan-fired versions\r\n\r\n\r\nHojicha\r\nJapanese green tea roasted after it has been made; brown, not green\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPan-firing happens early, to stop oxidation. Roasting happens at the end, to change the flavour. That is the whole distinction. See tamaryokucha and hojicha.\r\nBuying it\r\n\r\nLook for \"kamairi\" or \"pan-fired\" on the label.\r\nCheck the region: Miyazaki, Saga and Kumamoto are the classic areas.\r\nCheck the year. Japanese green tea is best in its own season.\r\nStore it sealed, cool, dark and away from strong smells.\r\n\r\nOur Japanese green tea page covers the rest of the family, and green tea: pan fired or steamed explains the two processes.\r\nCommon questions\r\nIs kamairicha rare?\r\nIt is a small share of Japanese production, so it is less common in UK shops than sencha, but it is not exotic in Japan.\r\nIs it the same as Chinese green tea?\r\nThe firing method is similar; the cultivars, growing and finishing are Japanese, so it tastes of both worlds.\r\nDoes it have less caffeine?\r\nNo meaningful difference. Caffeine depends on the leaf and the brew.\r\nWhy is my cup clear rather than cloudy?\r\nPan-fired tea sheds fewer fine particles than steamed sencha. A clear cup is normal here.",
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