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Alex Zorach

RateTea Editor

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Member since Sep. 1st, 2009. Reviewed 1448 teas.

Reviews of Sencha

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Picture of Organic Sencha

Organic Sencha from Mighty Leaf Tea

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan

58 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 2/5
May. 11th, 2017

Thank you mighty leaf for this sample! This tea had a very pleasant flavor but was nearly aromaless, although what aroma it did have was nice.

Dry leaf initially doesn't smell great, but when I breathe in more deeply, there's a very pleasant smell that suggests sweetness. The leaf looks fairly large and also rathe...

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Sencha from Basilur

Style: Sencha – Region: Sri Lanka / Ceylon

50 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
Jan. 30th, 2017

The last of the Basilur teas I picked up at a friend's wedding, and unfortunately, one of the least satisfying.

The tea bag didn't smell great, but upon brewing I was surprised by a more pleasing aroma. Like other lower-quality senchas I've tried, and somewhat like bancha, this one had a distinct corn aroma.

The...

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Kagoshima (Kagoshima Sencha) from Harney and Sons

Style: Sencha – Region: Kagoshima, Japan

80 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Jan. 9th, 2017

I usually think of tea as being more about the aroma than the flavor, but this tea was intensely flavorful, and I thought its flavor was what made it most interesting and enjoyable.

This tea was very similar overall to the Organic Sencha also sold by Harney & Sons. The main difference I noticed initially was that t...

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Organic Sencha from Harney and Sons

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan

83 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Apr. 29th, 2016

This was one of the best senchas I've had from a tea company that is not a Japanese company.

It smells amazing! The dry leaf is incredibly aromatic, and the aroma is rich, sweet, and very interesting. It has sweet vegetal notes which quickly develop into a warm, mellow, nutty, and slightly toasty aroma, hinting at ...

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Picture of Japanese Sencha (Sachets)

Japanese Sencha (Sachets) from Harney and Sons

Style: Sencha – Region: Shizuoka, Japan

77 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Dec. 20th, 2015

An exceptional sencha from a tea bag; without a doubt the best sencha I've ever tried from a tea bag, and better than a lot of examples of loose-leaf tea.

The dry tea bag has a very fresh and pleasing aroma, like loose-leaf sencha of very good quality, suggesting sweetness.

Brews a very light-colored cup with a b...

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Sencha from Simply Good Tea

Style: Sencha – Region: Fujian, China

33 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 1/5 Value: 1/5
Feb. 21st, 2015

I was very disappointed by this tea. It was the only tea so far to disappoint me, from Simply Good Tea; their other teas have been consistently good.

Dry leaf is relatively dark and vibrant green in color, and has a mild but pleasing aroma, toasty, slightly vegetal, and with a unique minty note.

Upon brewing, ge...

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Picture of Sencha Green Tea

Sencha Green Tea from MajaTei

Style: Sencha – Region: ?????

53 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
Jan. 15th, 2015

Not the most exciting sencha, but not the worst either. Dry leaf consists of big, intact pieces of leaf, a fairly rich green color, looks a little more like bancha than some sencha though. The leaf is not very aromatic, and this doesn't change much when the tea is steeped.

Produces a cup that is quite weak for a s...

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Sencha Kagoshima from Octavia Tea

Style: Sencha – Region: Kagoshima, Japan

73 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Dec. 21st, 2014

This sencha has large pieces of intact leaf, and looks and smells like a very typical sencha.

Brews up a yellow-green cup, so vibrant in color that it looks almost like it is glowing.

The aroma is spinachy and seaweedy, and the flavor is strongly umami, slightly sweet, and slightly bitter. There's a hint of corn...

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Sencha (Sen-cha), Loose-leaf from Yamamotoyama

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan

73 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Nov. 2nd, 2014

Thanks to Brytta Sopword for the sample!

A low-grade sencha that is remarkably enjoyable for what it is.

Flavor is bold, a pleasant bitterness (easily becoming too much if oversteeped), and slight sweet, sour, and savory qualities. Aroma toasty, with a strong warming quality, but also with vegetal notes and fain...

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Top Leaf™ Green Tea from Mellow Monk

Style: Sencha – Region: Kumamoto, Japan

92 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
May. 16th, 2014

This is a mellow tea, and probably my favorite sencha I've ever tried, and I also think it is one that would have broad appeal. I found it very easy to brew, pleasantly aromatic, and relatively smooth in flavor, in every incarnation. I also found that it lasted through multiple infusions better than any other Japanes...

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Picture of Japanese Sencha

Japanese Sencha from Bare Tea

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan

70 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Jan. 2nd, 2014

Definitely among the best senchas (if not the best) that I've ever had from a tea bag!

Flavor is mild and a little brothy. Aroma is slightly toasty, slightly seaweedy.

Easily brews two infusions...the first two cups are outstanding for a tea bag, although they have less of that pleasant sweet grass quality that ...

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Picture of Sencha of the Earth

Sencha of the Earth from Obubu Tea

Style: Sencha – Region: Kyoto, Japan

80 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Sep. 16th, 2013

Very different from any other sencha I have tried. Complex, rich, and interesting. I would especially recommend this for people who don't like the fresh grassy and seaweedy tones of sencha, because it had the least of these characteristics of among any sencha I've tried. It was ever-so-slightly more oolong-like.

...

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Picture of Sencha Overture

Sencha Overture from Adagio Teas

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan

57 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Aug. 27th, 2013

A very bold sencha that has a full body and pleasant aroma, but is easy to oversteep, and I find is a bit harsh no matter how I prepare it.

Dry leaf is very dark and smells strongly fruity, and has little of the vegetal or seaweedy tones I usually expect from sencha.

Brews a surprisingly bitter cup, but rather cl...

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Picture of Sencha/Matcha Green Tea

Sencha/Matcha Green Tea from Wegmans

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan

70 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Apr. 17th, 2013

A very pleasant and affordable green tea. Strangely potent, given how mild tasting it is.

I tend not to like these matcha-infused teas, preferring either to drink actual matcha or just plain green tea, but this one was better than some of them. I also found that more of the matcha character came out in this tea th...

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Picture of Okumidori Sencha

Okumidori Sencha from Wegmans

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan

77 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 3/5
Mar. 15th, 2013

A good sencha that infuses very quickly. In my opinion, much better than Wegman's Tomo Sencha, although pricier.

The dry leaf has a very dark green color and fine texture, and is intensely aromatic: highly vegetal and suggestive of sweetness and umami.

Brews a surprisingly clear and pale cup, especially relative...

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Picture of Matcha Infused Sencha

Matcha Infused Sencha from Aiya

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan

70 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Dec. 12th, 2012

This is a totally different beast, in my opinion, from the matcha-infused Genmaicha from the same company, and was surprisingly different from their premium sencha as well.

Rich, nutty aroma, almost grainy or oatmeal-like. Somewhat dusty finish, but with a hint of floral tones like I have encountered in some pan-fi...

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Picture of Premium Sencha

Premium Sencha from Aiya

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan

73 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 2/5
Sep. 22nd, 2011

This sencha struck me as very typical for the style, and very good.

Flavor is slightly sweet with noticable umami presence, aroma is nutty and somewhat grassy. Less of the seaweedy qualities common in sencha. Pleasing and easy to drink.

Very enjoyable. This is a pricey tea, however. Is it worth it? There are...

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Picture of Sencha

Sencha from Rishi Tea

Style: Sencha – Region: Kagoshima, Japan

80 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Sep. 9th, 2011

Among the cloudiest / most opaque sencha's I've seen...bright green in color, even in the second infusion.

Aroma and flavor are actually very similar to kukicha...less of the seaweedy or ocean-like qualities, fairly grassy, and almost twiggy. Also somewhat matcha-like.

This was an interesting change of pace...qu...

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Picture of China Green Sencha

China Green Sencha from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Sencha – Region: China

20 / 100 Aroma: 1/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 1/5
Apr. 24th, 2011

I never thought I'd say this, but I encountered the first truly bad tea from Upton. The dry leaf had a stale smell, none of the fresh grassy tones that sencha usually has. I would not recognize this as sencha from the aroma of the dry leaf, nor from the brewed cup. The leaf and the color of the cup looks more like b...

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Picture of Tomo Sencha

Tomo Sencha from Wegmans

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan

60 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 4/5
Feb. 2nd, 2011

Even with a small quantity of leaf, this turned out nice and rich.

Aroma is typical for a sencha: grassy, and somewhat vegetal, with some mild toasty tones. The cup is a rich golden color. There's a fair amount of sweetness, and some pleasant bitterness and astringency. An above-average sencha with a classic char...

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Picture of Sencha Superior

Sencha Superior from Rishi Tea

Style: Sencha – Region: Shizuoka, Japan

63 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Nov. 3rd, 2010

Brews a clear golden color, less opaque than most Sencha. Aroma seaweedy and vegetal, and only slightly grassy. Relatively smooth flavor, with a little astringency and bitterness. Overall this is a very typical sencha. Nothing about it stands out.

Rishi's brewing instructions result in a cup that on the weak sid...

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Picture of Organic Japanese Sencha

Organic Japanese Sencha from Two Leaves and a Bud

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan

47 / 100 Aroma: 3/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Oct. 18th, 2010

This tea was interesting; I brewed it for 3 minutes at 180 degrees. I found it was only good for a single infusion, which is why I settled on 3 minutes. Longer steeping made it too bitter and strong for me, and many people may like a shorter infusion.

Two Leaves and a Bud describes this as "brisk", and I think thi...

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Picture of SEN-CHA Green Tea

SEN-CHA Green Tea from Maeda-en

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan

57 / 100 Aroma: 3/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Apr. 17th, 2010

Aroma mostly of sweet corn. There's a hint of roast in there too...but it's not always pleasant...it almost resembles the stale coffee aroma you get if you run hot water through a coffee machine that hasn't been cleaned in a while. Slightly sweet and also with some pleasant bitterness, and very little astringency. T...

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Picture of Japanese Supersencha Kamakura

Japanese Supersencha Kamakura from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Sencha – Region: Kanagawa, Japan

83 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Jan. 26th, 2010

This one surprised me; Upton threw it in as a free sample. I probably would have not bought it on my own because of the price, but now that I've tried it I think it offers pretty good value, although it is still expensive.

When brewed, this tea is opaque, less so than matcha but more so than most other sencha that ...

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Picture of Vietnam Green Sencha

Vietnam Green Sencha from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Sencha – Region: Vietnam

80 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Jan. 2nd, 2010

I would not recognize this tea as sencha from either the appearance of the leaves or the aroma of the dried leaf or brewed cup. There's only a faint suggestion of the characteristic sencha aroma, barely emerging and then vanishing.

The aroma is vegetal, but less seaweedy than sencha, and more savory. Tastes more s...

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