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Sencha

Wikipedia: Sencha | Teaviews: sencha-tea 
Last Updated: Mar. 12, 2014 

About Sencha

Loose-leaf green tea showing intact long, flat, pointy leaves with dark green colorTypical loose-leaf sencha, showing mostly intact leaves, long and narrow.
Sencha(煎茶), also sometimes called honcha, is a Japanese style of green tea that is widespread and well-known not only in Japan, but worldwide. It is the variety of Japanese green tea that is most commonly available in the United States, in contrast to bancha, which is a common tea in Japan, but less known in the U.S. Sencha is widely produced not only in Japan but in China and other countries as well.

Brewed sencha often has a more intense green color than pan-fired (Chinese) green teas, but less green than gyokuro. Sencha is diverse in both flavor and aroma, but it often tends to have a bold, sharp flavor and an aroma which is often described as grassy and vegetal, sometimes even seaweed-like.

Sencha is produced by steaming the leaves before drying, and then firing them afterwards, in contrast to teas which are pan-fired before drying. The characters for sencha (煎茶) literally translate as "pan-fired tea", which can be confusing because the term "pan-fired" usually refers to green teas (including many Chinese varieties) which are pan-fired before drying, at the stage at which sencha is steamed.

Recent Sencha Reviews — RSS rss icon

65 / 100
Picture of Sencha Special Grade Yamato

Sencha Special Grade Yamato from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan
Aug. 16th, 2022

This is an unexciting but perfectly drinkable sencha, that is offered at a fair price by Upton. There is a little iron and spinach in the flavor, but not enough to be irritating. It wouldn't hurt to some of this in your cupboard.

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77 / 100
Picture of South Korea Seogwang Sencha (No. 591)

Half-litre cup at home, made from organic Sencha leaves. Pours clear pale olive green / lemon juice yellow (against white china) with no sediment. Mild aroma of Sencha leaves. Ditto flavour, with delicate malty notes. Mildly astringent aftertaste with leafy and malty touches. Well, a very decent Sencha, I suppose, alth...

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40 / 100
Picture of Japan Sencha Organic (No. 700)

Japan Sencha Organic (No. 700) from TeaGschwendner

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan
Dec. 25th, 2020

Half-litre pot at home, made from a sample included in the tea company's Advent Tea Calendar (2020) and consisting of very fine Sencha leaves, some of them even pulverised - not a good sign in a tea from a respectable company selling quality products. Pours clear very pale green (against white china), with no sediment....

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70 / 100

Kokyu Sen-cha Green Tea (2020) from Maeda-en

Style: Sencha – Region: Japan
Aug. 9th, 2020

Update:
I found a way to brew it better. 80ºC water, 110ml water per 2 tsp of tea, 20 seconds for the first cup, 20-25 seconds for the second cup... The tea is very, very grassy. It's more grassy than any other sencha I've ever had (or any green tea, for that matter). It's not buttery. It's more like brewing a nice, ...

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88 / 100
Picture of Shin-cha Super Premium (Tokujo-can) (2020)

I was surprised, but also not, about this super premium shincha. You see, I know my tastes and I know that I've loved some "cheap" teas because even though they were inexpensive, they were great teas. I've also had some disappointing experiences with really expensive teas. So, I purchased this with that knowledge somew...

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Most-Rated Sencha

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Top Leaf™ Green Tea

Brand:Mellow Monk
Style:Sencha
Region:Kumamoto, Japan
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Leaf:Loose
4
6 Ratings
No image of this tea

Green Tea

Brand:Twinings
Style:Sencha
Region:?????
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Leaf:Teabag
3
5 Ratings
No image of this tea

Sencha Overture

Brand:Adagio Teas
Style:Sencha
Region:Japan
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Leaf:Loose
38
4 Ratings
Picture of Sencha (Sen-cha), Loose-leaf

Sencha (Sen-cha), Loose-leaf

Brand:Yamamotoyama
Style:Sencha
Region:Japan
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Leaf:Loose
3
4 Ratings
Picture of Japanese Sencha

Japanese Sencha

Brand:Bare Tea
Style:Sencha
Region:Japan
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Leaf:Sachet
73
4 Ratings

Top-Rated Sencha

Picture of Japanese Sencha

Japanese Sencha

Brand:Bare Tea
Style:Sencha
Region:Japan
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Leaf:Sachet
73
4 Ratings
No image of this tea

Sencha Overture

Brand:Adagio Teas
Style:Sencha
Region:Japan
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Leaf:Loose
38
4 Ratings
No image of this tea

Japanese Sencha (Sachets)

Brand:Harney and Sons
Style:Sencha
Region:Shizuoka, Japan
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Leaf:Sachet
6
4 Ratings
No image of this tea

Top Leaf™ Green Tea

Brand:Mellow Monk
Style:Sencha
Region:Kumamoto, Japan
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Leaf:Loose
4
6 Ratings
Picture of Sencha (Sen-cha), Loose-leaf

Sencha (Sen-cha), Loose-leaf

Brand:Yamamotoyama
Style:Sencha
Region:Japan
Caffeine:Caffeinated
Leaf:Loose
3
4 Ratings

Varieties, Kinds, or Types of Sencha

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