Avid tea drinkers, if you’re anything like me, ordering a tea from Starbucks or buying a box from Trader Joe’s just doesn’t do it anymore. After years and years of drinking various types of tea (I drink it as much as water), I’ve gotten so used to strong flavors that a lightly flavored green tea is just not enough. If this also sounds like you, then sencha green tea is a must-try.
While we all love matcha-flavored desserts and drinks, true brewed matcha tea that hasn’t been sweetened is actually quite bitter. This is why I found the flavor of sencha tea so similar and I love it! Although they may be similar in taste and both originate from Japan, they are very different. For starters, while matcha is a powder tea that can be mixed into hot water, sencha is a loose leaf tea that has to be steeped.
We tasted three different sencha teas and Steve Schwartz from The Art of Tea told us all we need to know about each one!
Eisai’s Choice Sencha is traditionally used in Zen monasteries to aid in meditation by helping bring clarity and focus to the drinker. It is known for its dark leaves, grassy and crips flavor and just the right amount of caffeine to get you through the day.
Gyokuro is grown and cultivated using traditional Japanese methods. They are shade grown for two weeks, harvested and promptly deep steamed while maintaining high levels of chlorophyll.
This became Schwartz’s favorite find and my favorite as well! This sencha is grown on the foothills of an active volcano in Kirishima, Kgoshima and in a region known for its thick fog. Its leaves are enhanced through a deep steam process and brews to a cloudy, green turbidity. The aftertaste is aromatic and, for me, it was slightly sweet.
This particular sencha tea is also believed to allow more Catechins, Theanines and caffeine in the cup. This promotes mental stimulation, clarity and helps remove free radicals and fat elimination.
For easier consumption, we used The Art of Tea’s biodegradable tea bags. For every cup, we used about one one tablespoon of tea leaves. Unless you want an overly bitter tea, try not to steep your tea for longer than three minutes! Check out how we brewed our perfect cup below:
Feature image courtesy of theartofjapanesegreentea.com.
