Bancha is what is left after the fine spring pickings are taken, made from mature leaf and a little stem from later in the season. That makes it coarser and much cheaper, and also much gentler: low caffeine, low astringency and a mild toasted flavour closer to twig tea than to sencha. It is the tea Japanese households drink through the day and serve alongside food. Boiling water will not ruin it and neither will three minutes, so it is the one green here you can leave sitting on the table.
The everyday green tea of Japan, from first-flush Shizuoka leaf. Bright and grassy with a clean, sweet finish. Hot water turns it sharp, so keep it low.
The best-known green tea in China, from the hills by West Lake. Flat jade leaves give a mellow, chestnut-sweet cup. Pan-firing keeps it toasty rather than grassy.
Shaded for three weeks before harvest to build L-theanine. Intensely umami, thick and seaweed-sweet. It needs cool water and some patience.
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