Sencha is steamed rather than pan-fired, which locks in the green, vegetal character that separates Japanese greens from Chinese ones. This is first-flush leaf from Shizuoka, picked in spring when it is at its sweetest, and it brews a bright yellow-green cup that tastes of cut grass and sea air with sweetness underneath. A little astringency belongs in the profile, but it should never dominate. Seventy to eighty degrees for about a minute gets the sweetness; boiling water gets the bitterness instead.
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.
Shaded Uji leaf, stone-ground to a bright green powder. Whisked rather than steeped, it gives a thick, creamy bowl. Deep umami with no bitterness.
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