A Guide to Brewing Uji-cha Tea

Japanese green tea originally came from China. Matcha, sencha, and gyokuro have a long history of being produced in the Yamashiro district in the southern part of Kyoto Prefecture, with its innovative tea industry technology. These fundamental production techniques spread across Japan and Uji-cha can be said to be the origin of Japanese green tea.

Tencha tea

The “ten” in tencha means “hand mill”. New tea leaves are grown in covered tea fields and then steamed and dried without rolling them.

Matcha tea

With the stems and veins removed, the leaves are ground with a millstone to become aromatic matcha tea.

As soon as you take a sip of the tea, you can taste its umami, sweetness, and mellow flavor.

Theanine, the umami-rich flavor of gyokuro tea, turns into bitter catechin once it is exposed to sunlight, so new tea leaves must be kept in the shade for at least 20 days. This encourages the production of new soft, deep-green shoots.

These tea leaves are then steamed, after being harvested, rolled, and dried to make gyokuro tea.

Sencha is the most popular tea in Japan, with its refined bitterness and refreshing flavor. Unlike the shade-cultivated gyokuro and tencha teas, sencha leaves are grown in open-air as the exposure to direct sunlight encourages new shoots. The leaves are steamed, rolled, and dried after being harvested.

Put three chashaku bamboo scoops, or three lightly heaped teaspoons of matcha, into the tea bowl.

Pour about 70ml of 70-80℃ hot water into the tea bowl and use the tea whisk to mix it quickly.

Place your other hand firmly on the tea bowl, and whisk back and forth in a stroking motion using your wrist. When you are finished, gently remove the tea whisk from the center of the matcha tea, moving it slowly to smooth its surface.

When the surface looks white and smooth, and bubbles are visible, the tea is ready to serve. Its smooth, umami flavor and aromatic taste melt in the mouth.

Pour 60ml of boiling water into a yuzamashi teapot or mug and let it cool to body temperature (transferring the water lowers its temperature by approximately 10℃ every time).

Put two heaped tablespoons of tea leaves (approximately 10g) into a pot and pour hot water (approximately 40℃) over the top. Let the leaves soak.

Pay attention to the motion of the tea leaves by not putting a lid on the pot. After about two minutes, the tea leaves will have absorbed the water and changed to light green. Pour the tea into cups when this happens.

Pour the tea into the cups little by little. Follow this pattern: first cup, second cup, third cup, third cup, second cup, first cup. This helps to keep the flavor of the tea even in each cup. For a second brew, use hot water with a higher temperature than previously and reduce the soaking time.

Pour about 180ml of hot water equally into three cups and let it cool to 70-80℃. Put two teaspoons of tea leaves into a pot and pour over the hot water from the cups.

Cover the pot and let the leaves infuse the water. In about 45 seconds to one minute, the color of the tea leaves will have changed to yellow-green, at which point it is ready to serve.

Pour the tea into the cups little by little, using the pattern: first cup, second cup, third cup, third cup, second cup, first cup pattern. This keeps the flavor of the tea even in each cup and it key is to pour every last drop.

For a second brew, slightly lower the hot water’s temperature and wait for less time than previously. Like for the first brew, pour every last drop, resulting in flavorful umami tea. Again, try to keep the concentration of tea even.