9 products
What is Japanese tea?
Japanese tea is, above all, green tea — and what sets it apart is steam. Unlike Chinese greens, which are pan-fired in hot woks, Japanese leaves are steamed within hours of picking. Steaming halts oxidation almost instantly and locks in a vivid green colour and the signature Japanese profile: vegetal, grassy, gently marine, with the deep savoury sweetness known as umami.
What are the main types of Japanese green tea?
Sencha
The everyday classic and the most widely drunk tea in Japan. Steamed, rolled into glossy needles and dried, sencha balances grassy freshness, sweetness and a pleasant brisk edge. Depth of steaming matters: lightly steamed sencha is clear and crisp, deeply steamed (fukamushi) pours cloudy, thick and sweet.
Gyokuro
The shaded aristocrat. For the final weeks before harvest the bushes grow under shade cloth; starved of direct sun, the leaf accumulates amino acids instead of bitterness. The result is an intensely sweet, brothy, umami-rich tea, brewed cool and in small sips.
Hojicha
Green tea turned toasty: sencha, bancha or stems roasted until nut-brown. Roasting trades grassiness for warm notes of caramel, toast and cocoa and gives hojicha its famously gentle, evening-friendly character. It is also loved as hojicha powder — the roasted answer to matcha in lattes and desserts.
Genmaicha
Green tea blended with roasted brown rice, some grains popped like tiny popcorn. Comforting, nutty and light — a favourite with meals.
Kukicha
A tea of stems and stalks left over from sencha and gyokuro production: light, creamy and naturally sweet.
Looking for matcha? The stone-ground ceremonial powder has its own dedicated matcha collection.
Japanese teas at a glance
| Tea | Processing | Taste | Caffeine character | When to drink |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sencha | Steamed, rolled, dried | Grassy, fresh, brisk-sweet | Lively, balanced | Morning and daytime |
| Gyokuro | Shade-grown, steamed | Sweet, brothy, deep umami | Concentrated but smooth | Slow, focused sessions |
| Hojicha | Roasted green tea | Toasty, caramel, cocoa | Gentle | Afternoon and evening |
| Genmaicha | Green tea + roasted rice | Nutty, warm, comforting | Mild | With food, any time |
| Kukicha | Stems and stalks | Light, creamy, sweet | Soft | Evening, easy drinking |
How do you brew Japanese green tea?
The golden rule: cooler water than you think. Sencha likes water well below boiling and short steeps; gyokuro goes cooler still, with a higher leaf-to-water ratio and patient, tiny infusions. Roasted teas are forgiving — brew hojicha and genmaicha with near-boiling water. A kyusu, the Japanese side-handle teapot with a fine mesh, makes every pour cleaner and sweeter.
We source our Japanese teas directly from producers and taste every lot before it reaches the shelf. Orders ship from our Amsterdam warehouse across the Netherlands and Europe, and you can always taste before you buy at the Moychay tea club — Rozengracht 92H, Amsterdam.
