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Pouring tea from Yakishime clay kyusu into porcelain teacup beside blue and white package of sencha and plate of tea leaves
Green Tea | Sencha | Jul 19, 2019 | 5 min read

How Well Do You Know Your Sencha?

Matcha may be the most well-known Japanese green tea in North America today, but when it comes to a daily brew, nothing is more quintessential than sencha. 80 percent of tea in Japan is made into this loose leaf style, which provides a perfect balance of sweetness, umami, and refreshing astringency. See why we at Ippodo love this classic tea!

What Is Sencha?

Only young, tender spring tea leaves grown in Kyoto Prefecture are selected for Ippodo’s house sencha blends. After picking, fresh leaves are steamed in a process that halts oxidation, contributing to the crisp green character of Japanese green tea. Then the leaves are rolled into delicate needle shapes, gently dried, sorted, and packaged.

Unlike matcha and gyokuro, sencha tea bushes are cultivated in direct sunlight, which makes them uniquely high in vitamin C as well as tannins that result in a crisp, structured tea. And since sencha is made from young spring leaves, it has an inherent sweetness as well, leading to a balanced brew that shows everything that’s great about Japanese green tea.

How Do I Brew It?

Sencha is a delicate tea to savor alone or share with good friends, but be careful: overly hot water or oversteeping can lead to a bitter cup. For a balanced brew, measure out 2 tablespoons (about 10 grams) for a 7 to 8 ounce (210ml) standard size Japanese teapot, called a kyusu. If you use a larger Western-style teapot (around 16 ounces or larger), we recommend starting with 3 tablespoons (about 15 grams) and adjusting the proportions to your taste.

Sencha is best brewed with hot but not boiling water: 176°F (80°C). But if you don’t have a thermometer, don’t worry; just pour boiling water into your teacups, then pour from those cups into your pot over the leaves. The two pours will cool your water down enough for brewing. Steep for 60 seconds, then strain evenly between cups. Be sure to pour out every last drop to fully extract the tea’s flavor. You can re-steep the same leaves once or even twice to get the most out of your precious purchase.

Standard Sencha Brew

Makes one pot
  1. 1. Measure the leaves
    2 tbsp. (10g / 0.35 oz)
    Add tea leaves to a kyusu or teapot.
    Silver tablespoon filled with dried rolled Ippodo Sencha premium Japanese green tea leaves with "x2" written beside - Standard Sencha Brew
  2. 2. Add hot water
    210 mL (7 oz) 80°C (176°F)
    Cool boiling water to 80°C by transferring once.
    Silver kettle beside a porcelain teacup and porcelain kyusu with an arrow instructing to transfer tea from teacup to teapot - Standard Sencha Brew
  3. 3. Brew
    60 seconds
    Brew without stirring or disturbing the tea leaves.
    Small white porcelain Japanese kyusu teapot with blue logo on lid sitting beside orange stop watch timer on white table - Standard Sencha Brew
  4. 4. Serve
    Pour out every last drop.
    Enjoy in your favorite teacup or mug.
    Pouring light green tea from white porcelain Hasami-yaki kyusu teapot with blue logo into white porcelain Japanese teacup - Standard Sencha Brew

Or go iced: There are two ways to brew sencha for iced tea. For drinking right away, you can pour a concentrated steeping over ice. With more planning, you can cold brew senchaas well.

Iced Sencha

Iced Sencha

Makes one pot
  1. 1. Measure the leaves
    2 tbsp. (10g / 0.35 oz)
    Add tea leaves to a kyusu or teapot.
    Silver tablespoon filled with dried rolled Ippodo Sencha premium Japanese green tea leaves with "x2" written beside - Iced Sencha
  2. 2. Add boiling water
    210 mL (7 oz) 100°C (212°F)
    Pour boiling water to cover tea leaves.
    Pouring hot water from silver kettle into Ippodo Tea Co.'s Tokoname-yaki ceramic ivory kyusu teapot - Iced Sencha
  3. 3. Brew
    60 seconds
    Brew without stirring or disturbing the tea leaves.
    Ivory Ippodo Tea Co. Tokoname-yaki ceramic kyusu teapot set beside orange clock timer on white table - Iced Sencha
  4. 4. Serve over plenty of ice
    Pour out every last drop.
    Enjoy in your favorite glass, teacup or mug.
    Green tea being poured from elegant spout of ivory teapot into small rounded modern glass pitcher with white Ippodo Tea logo - Iced Sencha

Cold Brew Sencha

Makes one pot
  1. 1. Measure the leaves
    2 tbsp. (10g / 0.35 oz)
    Add tea leaves to a kyusu or teapot.
    Silver tablespoon filled with dried rolled Ippodo Sencha premium Japanese green tea leaves with "x2" written beside - Cold Brew Sencha
  2. 2. Add ice water
    210 mL (7 oz) Chilled water
    Pour chilled water to cover tea leaves.
    Pouring water from glass carafe into white porcelain Hasami-yaki teapot containing Gyokuro green tea leaves and ice cubes - Cold Brew Sencha
  3. 3. Brew
    15 minutes
    Brew without stirring or disturbing the tea leaves.
    Small white porcelain Japanese kyusu teapot with blue logo on lid sitting beside orange stop watch timer on white table - Cold Brew Sencha
  4. 4. Serve
    Pour out every last drop
    Enjoy in your favorite glass, teacup, or mug.
    Pouring light green tea from white porcelain Hasami-yaki kyusu teapot with blue logo into white porcelain Japanese teacup - Cold Brew Sencha

Choose Your Style

Our master blenders produce seven blends of sencha. All are made with high quality leaves and are processed the same way, but small differences in how they’re grown lead to distinct characters in the cup. Ippodo sencha with a higher price isn’t necessarily better quality; the choice is really about your own personal tastes

White packaging with green faux-painted details for Unro refreshing Japanese Sencha green tea 80g bag by Ippodo Tea Co.
Light and crisp

Light body and more astringency to quench your thirst. Also great iced!

White packaging with bronze faux-painted details of Hosen Sencha classic Japanese green tea 80g bag by Ippodo Tea Co.
Medium and round

A beautiful, harmonious first taste of sencha.

White packaging with indigo violet faux-painted details of Kaboku Sencha prized Japanese green tea 80g bag by Ippodo Tea Co.
Rich and robust

Thick body, little astringency and full umami. A deluxe treat.