Sencha is by far the most popular tea in Japan. An early-harvested green tea, its deep emerald green leaf colour belies a delicate, grassy flavour, with a somewhat astringent sweetness. It is now starting to be more widely appreciated in the West for its excellent flavour as well as to boost health, beauty and vitality. An Essential Tea.

Sencha is the “normal” tea of Japan, accounting for three quarters of all tea drunk in Japan. When you drink tea in a Japanese restaurant in America or Europe it is likely to be Sencha. The flavour is rather more delicate than Bancha – which is hardly drunk in Japan - but once you are used to it, its aroma is just as clear and pronounced, with bitter, astringent notes balanced well against the sweetness of the grassy, vegetal flavours. Sencha tea is perfect for drinking after a meal and is reputed to be very good for the digestion.

Sencha is grown in almost all the tea producing areas of Japan. Fukujyu (sometimes transliterated as Fukujyo or Fukujya) means “Green Spider Leg” and this describes the appearance of the finished tea.

Tea in Japan is classified mainly by how it is harvested and processed. In general, the earlier harvests are considered to be better than the later ones, with more sweetness and supposedly more goodness. Sencha is the early-harvested tea, plucked from about Jun onwards.

Straight after the leaves are plucked, they are steamed to denature the enzymes and prevent oxidisation (which if allowed to progress would produce first oolong then black tea). The leaves are then taken to the factory where they are graded by size, then repeatedly rolled and twisted into shape and dried. This happens several times over depending upon the quality required and the condition of the raw leaves. The drying, which eventually removes 85% of the moisture from the leaf, is achieved using hot air and the process is very carefully controlled.

To enjoy Sencha Fukujyu at its best put one teaspoon of tea per person in a pot. Pour on fresh, boiled water that has been allowed to cool for a minute (ideal temp 70C, 160F) and allow to brew for one minute. The same leaves can be used for several brewings. Each successive infusion yields a subtly different liquor.

If you love Sencha Fukujyu you might like to try Darjeeling Green which has a similarly light and delicate vegetal character, with tantalising hints of Darjeeling’s classic Muscatel aroma.