Almost all Japanese tea comes from the same plant. What separates the types is which variety was planted, when the leaf was picked, whether it was shaded, which part of the plant was used, and what happened to it after picking.
Five things decide how a tea tastes
Which cultivar. A cultivar is a variety of the tea plant, propagated from cuttings. Yabukita is planted on most of Japan's acreage, and varieties like Saemidori and Okumidori each have their own character. It is a clue rather than a specification, and there is a longer page about why.
When it was picked. The first harvest in spring is the most prized. Over the winter the plant stores amino acids in its roots, and those end up in the first new leaf. Spring is also cooler with less intense sun, and catechins, which cause astringency, develop most in heat and strong light. So the first flush is high in sweetness and low in bite. Later harvests grow in summer conditions and taste stronger and simpler, which is also why they cost less.
Whether it was shaded. Covering the plants blocks most of the light for anywhere from two weeks to nearly six, depending on the tea. Without full sun the plant photosynthesises less, so it converts less of its theanine into catechins. Theanine builds up and gives sweetness and umami, astringency stays low, and the leaf turns a darker green because it produces more chlorophyll to catch what light there is. That is how gyokuro and matcha are made, and it is labor-intensive work.
How it was heated. All Japanese green tea is steamed shortly after picking to stop oxidation. Let the leaf oxidise for a while instead and you get oolong; let it go all the way and you get black tea. Same plant, different decision.
Among green teas, the length of the steaming matters. Short steaming, asamushi, gives a clear cup and a fresh flavor. Long steaming, fukamushi, breaks the leaf down further and gives a dense, cloudy cup that is rounder and fuller.
What part of the plant. Most Japanese tea is made from the leaves, and what you get depends on which leaves and what happens next. Stems and stalks are separated out and become kukicha. Later, larger leaf becomes bancha.
We list what we know for each tea on its product page.
Sencha
The everyday tea of Japan. Steamed, rolled into needles, brewed in a pot. The range runs from light and grassy to deep and savory depending on the region and the steaming.
Start here if you are new to Japanese tea.
Gyokuro
Shaded for weeks before harvest, which builds up theanine and keeps astringency low. The result is thick, sweet and savory, closer to a broth than to what most people expect from tea. Brewed cool and slow, in small amounts, and worth the attention.
Matcha
Shaded leaf, dried without rolling, then ground to a fine powder, traditionally on stone mills. You whisk it into water rather than infusing it, so you drink the whole leaf. Ceremonial grades are for whisking on their own, culinary grades for lattes and baking.
Hōjicha
Green tea roasted over high heat until it turns brown. Ours is made from good sencha rather than the coarser leaf often used for it, which is why it has more depth than most hōjicha.
The roasting lowers the caffeine and takes away nearly all of the astringency, leaving something warm and nutty. It is often the tea Japanese households drink in the evening and given to children.
Bancha
Made from later harvests and larger leaf. Mild, low in caffeine, and easy to drink by the cup or by the pot. Kyobancha from Kyoto is a roasted version with a smoky character.
Kukicha
Made from the stems and stalks left over from sencha production. Ours comes from high quality sencha, which is exactly why it works: light, sweet, almost no astringency, and nothing like a by-product in the cup. One of the best value teas there is.
Genmaicha
Sencha blended with roasted rice. It started as a way to make a small amount of leaf go further, and it stayed because the toasted note works. Some versions have matcha added, which makes the cup greener and fuller.
Tamaryokucha
Instead of being rolled straight into needles, the leaf is left curled. Full in the cup, with a pronounced umami that is the reason we carry it. Mostly made in Kyushu.
Shincha
Not a type but a moment: the first harvest of the year, sold fresh. It is sencha, but greener and sweeter than the same tea will taste six months later. It arrives in spring and it does not last.