Japanese Green Tea Guide | How to Brew Sencha, Gyokuro & Shincha

MUKOH MATCHA · YAME, FUKUOKA, JAPAN

Japanese green tea.
Find your everyday cup.

Fresh sencha. Umami-rich gyokuro. The first taste of spring in shincha. Discover the teas beyond matcha, and learn how a few simple brewing choices can change your cup.

Learn how to brew Explore our green teas

Not sure which tea or quantity to choose? Ask us before you order.

Tea being poured from a ceramic teapot into small porcelain cups.
A quiet pour. A cup to take your time with.

A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE, A BETTER FIRST CUP

One tea plant.
Many ways to enjoy it.

Green tea comes from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Heating the fresh leaves stops the oxidation that would otherwise change their color and flavor. In Japan, steaming is the most common method.

Cultivation and processing create different styles. Sencha is steamed and rolled; gyokuro is shaded before harvest and brewed as leaves; matcha is made from tencha and whisked as a powder. This guide focuses on tea you steep and strain.

Meet Yame, the home of our teas
Green tea describes the tea.
Sencha, gyokuro, matcha and roasted hojicha offer different expressions.
Yame describes the origin.
A tea region in Fukuoka, Japan. Hoshino is a tea-growing area within Yame.
Shincha describes the season.
“New tea”: a fresh release from the year's first harvest.
Rows of tea plants across the hills beneath a blue sky.
The landscapeGreen rows, open skies, a place to begin.Explore Yame
Hands holding a freshly picked green tea leaf above a basket of leaves.
The leafA closer look at where your tea begins.Learn about Shincha
A painted porcelain teacup on a wooden tray in soft light.
The cupA small pause in an ordinary day.Brew your first cup

CHOOSE BY THE MOMENT YOU WANT

Which cup feels like yours?

Start with sencha for an everyday ritual, gyokuro for a slower tasting, or tea bags when convenience matters. Follow the product link for its sizes, price and current availability.

Dreaming Green Tea — Mukoh Matcha product image

SENCHA · YOUR EVERYDAY CUP

Dreaming Green Tea

Loose-leaf sencha from our Yame and Hoshino selection. A place to start if you enjoy a fresh tea aroma and a balance of sweetness, umami and astringency.

Explore Classic Sencha
Itadaki — Mukoh Matcha product image

GYOKURO · SLOW DOWN & SAVOR

Itadaki

Yame Dentou Hon Gyokuro, in a 50g pack. Choose this shaded tea for a small, concentrated cup with deep umami and a lingering finish.

Discover Itadaki Gyokuro
Yame Green Tea Bags — Mukoh Matcha product image

TEA BAGS · SIMPLE TO PREPARE

Yame Green Tea Bags

Choose green tea or gyokuro, with Classic and Premium options. An easy way to enjoy Yame tea at home, at work or while travelling.

Choose your tea bags

Prefer a roasted aroma? Explore Hojicha. Looking for a tea with toasted rice? Discover Genmaicha.

YOUR FIRST BREW

A gentler temperature.
A more considered cup.

Begin with one of these recipes from our product guidance. They make different styles of tea: an everyday sencha cup and a small, concentrated gyokuro tasting. Follow your specific product's instructions when they differ.

Water being poured over loose tea leaves in a dark ceramic brewing bowl.
Give the leaves room to open. Follow the temperature and time for your tea.

Sencha · an everyday cup

A starting point for Dreaming Green Tea Classic.

Tea leaves
2g
Water
180ml
Temperature
70–80°C158–176°F
First steep
1–2 min

Gyokuro · a small tasting

The recommended starting point for Itadaki.

Tea leaves
5g
Water
60ml
Temperature
50–60°C122–140°F
First steep
90–120 sec

  1. Measure

    Use a scale for the leaves and measure the water. A kyusu or roomy fine-mesh infuser lets the leaves open.

  2. Cool the water

    For a hot brew, boil fresh water, then cool it to your recipe's temperature. A thermometer makes this easier to repeat.

  3. Steep gently

    Add the water and start a timer. Let the leaves infuse without vigorous stirring. Taste before extending the time.

  4. Pour completely

    Pour a little into each cup in turn, then drain the pot fully. Leaving water with the leaves keeps extracting flavor.

Using our Yame tea bags? Start with one bag and a 1–2 minute steep. Our green tea bags suggest 75–85°C (167–185°F); gyokuro tea bags suggest 60–70°C (140–158°F). Use the water amount indicated on your pack and adjust to taste.

Make the next cup your own. Too sharp? Try cooler water or a shorter steep. Too light? Try a little more leaf. Change one thing at a time so you can discover what you enjoy.

Green tea poured from a glass teapot into a clear drinking glass.
A clear glass lets you enjoy the color as well as the aroma.

ANOTHER SIDE OF SENCHA

Try a small cold-brew tasting.

Cold water offers a different way to explore the tea's aroma and umami. This is a concentrated tasting recipe, rather than a large pitcher: enjoy small pours, or dilute your finished tea with cold water to taste.

A general starting point adapted from Ippodo's cold-brew sencha guidance. Adjust for your tea and preference.

  1. Put 10g of sencha into a clean teapot or lidded infuser.
  2. Add 210ml of chilled drinking water and cover. Keep it in the refrigerator while it steeps.
  3. Start with 15 minutes, then strain fully into a glass. Adjust the next brew if you prefer a lighter or fuller taste.

Use clean utensils, keep prepared tea refrigerated and enjoy promptly. Follow any cold-brew directions supplied with your particular tea.

SHINCHA · 新茶 · NEW TEA

A season to look forward to.

Shincha means “new tea.” It celebrates a fresh release from the year's first harvest, often enjoyed as sencha. It is a seasonal description, so a tea can be both sencha and shincha.

In Yame, the first picking generally begins around mid-April and reaches its peak in early May. The exact timing and release date depend on the tea and growing conditions.

Look for its fresh, lively aroma and discover how that year's tea tastes to you. For brewing, check the individual pack: some shincha benefits from a shorter first steep than your usual sencha.

Looking for the latest harvest?
Check the harvest year and current availability on the product page. Our seasonal Shincha collection may sell out between releases. Ask us if you would like help with the available selection.
See Shincha & availability Ask about Shincha

Seasonal timing: Fukuoka Prefecture Tea Industry Promotion Council.

A tender green tea shoot standing in sunlight against darker leaves.
A closer look at a tender tea shoot. See each product for harvest year and availability.

KEEP THE AROMA YOU LOVE

A little care between cups.

Seal it well

Close the pouch carefully after each use. Keep tea away from moisture and strong smells, and use a dry spoon.

Keep it cool and dark

Avoid sunlight, heat and humid storage. Follow the storage advice and best-before date on your particular pack.

Enjoy after opening

Open one pack at a time when practical and enjoy it while the aroma is fresh. If a sealed pack has been kept cold, let it reach room temperature before opening.

Questions before your first cup.

Is green tea the same as matcha?

Matcha is one kind of green tea. Sencha and gyokuro are usually steeped, then strained. Matcha is made from tencha ground into powder and is whisked into water. Powdered sencha or powdered gyokuro is not the same product as tencha-based matcha. Explore our matcha range.

Do I need a Japanese teapot?

A kyusu is useful, but a teapot or heat-safe cup with a roomy fine-mesh infuser also works. Give the leaves space to open and separate them from the drink when the steep is finished. Tea bags are another convenient starting point.

Why does my tea taste bitter or too strong?

Temperature, steeping time, leaf quantity and water amount all change the result. First try slightly cooler water or a shorter steep. Measure your ingredients and change one variable at a time. Some gentle astringency is a natural part of the tea's character.

Can I use the leaves again?

Many loose-leaf teas can be enjoyed for more than one infusion. Drain the first brew fully, then brew again during the same tea session. Already-open leaves often need less time for the second infusion. Follow the product guidance and adjust as the taste changes.

Should I choose shincha or the regular selection?

Choose shincha when you want to explore a seasonal first-harvest release. Choose from the regular selection when you are looking for a tea to suit your everyday taste. “New” is not a guarantee that you will prefer it: origin, processing, storage and your brewing choices all matter.

YOUR TEA, WITH A LITTLE HELP

Tell us the cup you have in mind.

Everyday tea, a gift, a café order or the next Shincha release. Tell us what you enjoy, your preferred quantity and delivery country. We can help you choose and confirm product and shipping costs.

Ask for advice or a quote

An inquiry does not commit you to an order. Once you approve your quote, we can send a Stripe payment link.

Browse all loose-leaf green tea
Sources & brewing notes