Hojicha is blended Sencha that has been evenly roasted to provide a completely different drinking experience. Roasting completely changes not only the flavor and aroma of the tea, but its naturally occurring components too. Caffeine content is significantly lessened through roasting, and thus this tea is frequently enjoyed by those sensitive to caffeine. Tannin content, responsible for the acidic aftertaste accompanying some teas, is also nullified. The result is a tea that is easy to prepare and easy to consume, hot or cold.

(For specific instructions on how best to infuse Hojicha, click here.)

Kabusecha describes tea that is halfway between Gyokuro and Sencha in its method of production, and therefore in its flavors. Like Gyokuro tea, Kabusecha is shaded for a period of time before harvest, but for a shorter duration, and less severely. The result is a superbly even balance between theanine and catechin, the components responsible for the flavors of Umami and astringency respectively. (For specific instructions on how best to infuse Kabusecha, click here.)

Gyokuro refers to a tea that has been cultivated under very special conditions to heighten its quality. Some of the most renowned teas of China come from areas where fog blocks the direct rays of the sun for a period of time during growth. For Gyokuro cultivation, we simulate a similar process. The tea plant is shaded with a fine screen for at least three weeks during the crucial period of growth, just before harvest. Photosynthesis provokes the transformation of Theanine, an amino acid responsible for the Umami flavor, into Catechin, responsible for the astringency of tea. Thus, in limiting photosynthesis for a short period of time, the bitter taste of this tea is heavily muted, and the Umami taste is brought into the foreground. Please see the definition of Umami for more information regarding this important aspect of Japanese tea. (For specific instructions on how best to infuse Gyokuro, click here.)

Like Gyokuro and Kabusecha, the Tencha quality of leaf is grown in a shaded environment for a period of time. High quality Tencha is characterized by a brilliant green leaf, possessing heavy flavors of Umami and very little astringency. Tencha is rarely consumed as a tea, for it has not undergone the final process required to make it infusible. Instead, it is most frequently ground into Matcha powder, which is then mixed with water for consumption. It can also be used as a flavoring agent in high-end gourmet kitchens.

Tea picked in the later harvests of the year is known as Bancha. As it is harvested later, the leaves are more mature. It is also harvested from the lower leaves of the tea tree as well, having been less exposed to direct sunlight. Thus, from a purely scientific perspective, we consider Bancha to be a lower quality tea than its relative, Sencha. But Bancha is produced in many different ways, some quite unique and exciting. A prime example of such a Bancha is the specialty of Kyoto, Iribancha.

In a matter of speaking, all tea starts as Aracha before it is sorted. After the cleansing process, this unrefined tea matter is separated according to the shape of the tea leaf, and the desired kind of tea it is to become.