Brewing Suggestions/Guidelines

(please experiment to find the best flavor profile to your liking)

Unlike highly oxidized teas such as black or oolong, Japanese tea leaves easily deteriorate. To keep the tea leaves in good condition, the right type of storage is needed. It is also very important to brew excellent tasting green tea by a procedure suitable for each kind of different tea. As for storage keep the tea leaves away from heat, light, moisture, and strong odors. Once the package is opened, please finish as soon as possible.

     When brewing green tea, especially high grade teas like the tea we sell, it is recommended to use natural spring water. If spring water is not available soft water will suffice.

Sencha

        For two;

          A. Place 1.5 tablespoons of Sencha into the teapot.

     B.     Pour hot water just after boiling , approx. 200ml/7.04fl oz, into two teacups to cool the water temperature. (This will lower the temperature of the water to avoid burning the tea.)

     C.     Pour the cooled water from the tea cups back into the tea pot and wait for 1minute as the sencha brews.

     D.     Pour tea from the tea pot into each teacup alternately little by little, so that the quantity and taste of the tea is equal in each cup. Pour all of the tea out of the tea pot until the last drop, so the tea is ready for the second brewing.

     Quality tea leaves may be reused at least three times. Brew for a slightly shorter time, 15-25 seconds, for the second infusion, and also use a slightly hotter water and a longer brew time and hotter water for the third and last infusion.

Matcha

          Place two chashaku or one teaspoon of matcha, 2g, into the chawan/matcha bowl. Pour 70ml /2.46fl oz of hot water into the chawan/matcha bowl. The water temperature should be approx. 176F /80C. Using the bamboo chasen, whisk the matcha until it has a thick foam on top. For the best flavor, drink the matcha within 3 minutes. If you matcha has gotten lumpy it may be necessary to sift the matcha through a screen/strainer before adding hot water and whisking. If you do not have a strainer try adding just a tablespoon of water to the dry matcha in the chawan and mix with the chasen to make a thick green paste before adding the remaining water and whisking to a foamy head foam, by doing so you break up any lumps that may have formed because of moisture.

Tencha

Here is the fun one. Tencha is so versatile it can be brewed many ways.

just ask...

Gyokuro

coming soon

Roasted Teas

Hojicha: Roasted (brown teas) are the easiest of the teas to brew. For one cup, 2-4grams of tea (a large heaping tablespoon) in the tea pot and add a cup of 90-90C water and brew for approx. 45 seconds, pour. Done. Longer steeping,3-4 minutue ok, for extra brews.

Genmaicha: While some would classify this tea as a hybrid between green and roasted it actually has no roasted tea but roasted brown rice to give it that roasted flavor, so we group it with Roasted. The only Genmaicha we sell is of such high quality it can be made the same way as Hojicha. Adding hot water,  ~90C, to our genmaicha will be nice.