Japanese green tea, explained from Japan
I'm Kaoru. I live in Japan and work with the Japanese tea industry. This site explains sencha, fukamushi, and matcha the way people here actually understand them, using Japanese sources you can't easily read in English.
Latest articles
- How to Make Matcha at Home: What Japan Actually Specifies — Every guide gives different numbers. Japan's tea schools specify only two things. The rest comes from tea sellers, and they disagree with each other.
- Why Is Matcha Sold Out? Japan's Own Numbers, 2026 — What Japan's own tea statistics, auction tables, and makers' notices say about the matcha shortage, why supply cannot answer fast, and where it is easing.
- Asamushi vs Fukamushi: How Steaming Time Changes Sencha — Asamushi is lightly steamed sencha, fukamushi is steamed twice as long. Compare the taste, brewing, teapots, and science, and pick the right one for you.
- How to Tell Real Japanese Matcha: A Verification Guide — Japan wrote down what matcha is. Learn the official definition, how to read labels, the particle-size myth, and the price floor fakes cannot clear.
- Uji Matcha: An Honest Guide to Japan's Most Famous Tea Name — Where Uji matcha really grows, the 400-year-old shading craft that survives in Uji, the blending culture, and what the 2025 price surge means for buyers.
- Hojicha Guide: Japan's Roasted Green Tea, Minus the Myths — What hojicha is, how roasting builds its flavor, and what Japan's official data really says about its caffeine. A guide built on primary sources.
- Uji vs Nishio vs Yame Matcha: An Honest Region Comparison — Uji, Nishio, and Yame matcha compared with official definitions, production data, and what the regions' own makers admit. Terroir, uses, and how to choose.
- Types of Japanese Green Tea: The Official 17, Explained — Japan officially defines 17 types of green tea. Three questions explain them all: was it shaded, steamed or pan-fired, and what happened to the leaf after?
- Sencha vs Matcha: What Actually Separates Them — Sencha and matcha come from the same plant but split at the farm. Here is what Japanese official sources say about the process, the numbers, and the price.
- How to Brew Sencha: The Numbers Japanese Guides Actually Use — English guides disagree about brewing sencha because Japan's own standard shifts with grade. Here are the official numbers, the water rule, and the steps.
- What Is Fukamushi Sencha? Japan's Deep-Steamed Green Tea, Explained — Fukamushi sencha is Japanese green tea steamed twice as long as regular sencha. Learn what deep steaming changes, how to brew it, and why the cup is cloudy.