Sencha Tea: Buying and Brewing
This green tea will change your life.
Warning to the green tea haters:
I’m not sure how you ended up reading this to begin with, but it sounds like you don’t like green tea. Maybe you’ve tried a tea bag or two or had one too many watered down cups at sushi restaurants. That was my experience — tea as an afterthought, as that cardboard-flavored thing to do with your hands while you make awkward smalltalk. Well you’re wrong, and so was I. Read on to have your mind blown.
So what IS the best sencha?
I hate overpaying for tea (or anything for that matter) so I like to know that what I buy is not just going to be great but the best I can get for that price. You have to know your brand — it has to be fresh and high quality. A really good brand will not try to sell you every type of tea, but rather a select few types that they do well. Think of it like this: would you expect a place that sells sushi and BBQ to have good sushi?
By far the best sencha I have tasted is by Ocha and Co. Scroll to the bottom for a link, or follow along for instructions on how to brew once you’ve gotten your hands on this gold.
How to brew:
The Ocha and Co website will provide instructions on brewing, but personally I find their methods to be for those who prefer a weaker tea. I’m all about getting the most sweet grassiness I can out of that first pot. Here’s my method…
- Heat water to 160 degrees (I heat 2 cups, but you can adjust as needed).
- Place 1 teaspoon of sencha per cup in a fine strainer or tea bag.
- Let sencha sit in warm water for 2 minutes, actively agitating it to disperse the leafy juices.
- Remove leaves, making sure to squeeze out the last bits of liquid.
- Your tea should be a nice yellow/green and have a beautiful cloudiness to it. Enjoy!
The sencha you have been looking for:
This tea is sold by the 3.5oz, which may seem small, but you are paying for the quality not the quantity. I was skeptical at first, but trust me you will soon be returning to buy in bulk.
