Because of their similarities, it is mistakenly believed that matcha comes from the same leaves as jade dew tea. In this process, the laborers keep the meat of the leaves while removing the stems and veins. Still an excellent green tea, bancha is often considered more of an everyday tea for regular consumption. Let us know in the comment section below. For instance, jade dew will require pouring hot water over the leaves placed from the teapot, whereas matcha often requires a whisk to help completely blend the powder in the tea. It is not always required to use a whisk to make matcha tea; some may user blenders or handheld milk frothers, while others still will simply mix the ingredients into a jar and shake it rapidly to gain frothiness for tea. It is generally produced from gyokuro leaves, which have been hand-picked, and features a distinctive bright green appearance. The most common green tea, about 75% of all teas harvested in Japan is sencha. Like it? Matcha leaves have their stems removed and are ground into a powder, but gyokuro is not. Supports a healthy heart. Your email address will not be published. on Gyokuro vs Matcha: What You Need to Know. Shincha or Ichibancha is produced from the first months harvest and is very hard to come by outside of Japan. It is normally best to steep gyokuro tea between 122 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Matcha also enjoys significant popularity for its use in cooking for its color, texture and taste. Other great Japanese teas include bancha, hojicha, genmaicha, guyokuro and others. After steaming, the leaves are thoroughly dried. The most consumed tea in Japan is sencha. Simply put, Gyokuro is shade grown green tea to be enjoyed as steeped tea (as opposed to matcha in powder form), using the same post-harvest process as Sencha green tea. The dried leaves are powdered to make matcha, which is the type of tea commonly used in the tea ceremonies. For instance, matcha is a type of ryokucha often found at traditional tea ceremonies in Japan. It produces a baked, nutty flavor and is typically steeped with boiling water. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. One of the significant differences in Japanese tea production is the use of mechanical harvesters instead of hand plucking, and steaming of the tea leaves to halt oxidation instead of heating. Though it is not mandatory, the best and easiest way to achieve frothing is using a bamboo whisk. An excellent morning tea, or an energizing beverage before any form of exercise. Rather than let all the small particles and dust go to waste, the Japanese ingeniously created a new tea product. They vary in the way they are grown and harvested. This type of tea is relatively expensive due to its smooth and luxurious taste as well as extra labor involved in growing. Bancha tea is typically produced from the same plant as sencha. Well-made matcha is vividly green and strikes the right balance between proper tea flavor as well as slight bitterness and natural sweetness. First grown in 1835, today this tea is mainly produced in the regions of Yame, Uiji and Asahina in Japan. This is tencha. Konacha, also known as Bud Tea, is produced from the leftover particles from producing other varieties such as sencha or gyokuro. By covering the tea plants with shade cloth for about a week prior to harvest we get Kabuse Sencha or Kabusecha with darker color and milder flavor. Higher grade matcha powder will easily froth and smell much more sweet due to the amino acids that were able to grow when shielded from direct sunlight. Unlike most other Japanese teas, gyokuro is high grade tea. The result is a delicious nutty taste. Despite its reputation as a "common" tea sencha is highly variable in quality and price. The difference between Gyokuro, Kabusecha, Sencha, and Bancha green teas from Japan is best understood through the leaf itself--its cultivation, harvest, and the resulting flavor. Often, tea drinkers will add sugar to a black tea, but green tea requires no such supplementation in Japan. Such tea leaves are made into tencha, meaning they have been steamed as well as dried. About a century before Gyokuro was born, in 1738, Sencha (煎茶) method was invented by Sohen Nagatani, a tea farmer in the Uji area. People are becoming matcha crazy adding this powdered wonder into their meals, energy drinks, smoothies, snack, and much more! Yes that is what I am drinking right now. At its core, it is easy to think of matcha as the powdered version of jade dew tea. In fact, there are several subtypes of this tea as well. The key difference between matcha and gyokuro tea is in the final phase of processing. Though it is uncommon to regularly drink matcha in Japan regularly outside of the tea ceremonies, it is gaining in popularity in the west due to its medicinal and health benefits. It is more likely that the tea was not raised or made properly, or it could be what is known as ingredient-grade matcha. Instead, the plant releases a high amount of theanine, a naturally produced flavorful compound. I put a pinch of stevia in it and its very enjoyable. This tea is produced by blending Genmai, or brown rice, with green tea (cha). Required fields are marked *. Differences Between Gyokuro (Jade Dew) and Matcha Teas Also known as jade dew, gyokuro comes from the same plant as sensha, though the plant must be shielded from sunlight while growing. The addition of brown rice to bancha green tea tended to lower the cost making it a commonly consumed tea in Japan. There are many grades of matcha depending on the base tea used in production, and cooking grades tend to impart a stronger flavor, thus using ceremonial grades in cooking is not necessarily better. Its leaves are left intact and it is infused before drinking rather than mixed directly into the water as matcha is. Click on an image below to visit the respective section on our shop Gyokuro Kabusecha Sencha Bancha Sencha itself has a wide definition as t Matcha. A more recent use for matcha is found in matcha infused sencha and matcha infused genmaicha which build a layer of complexity and flavor on these two well-known Japanese teas. Finally, Chumushi and Fukamushi Sencha teas are steamed for progressively longer periods. Matcha is always made from Japanese tea cultivars, and some of them are unique to gyokuro tea and matcha. Though the sheer variation can be an adventure, it makes a starting point overwhelming to find. Using water of 170-185 degrees Fahrenheit will produce the best taste without the bitterness that boiling water yields.