Sencha Green Tea Details
Sencha is the classic Japanese-style green tea: fresh, grassy and bright, with light vegetal notes and a gently sweet finish. Our organic loose leaf sencha makes a crisp, clean cup hot or iced, and it contains gentle caffeine. The one rule with sencha is cool water and a short steep.
- Size: 1 oz of loose leaf tea.
- Ingredient: Organic sencha green tea leaves (Camellia sinensis).
- Caffeine: Contains caffeine, roughly 20–45 mg per 8 oz cup.
- Brew: 1–2 teaspoons per 8 oz of water at 160–175°F. Steep 1–2 minutes, then strain. Avoid boiling water.
What Is Sencha Tea?
Sencha is the most widely drunk tea in Japan. It is a green tea made from the Camellia sinensis plant, and in the Japanese style the fresh leaves are steamed soon after picking, rather than pan-fired as most Chinese green teas are. Steaming stops oxidation, keeps the leaf bright green and gives sencha its fresh, grassy, slightly marine character. The leaves are then rolled and dried into thin, needle-like strands.
Sencha is grown in full sun, which sets it apart from shade-grown Japanese teas such as gyokuro and the leaves used for matcha. Sun-grown leaf gives a brisker, more refreshing cup.
Meet Our Sencha
Our organic sencha has a fresh, grassy flavor with light vegetal notes and a gently sweet finish. Brewed at the right temperature, it pours a clear, pale green-gold and tastes crisp and clean, with just a touch of pleasant astringency. It is a green tea for people who like green tea to taste green. Packed to order in a 1 oz size.
How To Brew Sencha
Hot: sencha needs cooler water than most teas. Heat water to 160–175°F, or let boiling water rest for 3 to 4 minutes. Use 1 to 2 teaspoons per 8 oz and steep just 1 to 2 minutes, then strain. Boiling water or a long steep will make sencha bitter.
Re-steeping: the same leaves will give a second and third cup. The second steep is quick (about 30 seconds, since the leaves are already open); lengthen the third a little.
Iced: cold brew 2 tablespoons in 32 oz of cold water in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours, then strain. Cold brewing gives a sweet, smooth, very refreshing sencha with almost no bitterness.
Does Sencha Have Caffeine?
Yes. Sencha is a green tea, so it contains caffeine, roughly 20–45 mg in an 8 oz cup. That is less than black tea and far less than coffee. Cooler water and shorter steeps, which sencha needs anyway, extract less caffeine, and cold-brewed sencha is gentler still. For a cup with no caffeine at all, try one of our caffeine-free herbal teas.
Sencha vs. Our Other Green Teas
- Sencha – steamed, Japanese-style green tea: grassy, fresh and crisp.
- Gunpowder Green Tea – tightly rolled pellets with a bolder, slightly smoky taste.
- Organic Jasmine Green Tea – green tea scented with jasmine blossoms, floral and sweet.
- Matcha Green Tea – shade-grown green tea ground to a fine powder, whisked rather than steeped.
- Organic Green Tea – our everyday green tea for a simple, clean cup.
Browse them all in our loose leaf green tea collection, or read our green tea guide.
Who Sencha Is Best For
- Green tea drinkers who want a fresh, grassy, classic green tea with nothing added.
- Anyone looking for a lighter caffeine cup than black tea or coffee.
- People who drink tea with meals and want something crisp and palate-cleansing.
- Iced tea drinkers who want a refreshing cold brew.
- Anyone curious about Japanese-style tea who wants an easy place to start.
Sencha Green Tea FAQ
