Brewing Japanese Tea
Brewing a good cup of Japanese tea requires attention and a little bit of basic knowledge to bring out the best flavors and not a bitter cup. There are four important factors that will affect the taste: the amount of tea leaves, the amount of water, the water temperature and the steeping time. You can brew several times on the same leaves, adjusting the water temperature and brewing time. After the first brew the tea leaves have opened, and you can in most cases pour the tea immediately.
Having a good Japanese teapot will heighten your tea experience. Not only does it make
brewing easier and make the tea taste better, Japanese tea ware, refined by a long history and culture, will also add texture and beauty to your tea moment. There is no correct way to brew a Japanese tea. For each tea in the shop, I have written a recommendation for brewing. The instructions that I personally believe bring out the best in the specific tea. However, it is much more fun to know the basics and experiment on your own—to find your personal favorite brew.
Below a few general tips to get you started.
How to Brew
Sencha is best brewed in a small, preheated teapot. You can brew several times on the same leaves, adjusting the water temperature and brewing time. Below a suggestion for brewing sencha, but please experiment and find your own favorite cup.
Use 6-8g for 200 ml water
1. brew: water 70-80°C / 60 sec.
2. brew: water 80°C / pour immediately
3. brew: water 85°C / pour immediately
Enjoy!
Tip: Using higher temperature water will bring out more astringency and lower temperatures will bring out more sweetness in your sencha. Never brew above 80° for the first brew, but play around with lower temperatures to find your preferred balance.
Gyokuro is best brewed in a very small, preheated teapot holding about 60-100 ml. You can brew several times on the same leaves, adjusting the water temperature and brewing time. Below a suggestion for brewing gyokuro, but please experiment and find your own favorite cup.
Use 6g for 60 ml water
1. brew: water 50°C / 60-90 sec.
2. brew: water 55°C / pour immediately
3. brew: water 60°C / pour immediately
Enjoy!
Tip: The lower the temperature, the more umami you’ll get.
Tip: The higher the quality of your gyokuro, the more tea you can experiment with using.
Hojicha is best brewed in a small, preheated teapot. You can brew several times on the same leaves, adjusting the water temperature and brewing time. Below a suggestion for brewing hojicha, but please experiment and find your own favorite cup.
Use 4-5g for 200 ml water
1. brew: water 95-100°C / 30 sec.
2. brew: water 100°C / 10 sec.
3. brew: water 100°C / 20 sec.
Enjoy!
Whisking matcha begins with the chawan and the tools. Choosing your personal favorite chawan (matcha bowl) and preparing your matcha, chasen, and chashaku is the very first step. Arranging everything on a dedicated brewing mat or tray elevates the experience and helps turn the preparation into a small daily ritual.
1. Bring 100 ml of water to a full boil
2. Pour hot water in to your chawan (matcha bowl) and soak your chasen (bamboo whisk)
3. Dry of your chawan
4. Add about 2g of sifted matcha powder to your chawan
5. Once the water cools to around 80°C, pour it over the matcha powder.
6. Using your wrist whisk the tea to produce a fine froth.
Enjoy!
8-10g of your preferred tea—we love sencha and sobacha
1 liter water (preferably filtered)
Add the tea to the bottle and add the water.
Leave to steep in the refrigerator for 6-10 hours or over night.
Swirl your bottle to make the tea leaves dance or turn upside down and let the tea leaves fall back to the bottom.
Enjoy!
Tip: Using a Hario Cold Brew Bottle is a great option because of the built-in filter in the cap.