Green Tea
Green tea is made by steaming or pan-firing the plucked leaf to stop the enzymes, so that the leaf is finished without fermenting. Whether this step, called sha qing, is present is the biggest difference between green tea and white, oolong or black tea.
Steamed and pan-fired
Japanese green tea is mostly steamed, which gives a green, grassy flavor and a thick taste. Chinese green tea is mostly pan-fired, which gives a toasty note and a lighter mouthfeel. Within green tea, this difference in processing moves the flavor a long way.
How HOJO chooses green tea
HOJO judges green tea by body and finish rather than by theanine content. Raising theanine, the umami component, takes nitrogen fertilizer, and a tea tree given nitrogen produces less catechin and fewer minerals, which makes the taste shallower. Leaves grown with no fertilizer, or with limited feeding, hold more minerals and leave a longer aftertaste.
What we carry
From Japan: Asahina gyokuro and Honyama Hebizuka sencha from Shizuoka, naturally farmed sencha from Tsukigase and Tsuge in Nara, and sencha from Mount Jubu in Kyoto. From China: Xihu Longjing, Tai Ping Hou Kui, Biluochun and Mengding Ganlu. We also have an original green tea, pan-fired from naturally farmed old trees in Yunnan.
Green Tea
Uji Genmai Cha 宇治玄米茶
