Most people who say "I don't like green tea, it's bitter" have had sencha brewed with boiling water. Sencha is one of the most temperature-sensitive teas there is. Brewed right, it's sweet, savoury and fresh like young grass. Brewed wrong, all you taste is astringency.

Basic ratios

Item Amount
Sencha leaf 3 g (about 1 tablespoon) per cup
Water About 200 ml
Temperature 70°C for premium sencha · 80°C for regular or deep-steamed (fukamushi) sencha
Steeping 1 minute or more for premium · 30 seconds for regular or deep-steamed

The rule: the better the tea, the cooler the water, because very hot water drowns the finer notes of a high-grade leaf.

Cooling water without a thermometer

Each time hot water is poured into a new vessel it drops by roughly 7°C.

  1. Boil the water (100°C)
  2. Pour into a kettle or jug → about 93°C
  3. Pour into an empty cup → about 86°C
  4. Pour from the cup into the teapot with the leaves → about 80°C

For 70°C, add one or two more transfers, or let the water rest in the cup for about a minute.

Sencha in 4 steps

  1. Warm the pot and cups with hot water and pour it out. This doubles as a cooling step.
  2. Add the leaves: 3 g per cup, so 6 g for two cups.
  3. Pour the cooled water over the leaves, cover, and wait the time in the table. Don't stir.
  4. Pour out every last drop. The last drop is the strongest, and any water left in the pot keeps steeping the leaves and makes the second infusion bitter. For two cups, alternate between them in small pours so both are equally strong.

Second and third infusions

Sencha leaves give two or three infusions. By the second, the leaves have opened, so use slightly hotter water (about 80–85°C) and a much shorter steep of 10–20 seconds. For the third, go a little hotter again with the same short steep. The taste lightens but stays fragrant.

Cold-brew sencha

Put 10 g of leaf in 1 litre of cold water in a bottle, close it, and refrigerate for 3–6 hours, then strain. The result is sweet, high in umami and almost free of astringency, because the astringent compounds barely dissolve at low temperature. Drink it the same day.

Common problems

Problem Cause Fix
Astringent, bitter Water too hot, or steeped too long Drop 10°C · shorten the steep
Weak, watery Too little leaf, or water too cool for a regular sencha More leaf · use 80°C
Bitter second infusion First infusion not fully poured out Always empty the pot
Cloudy, with sediment Normal for deep-steamed (fukamushi) sencha Not a fault

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Sources: Yamamotoyama — Brewing instructions & tips · Yamamotoyama — Easy way to make delicious sencha at home