Green tea is part of everyday life in Japan: served with meals, offered to guests and drunk throughout the day. All true tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. Japanese green teas are steamed soon after picking, which stops the leaves oxidising and keeps their fresh, grassy character.

Types of Japanese green tea

Sencha (煎茶)

The everyday green tea of Japan, and most of what the country produces. The leaves are steamed, rolled and dried. Expect a bright, grassy flavour with a gentle bitterness.

Gyokuro (玉露)

Shaded from the sun for around three weeks before picking, which makes the leaves sweeter and richer in umami. Gyokuro is brewed with cooler water and drunk from small cups.

Hojicha (ほうじ茶)

Green tea roasted over high heat until the leaves turn brown. It tastes toasty and nutty, with little bitterness, and is usually lower in caffeine, so it is popular in the evening.

Genmaicha (玄米茶)

Green tea blended with toasted rice, some of which pops during roasting. It has a nutty, savoury flavour and is easy to drink with food.

Matcha (抹茶)

Shade-grown leaves ground to a fine powder and whisked into hot water rather than steeped, so you drink the whole leaf. Matcha is the tea of the tea ceremony and is also used in sweets. It is not on Momo's menu.

How to brew Japanese green tea

Use water below boiling. Around 70–80°C for sencha, and cooler for gyokuro. Boiling water makes green tea bitter.
Keep it short. One to two minutes is usually enough.
Brew again. Good leaves can be infused two or three times.

Hojicha and genmaicha are more forgiving and can take hotter water.

Tea at Momo

Momo's drinks menu lists green tea alongside jasmine tea and oolong tea. Jasmine and oolong are not Japanese green teas: jasmine tea is usually green tea scented with jasmine flowers, and oolong is partly oxidised, somewhere between green and black tea.

In Japan, green tea also turns up in the food: ochazuke is rice with hot green tea or a light broth poured over it. Momo's ochazuke, on the dinner menu, is rice in hot soup with a choice of flaked salmon, pickled plum or seaweed on top: a traditional, gentle way to finish a meal.

A cup of green tea goes well with sushi or tempura. Book a table to try it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between matcha and sencha?

Both come from the same plant. Sencha is whole leaves steeped in hot water and then removed. Matcha is shade-grown leaves ground into a powder and whisked into water, so you drink the whole leaf, which makes it richer and stronger.

Is hojicha lower in caffeine than other green tea?

Usually, yes. Hojicha is often made from later-harvest leaves and stems, which contain less caffeine, and roasting gives it a mellow, toasty flavour. That makes it a popular evening tea in Japan.

Does Momo serve matcha?

Matcha is not on Momo's published menus. The drinks menu lists green tea, jasmine tea and oolong tea. Ask the team what is available on the day.

Japanese Green Tea: Sencha, Hojicha & More