9 Most Popular Japanese Tea Types - Which tea is good for me?

There are different types of Japanese tea available at the Japanese Green Tea Company. 

This video will briefly explain nine of the most popular tea types.  

Below is the video script and link to each of the product mentioned in the video. 

First of all, let me cover loose-leaf tea.

For these types, you would be using a teapot or kyusu to steep tea.

Loose-Leaf Tea

1. Gyokuro Loose Leaf Japanese Green Tea

This is such a high-quality tea that it may be a good tea to gift to someone or to treat your guests to.

Gyokuro is a special type of green tea shaded from the sun for 20 days with specially made mats, which allows the caffeine levels to increase in the leaves in addition to allowing the amino acids to get stronger, producing a sweeter and stronger flavor. Because of the cultivation process, the leaves have a very particular odor that is impossible to confuse.

Since the leaves are covered for such a long period of time throughout the cultivation process, the tea leaves are dark, creating a dark tea that is almost mossy green. Its richness in color translates to a richness in taste as well, with layers of flavors that never overpower one another.

2. Gokuzyo Aracha Loose Leaf Japanese Green Tea

This is an economical option for a sencha line, which may be good for an everyday drink, either hot or cold.

"Aracha" translates to "wild tea" in English and is also known as crude tea. Aracha is green tea where the process keeps the original shape as it is cropped, whereas most green teas that are consumed are refined and processed. In Japan, green tea is usually sold from the farmer to a wholesaler, where it gets processed and refined. When the tea is provided to the wholesaler, it is usually unprocessed aracha; this type of green tea is normally not distributed to consumers. However, due to being able to enjoy the rich and natural taste and flavors, some fans prefer drinking this type.

This is a type of tea that tea farmers drink, and since it skips the processing, the price is lower. Because of its intense aroma of sencha tea, if you do not like the smell of Japanese sencha tea, you will not like this tea. However, if you like the sencha aroma, you will like this tea very much.

We have loose leaf and teabag versions of this tea as well.

3. Nozomi - Covered Tea Loose Leaf Japanese Green Tea

This tea tastes a lot like Gyokuro tea but is cheaper. So if you want to enjoy the taste of gyokuro at an everyday price, this is a good tea for you.

Nozomi is Kabuse-cha, which translates as "covered green tea" in English.

Just like how we cover tea leaves under turf for gyokuro and matcha, this tea is covered as well but for a shorter duration than gyokuro or matcha; therefore, it is cheaper than conventional gyokuro tea.

Nozomi is a brand of green tea only harvested in Makinohara Plateau, Shizuoka, Japan, by Mt. Fuji. The local authorities of Makinohara City have strict guidelines on how to grow this specific brand to retain the highest quality of this one-of-a-kind green tea species.

 4. Hojicha Roasted Japanese Loose Leaf Tea

If you are sensitive to caffeine like me, you would not be drinking tea at night. But this hojicha may be one that you can drink at night even if you are sensitive to caffeine.

Hojicha is roasted tea, and by going through the roasting process, it removes the caffeine elements and has very low caffeine.

Freshly harvested premium-quality green tea is carefully roasted in porcelain over charcoal for maximum flavor.

Hojicha has lower caffeine and is less bitter than other teas; it is good to take at night for relaxation. Because of the low level of caffeine and soft taste, it is a safe and nutritious tea for kids and pregnant women.

5. Genmaicha Premium Japanese Loose Leaf Tea with Roasted Brown Rice

This tea pairs well with Japanese, Asian, or oily food in general, so it is a good tea to have with a meal.

Our premium Japanese green tea is mixed with roasted, popped brown rice. It is also known as "popcorn tea" because the sound of roasting rice sounds similar to the sound of making popcorn.

Genmai-cha is often popular with the elder generation in Japan as it is "milder" than straight steamed green tea and easier on the stomach. Because it is easier on the stomach, this tea is drunk after fasting, whether by religious fasting or after a long period of not eating food.

The brown rice is a high-quality Japanese mochi-gome sticky rice, which adds a premium taste.

This tea is good for someone who loves green tea but has a sensitive stomach.

All the teas mentioned so far are loose-leaf types. Now, I will cover the powdered tea type, for which you do not use a teapot.

Powdered Tea

6. Premium Matcha Japanese Powdered Tea

This tea is powdered, and you would be consuming the entire tea leaf rather than steeping it, so you get more health benefits and it is known to give you more focus. So it is a good tea to take in the morning before work or studying. Since it is powdered, it can easily be used for baking or smoothies.

Our premium Japanese matcha is the winner of the 2018 Global Tea Championship.

7. Benifuki Allergy Relief Japanese Green Tea

This tea is good for relieving allergies such as seasonal allergies, cedar allergies, and hay fever.

The study has also shown that benifuki is good for MCAD (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome).

Benifuuki contains high levels of methylated catechins. Methylated catechins inhibit the mast cell response, which leads to preventing allergies and hay fever.

We have a powder form, a tea bag, or a candy version.

8. Green Tea With Mikan Japanese Orange

If you like sweet tea, this is the tea for you.

The most luxurious green tea grown in sugar cane is mixed with 100% natural local Japanese orange mikan powder to create a fresh sweet-and-sour flavor.

With a hint of sugar added, this subtle sweetness and sourness will surprise you with freshness.

Simply add the powder to hot or cold water and enjoy. No teapot is required.

We also have a lemon version.

 9. Japanese Diet Pu-erh Tea

If you want to lose weight, this is the tea for you. This tea is available in teabags.

Japanese Diet Pu-Erh Tea - Saryu Soso, is a national award-winning tea that is good for dieting and skin.

Pu-Erh Tea is Chinese, but this Japanese Pu-Erh Tea uses patented bacteria created by research results from Shizuoka University in Japan to increase polyphenols and gallic acid, which reduce absorption activities in the stomach.

All our premium tea is 100% from Japan, a single-origin cultivar, and grown with sugarcane soil to reduce bitterness and astringency.