Reference
Reading the label
Almost everything that decides how the tea will taste is printed on the back of the packet: how it was steamed, when it was picked, how hard it was fired, where it grew, which cultivar it is. Learn the words and you can call the cup before you open the bag.
How it was made
Fukamushi / futsūmushi
深蒸し煎茶 — deep-steamed sencha
- What it says
- How long the fresh leaf was steamed. Standard steaming runs about 30–40 seconds; deep steaming takes roughly twice that. The longer steam breaks the leaf down, so deep-steamed tea looks powdery in the packet.
- What it tells you
- Deep-steamed tea pours a dark green, cloudy cup with the astringency knocked back. The cloudiness is broken leaf in suspension, not a fault. Standard steaming gives a clearer cup and more aroma.
- Easy to misread
- 'Tokumushi' and 'gokumushi' mean steamed longer still — trade terms, not legal ones. Deep-steamed leaf clogs a fine strainer, so use a coarse one or pour through a separate strainer.
Ichibancha / nibancha / shūtō bancha
一番茶100% — 100% first flush
- What it says
- Which picking of the year it is. Ichibancha is the first flush, roughly late April into May depending on the region. 'Shincha' means first-flush tea sold at the start of the season — the same leaf, marketed on freshness.
- What it tells you
- First flush carries the most savoriness and aroma, and costs the most. Later pickings run more astringent and tend to go into hojicha, genmaicha and bottled drinks. Autumn-winter bancha is cut from hardened leaf: bracing, cheap.
- Easy to misread
- There is no legal cut-off date for calling something shincha. If first flush matters to you, look for the picking season or the production date instead.
Aracha / shiage / hi-ire
火入れ：強火 — heavy firing
- What it says
- Aracha is tea as it leaves the village factory: stem, leaf and dust still mixed, moisture still a little high. A merchant then sorts it and applies a final drying and roast — hi-ire — to make the finished tea. Almost everything on a shop shelf is finished tea.
- What it tells you
- A light firing keeps the green, grassy top notes; a heavy one brings out toastiness and darkens the cup. The same leaf from the same field becomes a different tea depending on this step alone.
- Easy to misread
- Aracha is sometimes sold as-is. It is closer to the raw material, but it keeps less well — buy it expecting to drink it soon.
Demono — kukicha, karigane, mecha, konacha
かりがね — karigane
- What it says
- Names for the fractions separated out during finishing. Stems alone are kukicha; stems from gyokuro or kabusecha are called karigane or shiraore. Bud tips are mecha; the fine dust is konacha.
- What it tells you
- Kukicha is low in astringency, sweet, and pale in the cup. Mecha goes strong fast. Konacha extracts so quickly it is what sushi counters serve. All are usually cheaper than the main grade — which is not the same as worse.
- Easy to misread
- Konacha is not funmatsucha. Funmatsucha is whole leaf ground to dissolve in water; konacha is brewed in a pot like any other tea. Neither is matcha, which is tencha ground on a stone mill.
Where it came from
'○○-cha' vs '○○-cha blend'
静岡茶 / 静岡茶ブレンド（静岡茶50%）
- What it says
- Under the Japan Tea Central Public Interest Incorporated Association's labeling standard, a regional name requires domestic leaf and at least 50% of the aracha from that region. At 100% it may be called '○○-cha'; between 50% and 100% it must be marked as a blend, with the percentage shown alongside.
- What it tells you
- This is provenance, not flavor. But 'blend' does tell you the region's character is only carrying about half the cup.
- Easy to misread
- The region named is where the aracha was made, not where it was finished. If finishing happened elsewhere, the finishing location must be shown nearby — unless the producer's address already makes it obvious. Note that this is an industry standard, not law.
Uji-cha
宇治茶 — Uji tea
- What it says
- By the Kyoto Prefectural Tea Association's definition, leaf grown in any of four prefectures — Kyoto, Nara, Shiga, Mie — and finished by a Kyoto business inside Kyoto. It does not mean the leaf was grown in Kyoto.
- What it tells you
- Read it as the Uji tradition of shade growing and finishing applied to the leaf, rather than as a statement about the field.
- Easy to misread
- If you want leaf actually grown in Kyoto, look for a municipality — Wazuka, Minamiyamashiro — rather than the words Uji-cha.
Which cultivar
Cultivar name
やぶきた100% / やぶきたブレンド70%
- What it says
- The same standard allows a cultivar name only for cultivars registered by MAFF notification (the Cha Norin numbers), registered under the Plant Variety Protection Act, or bred and fixed by a prefecture. A single cultivar may be shown as the name alone or with '100%'; multiple cultivars are listed heaviest first.
- What it tells you
- A cultivar name is a real flavor signal. Saemidori runs low in astringency; Yutakamidori gives the dark green, heavily savory cup, and so on.
- Easy to misread
- Tea without a cultivar name is not lesser. Blending is how consistency is achieved, and Japanese sencha has been built around it for a long time.
Everything else
Organic JAS
The Organic JAS mark
- What it says
- A legally defined mark showing the tea was certified organic by a registered body — grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers for a set period.
- What it tells you
- Unrelated to grade. It describes how the tea was grown, not how good it is.
- Easy to misread
- Its absence does not mean pesticides were used, and its presence does not predict flavor. Residue limits under food safety law apply to organic and conventional tea alike.
Drinking grade vs culinary grade matcha
製菓用抹茶 — culinary matcha
- What it says
- A trade distinction with no legal definition. Drinking grade is meant to be whisked as usucha or koicha; culinary grade is priced for baking and blending.
- What it tells you
- Culinary grade is built to survive milk and sugar, so it is more bitter and astringent on its own. Whisked plain, it tastes harsh.
- Easy to misread
- Matcha and powdered green tea are also different things. Powdered green tea is ground sencha; matcha is ground tencha, grown under shade. The ingredients line will tell you which you have.
Best-before and production date
賞味期限 2027.03
- What it says
- How long the tea stays good unopened and stored as directed — usually six months to a year from production. If a production date is printed too, you can tell how long it has been sitting.
- What it tells you
- Green tea fades in color and aroma first. Even inside the date, aroma drops within days of opening.
- Easy to misread
- The date assumes an unopened packet. Once it is open, seal it, keep it cool and dark, and drink it within a few weeks regardless of what the date says.
The origin and cultivar sections follow the Japan Tea Central Public Interest Incorporated Association's Green Tea Labeling Standard (March 2019); the 50% and 100% thresholds are as written there. It is a voluntary industry standard, not law.
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