Japanese Tea Culture: A History of Green Tea in Japan, From Matcha to Gyokuro

Japan drinks almost all green tea, and it has spent more than 800 years perfecting it. Steamed instead of pan-fired, grassy and savory instead of toasty, Japanese green tea tastes different from the green teas of China. That difference has a history.

This article is part of our series on the history of tea.

The First Tea in Japan

Japan first came into contact with tea through official missions to Tang dynasty China in the 700s and 800s. Scholars and monks who traveled with these missions returned with Chinese books, ideas and, by tradition, tea seeds. A Japanese record says that in 815 a temple abbot served tea to Emperor Saga, and for a while tea was fashionable at the imperial court.

The tea of that time was probably the pressed cake tea that was standard in Tang China. The fashion faded, and for about three centuries tea stayed a rarity in Japan.

Eisai Brings Tea Back

The person most often credited with making tea part of Japanese life is Eisai, a Buddhist monk who studied in China. In 1191 he came home from Song dynasty China with tea seeds and the Song custom of whisking powdered green tea in a bowl. He planted seeds in Kyushu, and he gave some to another monk in Kyoto, whose plantings near Uji grew into Japan's first great tea region. Uji, just south of Kyoto, is still famous for its tea.

In 1211 Eisai wrote Japan's first book about tea. Its title is usually translated as Drinking Tea for Health, and it recommended tea as a medicine for the body. A well-known story says that in 1214 Eisai served tea to the shogun, who was feeling unwell, and presented him with the book. After that, tea caught on with Japan's warrior class.

Matcha and the Tea Ceremony

Powdered tea grew into matcha, and drinking it grew into a social art. In the 1300s, tea-tasting contests were a popular pastime among the elite, with guests guessing where each tea came from. Over the next two centuries, tea gatherings slowly shifted from showy displays of expensive Chinese bowls toward something quieter.

The tea master Sen no Rikyu, who served tea to Japan's most powerful lords in the late 1500s, gave the tea ceremony the shape it still has. He favored small rooms, plain rustic bowls, careful movements and complete attention to the guest. Every step of the ceremony, from cleaning the utensils to whisking the tea, is about hospitality and respect. Matcha is still made the same basic way: shade-grown leaves, stems removed, stone-ground into a fine powder and whisked with hot water.

Sencha: Tea for Everyone

For centuries, fine tea in Japan meant matcha, and it belonged mostly to the wealthy. That changed in 1738, when a tea grower from Uji named Nagatani Soen developed a new way to make loose leaf tea: steaming fresh leaves, then rolling and drying them by hand. The result was sencha, a bright, fresh green tea you could simply steep in a pot. It was easier to make and to drink, and it spread among ordinary townspeople. Sencha is still the everyday green tea of Japan.

Gyokuro: Grown in the Shade

In 1835, the Kyoto tea merchant Yamamoto Kahei perfected a new kind of tea. Farmers had noticed that covering tea plants to protect them from frost changed their flavor. Yamamoto built on that idea: shading the plants for about three weeks before harvest, then processing the leaves like sencha. With less sun, the leaves stay sweeter, less bitter and full of the savory, brothy flavor the Japanese call umami.

That tea is gyokuro, which means "jade dew." It is one of the most prized teas in Japan. The shading also raises the leaves' level of L-theanine, a compound linked to calm focus, which is part of why gyokuro feels so smooth and settled.

Genmaicha: The People's Tea

Genmaicha is green tea mixed with roasted brown rice. Its exact beginnings are unclear, and there are several popular stories. What is certain is that the toasted rice made a little tea go further, and the result was cozy, nutty and gentle enough to drink all day. Genmaicha became a comfort tea across Japan in the 20th century. Learn more in What Is Genmaicha? Japan's Toasted Rice Green Tea, Explained.

Japanese Tea Today

Japan grows tea from Kyushu in the south to Shizuoka, its largest tea region, near Mount Fuji. It is poured at meals, served free in restaurants, and sold cold in bottles from vending machines on nearly every corner. Hojicha (roasted green tea), bancha (a later, everyday harvest) and kukicha (made from stems) all have their fans. And matcha has become a global favorite in lattes and desserts.

How to Brew Japanese Green Tea

The number one rule: do not use boiling water. Japanese green teas are delicate, and water that is too hot turns them bitter.

• Gyokuro: the coolest water, around 140 to 160°F, steeped about 2 minutes. Use a little more leaf than usual.
• Sencha: around 160 to 175°F for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Genmaicha: around 175°F for 2 to 3 minutes. The rice handles slightly hotter water well.
• Most Japanese green teas can be steeped two or three times. The second cup is often the best.

A gentle, low-caffeine cup like this is a good fit for the long, gray stretch of a Portland winter, when you want something warm in the afternoon that will not keep you up at night.

Our Japanese Tea

Toasty Imperial Gyokuro Genmaicha

Two Japanese traditions in one cup: shade-grown gyokuro green tea mixed with roasted brown rice. You get the smooth umami of gyokuro and the nutty, toasty warmth of genmaicha. Steep 1 teaspoon in 8 oz of water at 175°F for 2 to 3 minutes, and do not over-steep.

Pair it with our ceramic tea cup infuser for an easy single cup.

Shop Toasty Imperial Gyokuro Genmaicha

Steep intentionally. Sip with intention.

Related Reading

Go back to the full History of Tea, see where it all began in Chinese Tea Culture, or read What Is Genmaicha? and Coffee Alternatives That Actually Work.