Japan Bancha

Bancha (番茶) roughly means "ordinary tea" in Japanese. Despite the name, we think this tea deserves a permanent place in the heart of every green tea lover. Japan Bancha consists mainly of leaves from the second spring harvest or the summer harvest. The larger, somewhat coarser tea leaves are especially soft and mild. Since they're picked later, the tea has little caffeine – ideal for the late afternoon or whenever you want less caffeine.

Taste

Japan Bancha wins you over with its particularly mild and soft, almost unexcited flavor. The aroma is wonderfully fresh and fine without being intrusive. Compared to our Gyokuro or Sencha, Bancha has little umami, but also hardly any bitterness and a tart, fresh aroma. Simply an honest, straightforward green tea without any frills.

Origin

Japan Bancha comes from a tea garden in the Kagoshima region on the Japanese island of Kyushu.

• Origin: Kagoshima, Kyushu, Japan
• Cultivar: special blend of different cultivars
• Steaming: Asamushi (あさむし), 20–30 seconds
• Shading: none
• Harvest: second spring harvest or summer harvest
• Caffeine: low

Preparation

Japan Bancha is especially mild and, for a green tea, not very sensitive to high water temperatures. We like it best when you let 6 g of tea leaves steep in 500 ml of water at 80 °C for 2 minutes.

You can also prepare Bancha really well in a kyusu, an original Japanese side-handle teapot. To do so, let 4 g of tea leaves steep in 100 ml of water at 60 °C for 2 minutes. Why not try our KINTO Kyusu Teapot for this?

Discover more

You can read more about this type of tea in our blog article What is Bancha Tea? (in German). Our roasted Japan Hojicha is also mild and low in caffeine – or try the soft Japan Kukicha.