Sencha, Gyokuro and Matcha Differences

Most tea harvested in Japan is classified as sencha. Gyokuro is a shade-grown gourmet tea rich in polyphenols. Matcha is powdered tea that is whisked to a rich foam.

Sencha

Healthy, aromatic, and delicious. Sencha is highly variable in quality and price.

For high-grade sencha, harvesters pluck either the bud or the bud plus the youngest leaf.  For good to average tea they pick the bud plus the top two leaves. For lower quality teas they pick the two top leaves, the lower leaf below them, plus parts of the twig.

After the leaves are picked they are steamed immediately and prepared. Sencha is dried after steaming and, when dry enough, rolled into a variety of shapes until it is completely dry.

Gyokuro

The plants are shaded from direct sunlight for about 3 weeks before the spring harvest. After harvesting the leaves are rolled and dried naturally.

Gyokuro is slightly sweeter than sencha and is famous for its elegant taste, color, and aroma.

Gyokuro Fields are Shaded

Plants are grown in the shade for approximately three weeks before harvesting begins.  Removing direct sunlight in this way reduces leaf photosynthesis which alters the proportions of flavonols, amino acids, sugars, and other substances that provide tea aroma and taste.

For high-quality gyokuro the leaves are (unlike sencha) aged. This blends and mellows the flavonoids and other organic compounds to produce a tea that is renowned for its smooth elegant taste.

Matcha
Matcha differs from gyokuro in that the leaves are not rolled at all.

After steaming gyokuro leaves, they are thoroughly dried, deveined, and ground into a super-fine powder.

Matcha is potent and concentrated and whips into a thick, invigorating brew. An excellent morning tea, or an energizing beverage before any form of exercise.