Sencha vs Gunpowder: two green teas compared
People say they do not like green tea the way they say they do not like fish. There are many kinds and they have usually only met one. Sencha and Gunpowder are the two we sell most, and they sit at opposite ends of the green tea range. Here is how they differ and how to brew each one so it does not go bitter.
Sencha, the Japanese way
Sencha is the everyday green tea of Japan. The fresh leaf is steamed within hours of picking to stop it oxidising, then rolled into fine needles and dried. Steaming keeps it bright green and gives it that fresh, grassy, slightly savoury taste the Japanese call umami. Ours brews a pale green and tastes clean and sweet with a seaweed note if you brew it a little stronger.
It is delicate. Water that is too hot cooks the leaf and makes it bitter, which is why so many people have had a bad cup of green tea in a cafe.
Gunpowder, the Chinese way
Gunpowder comes from Zhejiang in China. The leaf is heated in a hot pan rather than steamed, then rolled into tight little pellets that look like lead shot, which is where the name came from. Rolling it tight protects the leaf, so Gunpowder keeps well and travels well, which is why it has been exported for centuries and is the base of Moroccan mint tea.
In the cup it is bolder than Sencha, a deeper yellow, fuller bodied with a smooth, lightly smoky finish from the pan firing. If Sencha is a spring morning, Gunpowder is late afternoon.
How to brew either
Boil the kettle, then wait. Two to three minutes off the boil brings the water to about 80°C, which is where green tea is happy. One heaped teaspoon per 200ml mug. Sencha two minutes, Gunpowder three, since the pellets take a moment to unroll. Both give a good second steep, a minute longer.
If a green tea tastes bitter, it was too hot or too long. Nearly always.
Which one to try first
If you like fresh, light flavours, cucumber, fresh herbs, white fish, start with Sencha. If you drink coffee and find most green tea thin, start with Gunpowder, which has enough weight to feel like a proper cup. If you take sugar in tea, Gunpowder with a sprig of mint and a spoon of sugar is how most of North Africa drinks it, and it is lovely.
Caffeine
Both have less caffeine than black tea, roughly half, and a shorter brew pulls out less again. Neither is caffeine free. For that, look at rooibos and the herbals.