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You must be a huge fan of green tea. However, you're not really sure about these many kinds of tea or the matcha vs. sencha debate. Perhaps you've spotted matcha in your neighbourhood market, but you've been afraid to give it a try since, well, you don't know what it is. Or maybe you're seeking something fresh and different to try because you've only ever steeped your tea. Whatever your reason for wanting to know, the following will help you understand the distinctions between matcha and loose-leaf green tea, or sencha as it is more often known.
What Is Matcha?
Matcha is a powdered tea leaf used to make exquisite tea. Matcha is cultivated in shade for the final few weeks before harvest, much like other Japanese green teas. This produces vibrant green leaves with a flavourful, somewhat sweet taste. Matcha is pounded into a bright green powder by stone, which may be mixed with water or added to baked foods and flavoured drinks. Matcha powder is usually made by whisking it with hot water to create a savoury, frothy drink that is often consumed right out of the bowl.
What Is Sencha?
Sencha, which is made from tea leaves from the first and second harvests of the tea plant, is frequently regarded as the most popular tea in Japan. It has a bright, vegetal flavour with a sweet aftertaste. Sencha is a loose-leaf tea, which implies that entire tea leaves are absorbed in hot water to make the tea.
Sencha has a mellower, milder flavour than matcha since it is infused rather than drunk whole. Since the leaves of Sencha tea are not darkened before harvest, its umami flavour is not as strong as that of matcha.
Key Differences Between The Two Teas
Here are seven differences that separate matcha and sencha:
Appearance
The most noticeable distinction between sencha and matcha is that sencha comes in loose-leaf form, whereas matcha is powdered. This impacts nearly every facet of matcha and sencha, ranging from flavour and health benefits to manufacturing.
Growing Process
The grower must make a variety of choices throughout the Matcha and Sencha growing processes. To emphasise particular qualities, growers may decide to shade the tea plants prior to harvesting in addition to selecting the cultivar for sencha and matcha. This makes matcha and sencha different in yet another way. Sencha and matcha can both be shaded; it is a necessity for matcha.
Production
Sencha and matcha both require heating to stop the oxidation process, but matcha differs from sencha in that it is crushed into a fine powder in a big stone mill after its stems are removed, whereas sencha leaves are simply rolled and dried.
Texture
Although both matcha and sencha are varieties of green tea derived from the same species of Camellia sinensis, they differ greatly in texture. Sencha is the loose leaf that has been steamed and rolled, whereas matcha is a fine, vivid green powder that has been stone-ground.
Price
Because matcha requires special growth conditions, sophisticated processing methods, and a high level of care and expertise to manufacture, it is typically more costly than sencha. Matcha of high quality is also grown in limited areas in Japan. The term ceremonial grade refers to the finest matcha, which is saved for special events and the traditional Japanese tea ritual.
Flavour And Colour
Matcha should taste earthy but be somewhat sweet, with a vivid, brilliant green colour that borders on neon. It's finest served whisked, with a little bit of frothy foam on top, in a big ceramic cup with a bamboo whisk. After steeping, sencha often has a more subdued colour and a somewhat bitter flavour.
Caffeine Content
Sencha has far less caffeine than matcha. This is due, once more, to the fact that matcha involves the consumption of the entire tea leaf. The prolonged time of shadowed development that matcha plants experience before harvesting contributes to the high caffeine content of the leaves.
