Tea Series Five: Sencha — Gokō, Okumidori, & Yabukita

A Rare and Precious Brew

Sencha — Gokō, Okumidori, & Yabukita
(photo by JenniferW)

A Brief History of Sencha

Sencha is Japan’s most popular green tea, making up nearly 70-80% of the nation’s tea production. Unlike matcha, which is powdered and whisked, sencha is brewed from whole leaves, producing a clear and refreshing tea.

Its story begins in the 18th century, when the Kyoto monk Baisao introduced the style of steeped-leaf tea (sencha-dō) as a refreshing alternative to the for al tea ceremony centred on matcha. He encouraged people to enjoy tea in a simple, everyday way, not as a ritual for the elite, but as a shared pleasure. This helped sencha spread throughout Japan, becoming a symbol of daily comfort and hospitality.

👤 Baisao: The Old Tea Seller

Baisao (1675-1783) was a Japanese Zen monk, poet, and tea seller who played a key role in the spread of sencha in Japan.

Born as Shibayama Kikusan in Kyushu, he trained as a monk before travelling to Kyoto. Inspired by Chinese Chan (Zen) monks who brewed tea from whole leaves, he embraced this simple, free style of tea drinking and shared it widely.

Instead of serving matcha in formal ceremonies, Baisao would carry a basket of tea utensils through the streets of Kyoto, preparing steeped leaf tea (sencha) for anyone who wished to join him. His approach was open, warm, and accessible, quite different from the exclusive rituals of chanoyu (the powdered tea ceremony).

Baisao’s tea gatherings became popular among scholars, poets, and townspeople alike. He often described sencha as a way to cultivate freedom, naturalness, and companionship. His nickname, Baisao, means “old tea seller”, and to this day he is remembered as the pioneer who made sencha the everyday tea of Japan.

What Makes Sencha Special?

Compared with other Japanese teas, sencha is prized for its balance of freshness, umami, and gentle astringency.

• Vs. Matcha: Matcha is rich and creamy, tied to the tea ceremony. Sencha is lighter, clearer, and suited for daily drinking.
• Vs. Gyokuro: Gyokuro is shaded longer (20-30 days), giving intense umami but at a higher price. Shaded sencha like Gokō offers a similar umami richness while staying approachable.
• Vs. Kabusecha: Kabusecha is half-shaded (about 7 days). Gokō sencha, shaded for 16 days, surpasses that, creating deeper flavour.
• Vs. Bancha: Bancha is harvested later with coarser leaves, producing a mild, rustic flavour. Sencha, picked earlier, is fresher and more vibrant.

Sencha stands beautifully in the middle, not as intense as gyokuro, not as rustic as bancha, but a harmonious everyday tea that reflects the heart of Japanese tea culture.

Introduction to Sencha

Sencha Gokō is a rare and precious tea. It is carefully shaded for 16 days, giving it depth and character that exceed the typically Kabusecha standard.

The first infusion offers a luxurious umami, smooth, and seaweed-like, with soft earthy layers. There is no bitterness, only a trace of astringency to balance the cup while its gentle fragrance awakens the spirit of spring in Kyoto.

Okumidori, which makes up about approximately 3% of Japan’s tea production, is known for its well-balanced flavour with minimal astringency. This new sencha has been shaded for an extended 16 days, resulting in a smooth umami with very light bitterness. Longer shading deepens its green colour, strengthens umami, and gives it a seaweed-like aroma.

Yabukita, Japan’s most widely grown tea cultivar, captures the essence of a classic Japanese green tea with a smooth, balanced profile. In Kyoto, Yabukita grows beside the serene Hakusan Shrine, where the leaves develop a refreshing aroma with subtle melon and cucumber notes. This year’s harvest, after a colder winter, has produced an especially smooth and mellow tea.

In many Japanese homes, serving a guest a cup of freshly brewed sencha remains, even today, one of the warmest gestures of hospitality.

🍃 What You Will Need

Here are some helpful tools to get you the best flavour from your tea:

• An electric kettle with temperature control (precision matters for sencha)

• A Japanese teapot without the lid

• A yuzamashi (cooling vessel) if you don’t have a temperature-controlled kettle.

• A heatproof glass measuring jug

• A timer

• A small digital scale 

  💡Tip: Tea leaves are very light and may not register on larger kitchen scales.

• A porcelain or wooden spoon for scooping tea leaves.

• Small tea cups (perfect for mindful sipping)

  
  

🫗 Ingredients

• 5g of Sencha (Okumidori, Gokō, or Yabukita)

• 60 ml of water (temperature varies with each steeping — see below)

  
  

🔥 How to Brew — Hot Method

Sencha is best brew at low temperatures to avoid bitterness.

Step 1: Prepare

• Heat water to 60-65°C.

• Warm your teapot and cups by rinsing them with hot water, then discard the water.

• Place 5g of tea leaves into your teapot.

📝 Note: Unlike oolong or pu’er teas, sencha does not require a “rinsing” or awakening step.

Step 2: Brew in Three Stages

1. First Brew

   • 60 ml of water at 60-65°C

   • Steep for 1 minute 30 seconds (Yabukita: 1 minute)

2. Second Brew

   • 70ml of water at 80°C

   • No steeping, just pour and enjoy.

3. Third Brew 

   • 70 ml of boiling water (100°C)

   • No steeping, just pour immediately.

💡 Tip: Water temperature is the key to unlocking flavour.

Sencha Cold Brew (photo by JenniferW)

❄️ Bonus: Cold Brew (Mizudashi)

Sencha leaves also make a refreshing and umami-rich cold brew, often enjoyed in summer. In cold water, the sweet umami (from amino acids like theanine) is gently released and the bitterness catechins are left behind, giving the tea a naturally smooth and sweet taste.

How to Cold Brew:

1. Add 15 g of tea leaves into a cold brewing bottle.

2. Add 1 Litre of room temperature water or cold water.

3. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours, or overnight for a deeper taste.

4. Serve chilled and enjoy a refreshing glass of sencha tea.

5. Best consumed within 3 days.

   
   

✏️ Tasting Notes

Okumidori opens with a smooth sweetness and gentle umami that deepens across infusions:

• 1st brew: silky, rich, and comforting with rounded umami.

• 2nd brew: brighter and slightly brisk, a soft touch of bitterness providing balance.

• 3rd brew: mellow, with a lingering warmth that gently fades.

Each brew reveals a different side of the tea, a quiet unfolding of flavours.

Gokō, shaded longer than most sencha, carries a luxurious depth. Its velvety texture and savoury richness give the tea a soft, lingering sweetness, almost like spring sunlight breaking through after the shade.

Yabukita, the familiar classic, presents a clean and harmonious taste. This year’s cooler winter shaped it into something especially refined, smooth on the palate with subtle freshness and faint note reminiscent of young vegetables and early melon.

Each cup is like a quiet unfolding, beginning bright, then deepening, and finally resting in a calm, gentle finish.

🍵 A Gentle Moment 

Drinking sencha isn’t just about the tea, it is about the pause.

• Sip slowly from a small cup.

• Inhale the aroma before your first taste.

• Brew each rounds and enjoy how the flavour unfolds.

Perfect for sharing with families, or visitors to your home, or savouring on your own.

🌿 Final Thoughts

Baisao once described sencha as “a clear stream in a bamboo grove, flowing free, unbound”. That spirit remains today, sencha invites us to slow down, breathe, and pause to enjoy the simple blessings of God’s creation.

📝 Note From Me:

This post features teas kindly provided by d:matcha Kyoto, Notes on Gokō, 
Okumidori, and Yabukita sencha are based on their product resources and my own tasting experience.

Historical notes on Baisao and sencha culture were adapted from resources by Tea of the Sages: The Art of Sencha by Patricia J. Graham and A Beginner’s Guide to Japanese Tea by Per Oscar Brekell.

🎥 Tea Series Five: Sencha | Gokō, Okumidori, & Yabukita (YouTube)

🎥 Gokō Sencha | Rare Cultivar Spotlight (YouTube)

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