What is Sencha!?

At a well-known tea shop in London, I found a tin of tea named “SENCHA”. I was so excited to know that Japanese green tea was there! BUT.... it was not. That “sencha” was from China. 

Actually, I’ve seen a lot of other non-Japanese green tea with the word of “sencha” as a part of its name. I believed that sencha is the tea from Japan, but it was not. 

What is Sencha, then!!?? 

I remember that there is Black Matcha made from black tea or Rooibos Matcha made from Rooibos in the US. The name of Matcha and Sencha seem to have developed a life of their own outside of Japan, ha, ha. 

Sencha from Japan

TEA - UK and Japan -

I visited London about 20 years ago for the first time. I’ve visited there several time since then. And I did again this spring.Wherever I went, tea meant “tea with milk” before. Every time I visited,  I felt the drinking habit had been changing little by little. And this time, few tea shops I visited recommended tea which is good with milk. They recommended green, green-flavored, white etc.

 

Does that mean their traditional drink is going to die out???  Maybe not. Tea with milk is still there, especially at home.

A young lady who works at a tea shop told me….”Tea with milk is not going to die out because that’s the British. That’s how we do.”

 

The green tea consumption has decreased in Japan. How many Japanese will say the same thing for our traditional tea? I’m not sure…