# The best kinds of Japanese tea

The main teas drunk in Japan, based on explanations from the long-established tea merchant Yamanen-en and the Japan Culture research blog: from sencha and gyokuro to matcha and hojicha.

- 0 votes · 12 items
- May 31, 2026 · Takumi Yamazaki
- https://even.best/en/l/1609/the-best-kinds-of-japanese-tea

## Top 12

1. **Sencha** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Japan's most-drunk green tea, steamed and rolled leaves with a fresh astringency.
2. **Gyokuro** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The finest tea, shaded before harvest, rich in umami and sweet.
3. **Matcha** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Shade-grown tencha ground in stone mills, essential to the tea ceremony.
4. **Kabusecha** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Between gyokuro and sencha, shaded briefly to draw out umami.
5. **Hojicha** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Leaves roasted over high heat, toasty and low in caffeine.
6. **Genmaicha** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Bancha or sencha blended with toasted brown rice.
7. **Bancha** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Everyday tea made from later-harvested leaves.
8. **Fukamushicha** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Deep-steamed sencha, darker green and mellower.
9. **Kukicha** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Refreshing 'stick tea' made from the stems.
10. **Konacha** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Tea dust from sencha production, the 'agari' of sushi bars.
11. **Kamairicha** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Pan-fired, unsteamed green tea from Kyushu.
12. **Tencha** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Unrolled dried leaves used to make matcha.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.