Sencha is the most popular green tea variety in Japan today. It is grown and harvested in the Land of the Rising Sun, and then exported around the world. Sencha - tea that is made from tea leaves, processed in a special way. They are steamed and then rolled up into thin strips - "spider legs" (sentia), thanks to which the product got its name.
general information
The long thin tea leaves of sencha seem to really resemble the legs of spiders. Despite this unappetizing fact, Sencha green tea, prepared according to all the rules, has a pleasant tart taste with a slight bitterness and a peculiar “sea”, herbal and nutty aftertaste.
The color of a properly brewed tea drink should be pale green, but not yellow. Sencha is a tea that perfectly invigorates and refreshes during the summer. But most importantly - of all the known types of green tea known today, this one has the largest number of useful properties.
History
From ancient times in Japan, it is believed that the best tea grows in the Uji area of Kyoto Prefecture. According to legend, the first tea bushes on this small plantation, the size of which is only about six hundred meters, were planted by a certain monk Coken back in the thirteenth century. Since then, for many centuries, tea collected in the Uji area has been presented to the emperors of the Land of the Rising Sun.
In 1738, the merchant Soen Nagatani came up with a method of processing tea leaves, which are still famous for Japanese sencha. Tea, distinguished by its delicate exquisite taste, which could also be brewed in a teapot, since that time became available not only to the nobility, but also to the general population. The production technology of such a product as Sencha continued to improve further, however, the aroma and taste of this drink are still preserved in its original form.
Sencha (tea): properties
The list of useful qualities possessed by Japanese Sencha is truly vast. Regular consumption of this tea helps maintain oral hygiene. Due to the high content of fluoride compounds, sencha prevents the formation of caries and fights against plaque, strengthens tooth enamel, and also perfectly freshens breath.
Catechins - strong antioxidants that make up green tea - help strengthen the body's immune system, actively fight viruses and inflammations.
Sencha - tea that can qualitatively lower blood pressure, as well as the level of "bad" cholesterol. It is believed that this drink is useful for diabetes, as it stabilizes sugar levels. In addition, sencha is an excellent skin cleanser. This tea is also used for the treatment and prevention of a number of oncological diseases, in particular leukemia.
Drinking the tea in question is also useful for those who regularly experience stress: it acts soothingly, but at the same time it contributes to clarity of thought. A bath prepared using a bag or sachet of this tea will help you to relax effectively after a hard working day.
Brewing method
Sencha - tea, quite unpretentious in the process of preparation. And although in Japan there is a whole ritual of brewing this drink (senchado) in order to enjoy its pleasant taste, it is enough just to perform a few simple steps.
Sencha is recommended to be brewed in porcelain, preferably light or white. Water for a drink should be heated to 85 degrees, it is necessary to maintain a tea leaf in it for no more than one and a half minutes. The last moment is very important - the taste of the over-aged Japanese sencha begins to be bitter, and the color of the drink becomes cloudy sharply.
Repeat the process of brewing tea is acceptable, but no more than three times in a row. In summer, this drink is usually served chilled.
Household use
Quite a lot there are non-trivial opportunities to use the useful properties of sencha in everyday life. So, sleeping tea leaves can serve as a good fertilizer for indoor plants. If you pre-dry the brewed tea leaves, and then fill them in for several days inside the shoe, this will help rid it of an unpleasant odor and destroy many specific microorganisms and bacteria that appear in the shoes when they are worn. Well, and, of course, you can not ignore the cosmetic effect that Sencha has. Tea of medium strength, applied to cotton swabs, can be used as a moisturizing and smoothing mask for facial skin.
Sencha from Japan and from China
The historical homeland of this variety of tea is Japan. However, today Chinese Sencha tea is gaining more and more popularity. How is it different from a traditional Japanese drink?
We can say that Sencha tea, grown in China, is slightly simpler and poorer in taste than its Japanese counterpart. In the drink prepared on its basis, bitterness appears quite brightly, which is hardly perceptible in classical Japanese Sencha. Experts agree that the tasting bouquet of Chinese tea is less diverse and vibrant. However, the price of this variety differs from the Japanese in a more favorable direction. However, the quality of Chinese Sencha, which is conquering modern markets, is improving every year.
This fact is curious: in the Middle Kingdom it is believed that it was their people who actually invented the sencha, and the insidious Japanese only stole the recipe. However, whatever the historical truth, one thing is certain: both versions of tea - both Japanese and Chinese - have the right to exist and find their fans and connoisseurs.