Japanese green tea can seem confusing at first because there are so many names. Sencha, gyokuro, matcha, hojicha, bancha, genmaicha, kukicha, konacha — they are all connected to Japanese tea culture, but they are not simply different grades of the same drink. Some are shaped by how the tea plants are grown. Others differ because of steaming, roasting, blending, or which parts of the plant are used. The easiest way to understand them is not to memorize every name. It is to ask one simple question: What makes this tea different? Once you understand that, the names become much easier ...
