Guide · Brewing

Japanese Tea Brewing Chart

One page, all the ratios. Temperatures, times and leaf weights for every major Japanese green tea. Bookmark or share.

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The complete chart

TeaWaterTimeLeaf / 100 mlRe-steeps
Gyokuro50 °C / 122 °F2 min3 g2–3
Premium sencha70 °C / 158 °F60–90 s2 g2
Everyday sencha80 °C / 176 °F45–60 s2 g2
Fukamushi sencha80 °C / 176 °F30 s2 g2
Bancha90 °C / 194 °F30 s2 g1–2
Hojicha95 °C / 203 °F30 s3 g1–2
Genmaicha90 °C / 194 °F30 s3 g1
Kukicha / Karigane75 °C / 167 °F45 s2.5 g2
Wakocha (black)95 °C / 203 °F2–3 min2.5 g1
Matcha (usucha)80 °C / 176 °Fwhisk 20 s2 g / 70 ml—

The three rules nobody teaches you

1. Cooler than you think. Boiling water is for hojicha and black tea only. Sencha and gyokuro need a proper cooldown — every 10 °C below boiling pulls out sweetness at the expense of bitterness.
2. Pour to the last drop. Leaves left sitting in water keep steeping. A Japanese teapot that still has water in it at the end of a serve is the #1 cause of the "Japanese tea tastes bitter" experience.
3. Re-steep. Good Japanese tea is built for two or three infusions. The second is often better than the first — it opens up faster, and pulls out flavours the first pass left behind. Add 10–15 °C and halve the time.

How to cool water without a thermometer

  1. Boil the water.
  2. Pour it into an empty cup (or the yuzamashi, a purpose-built cooling vessel).
  3. Wait 30 seconds.
  4. Pour into a second cup.
  5. Wait another 30 seconds.

Each transfer drops the temperature by roughly 10 °C, assuming you're in a normal room. Two transfers gets you to ~80 °C — sencha temperature. Three transfers gets you to ~70 °C.

By tea type — quick explanations

Gyokuro (50 °C)

Gyokuro's high theanine content means it can be brewed at temperatures that would be useless for any other tea. A 50 °C brew pulls almost no astringency, only sweetness. Traditional service uses tiny 30 ml portions that are sipped, not drunk.

Sencha (70–80 °C)

Higher-grade senchas benefit from cooler water and longer steeps; cheaper everyday senchas like the gap at 80 °C. If your sencha is bitter, the odds are overwhelming that you're brewing it too hot.

Fukamushi sencha (80 °C)

Deep-steamed leaves are smaller and more broken, so they give up their flavour fast. 30 seconds is typically enough. If you wait longer, you'll get a cloudy, silty cup.

Bancha, hojicha, genmaicha (90–95 °C)

The "don't worry about it" teas. Use hot water, pour fast, drink. These are the right teas to make in a big thermos and carry around.

Wakocha (95 °C, 2–3 min)

Japanese black tea has lower tannin than Indian tea, so it needs a bit more time. Brew like an Assam at half the strength.

Get the right teapot

A good kyusu is the single upgrade that changes everything about how Japanese tea tastes at home.

Read our kyusu buyer's guide →

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