HomeIf you think that great tasting Japanese green tea is too expensive. I may have the perfect tea for you. It’s called banca and it’s actually the second most popular type of green tea in Japan. It has a great flavor, lowcaffeine content, and it’s a mere fraction of the price compared to other Japanese green teas. In this video, we’re gonna explain what Japanese banca is, how it’s made, and we’re gona brew up some to compare it with a tea like senica first, it’s important to mention that depending on how a tea is picked and when a tea is picked, it can take on a variety of different flavors. The premium senica in Japan is made from the top three sprouts of the tea plant. And the first tea harvest. Because the teal has had all winter long to store up nutrients in the soil, the fresh springtime sprouts are bursting with flavor. This is one of the reasons why CENTI have such a strong flavor profile, why they’re loaded with nutrients and health benefits, and also why they command such a high price. But these tea plants are not done producing delicious green tea, they will sprout two to three more times throughout the year, and they can be harvested accordingly. If the tea is made from the third or 4th tea harvest, which normally occurs from midsummer to even midfall, it will be considered a bunchcha. These leaves won’t have the same sweet or mommy taste that you would get from Aentcha, but they will still be packed with flavor. Also, if a tea is made from the more mature leaves of the tea plant, it will be considered a bunchcha as well. These leaves are lower down on the tea plant and they are actually thicker and tougher. The reason they contain less caffeine than the younger leaves of the tea plant actually has to do with insects. But before we get to that, if you’re enjoying this video so far, it would really mean a lot to us if you could subscribe to our channel. So you can learn more about all the other types of Japanese green teas. So the tea plant produces a layer of caffeine around its leaves in order to protect them from insects. Caffeine is extremely bitter and even poisonous to some insects, so it makes a good protective coating. Because the younger leaves are more tender and vulnerable to insects, they produce more caffeine. The older leaves and stems of the tea plant are tougher so they don’t need to produce as much caffeine, making teas like Banca Genmacha. Kukicha and Hojiccha. Lower caffeine options. After the older leaves are harvested, they are processed just like a. Senica. They are steamed, rolled and dried in Kyilto. After the bunch of tea leaves are dried, the tea can be roasted in a pan at a high heat. In order to produce Kie Boncha, a slightly burnt boncha tea that has a smoky flavor, but let’s go back to the steaming. The reason green teas are steamed is to deactivate the enzymes that cause oxidation. If the tea leaves are not heated almost immediately after harvest, they will begin to oxidize and eventually turn into a black tea. With the steaming method, the farmer is able to lock in the more grassy or vegetablegetal flavors of the tea. This is why Japanese green teas like Senica have this distinct Jadereen color and a strong steamed vegetable flavor. If you want to see this in action, a great tea to try is the Murasaki Sancha from Mr. Kowaji in Kagoshima. But Banca is completely different, even though it’s made in a similar way. The flavor profile is a bit more subtle. Instead of having the strong steamed vegetable flavors, you get a mild citrus flavor profile, a hint of popcorn or cereal, and maybe even a touch of wood. You also get a translucent pale yellow color. Because Japanese Bona tea is made from later harvests and older leaves, it’s also lower in catkins, the main antioxidant in green tea. Catkins are credited with a lot of the health benefits of green tea, but they are also what produces the bitter flavor in the tea. Catkins are harder to extract and they really require higher temperatures and longer brewing times. This is why when you brew your green tea too hot, you end up with a very bitter cup of tea. Because the banja tea leaves are lower in catkins, they stand up to higher temperatures. For this reason, we recommend you brew boncha tea at 100 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Instead of the 100 and 40 to 100 and 60 we normally recommend for gilurro or sancha. You can still use the same one minute brewing time and a leafto-water ratio of five grams of leaves and 100 and 50 litters of water. Now let’s make up a cup of bannchcha tea and see how it compares to senica. The Banca we will be using is the best banca tea we found after meeting with dozens of different farmers around Japan. This one comes to us from Mr. Maud from Shizuoka, and although it’s very low in price, it still has a great flavor and it’s produced without the use of pesticides or chemicals. Compared to senica, the bunchcha has much more mineral. Even though the older leaves and stems are lower in antioxidants, they are actually higher in minerals. This mineral can be felt as a tingling sensation on the palate. It also makes the tea good for digestion and it’s why in Japan sometimes people will drink boncha after a meal to soothe the stomach and help with digestion. The more mature leaves also produce a slightly earthier flavor profile. The senica is light, fresh and sweet. While the bonnch of tea has more wood cereal and astringent notes to it, the flavor of this Japanese Boncha pairs very well with snacks, and because it can also help with digestion, it makes for a great snacking tea. So if you want these smoother and sweeter flavor profiles with a hint of that green eammame or seaweed, you should go for a Senna tea or grote. If you want to save money and try a unique flavor profile, you can try the banca for Mr. Maud at buyontheway.com .
This tea is also lower in caffeine so you can drink it later on in the day without being kept up all night. Hopefully, now Japanese Boncha makes a little bit more sense to you. If you want to learn more about Japanese green tea, please stay to our website for more tea blog in the future. Until then we’ll see you next blog.
