What is Fukamushi(Deep Steaming) Sencha?
There are various kinds of green tea.
Many people may have heard the names such as sencha, gyokuro, hojicha, and genmaicha, but, in fact, they may not know the differences.
How about fukamushicha? Do you know what it is? You can often find the name on a package of green tea.
Fukamushi(Deep Steaming) means “steamed twice as long”.
Fukamushi sencha is one kind of sencha. In the production of green tea, there is a process of steaming tea leaves. Depending on the steaming time, tea products are called differently. Ordinary sencha is steamed about 30 seconds, while fukamushi sencha is steamed for about 60 seconds. So, fukamushi sencha is literally steamed deeply.
|
Steaming time |
|
| Light steaming | |
| Moderate(ordinary) steaming | |
| Deep steaming |
What is changed by deep steaming? Taste changes the most. By steaming for a long time, astringency is reduced, and taste becomes soft. When people prepare green tea at home, the water they use is different in quality and temperature and other factors may also differ. But fukamushicha is comparatively free from unsteadiness, and constantly infuses delicious tea. So, deep steaming has widely spread these days.
Steaming time of each Sayama-tea and its producer
Yumewakaba by Shimizu-en
Shimizu-en
Cultivation：Tea plantation 250 meters away from
the tea manufacturing factory
Covering：None
Picking：May 9, 2020
Withering：6 hours in a withering machine
Steaming time：100 seconds (Deep Steaming)
Drying：30 minutes
Toyoka by Nakajima-en
Nakajima-en
Cultivation：Tea plantation 500m from the tea
manufacturing factory
Covering：None
Picking：May 11, 2021
Steaming time：100 seconds (Deep Steaming)
Drying：30 minutes
Musashi-kaori by Hiraoka-en
Hiraoka-en
Cultivation：Tea plantation 300m from the tea
manufacturing factory
Covering：4 days
Picking：May 10, 2021
Steaming time：45 seconds (Medium Steaming)
Drying：30 minutes
Fukumidori by Ohnishi-en
Ohnishi-en
Cultivation：Tea plantation 50 meters away from
the manufacturing factory
Covering：None
Picking：May 11, 2021
Withering：6 hours under the sun
Steaming：85 seconds (Deep Steaming)
Drying：28 minutes
Gokoh by Ohnishi-en
Ohnishi-en
Cultivation：Tea plantation 500meters away from
the tea manufacturing factory
Covering：None
Picking：May 12, 2021
Steaming time：85 seconds (Deep Steaming)
Drying：28 minutes
Hokumei by Hiraoka-en
Hiraoka-en
Cultivation：Tea plantation170 meters away from
the tea manufacturing factory
Covering：None
Picking:May 11, 2021
Withering：More than 17 hours in a container
Steaming time：45 seconds (Normal Steaming)
Drying：30 minutes
Okuharuka by Shimizu-en
Shimizu-en
Cultivation：Tea plantation 300 meters away from
the tea manufacturing factory
Covering：None
Picking：May 11, 2021
Withering：None
Steaming time：120 seconds (Deep Steaming)
Drying：30 minutes