TeaChat

I've seen Sencha referred to as Chinese and Japanese. Which is correct?

Samovar

Sencha has two definitions, a "wide sense" and "narrow sense". It was originated in Japan, the name itself too. The Chinese refer to it as Sencha because that is its name. It would be just like the French referring to our Sundae ice cream as Sundaes.

The Japanese were trying to find a medium quality between Bancha green tea, the inferior, and Gyokuro green tea, the superior. Thus, Sencha.

Thank you, March Hare!

Samovar

My Japanese sources tell me that sencha was intorduced to Japan from China. From the bit of Googling that I've done, I gather that sencha is the Japanese word for zhenqing or zhen qing, the Chinese (Mandarin?) for the process of steaming green tea leaves.

Well, in the realest sense, it is both. Sencha almost always refers to the Japanese-medium quality-"daily tea," or "daily Sencha." A step below Gyokuro, and many steps above Bancha, Sencha is a great, full green tea.
However, the Chinese also have a "Sencha." This tea is looked down on so much that it has been dubbed "Chinencha" by TeaChat members* detailing it's inability to match up with the Japanese green Sencha.

*
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=2582
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=2594

-Rage

...did someone mention sencha.

There is only one sencha in my mind if you want to drink great tea. The Japanese sencha is so vastly superior to Chinese versions that you cannot really compare the two.

Jananese sencha offers such a vast variety of quality, origins, grades, flushes, etc that it is a tea worthy of focus. I have dedicated the last year to gaining as much insight of this tea and have come to the point where I could almost give up Chinese greens...almost.

Japanese Sencha it is! Thanks everyone for your insight.

Samovar

the fact that the chinencha threads were refrenced makes me smile =]
hehe, the execution one brings a chuckle too