Sencha

[Chip]

Chill, man. You are one uptight moderator who keeps coming back to this with more and more venom. Sorry to push so many of your buttons. Who would have thought?

Thank you for vindicating me.

But I am done discussing this matter on an otherwise interesting topic. So, by all means feel free to listen and learn about Japanese green tea.[and Chinese greens]

I am not discussing this personal issue on this topic. If you want to discuss personal issues, by all means feel free to PM me.

[silverneedles]

with the big fonts, big banner, now i gotta scroll thru this kinda stuff
drama queens

[Maitre_Tea]

*sigh* Maybe I should refrain from creating new threads ...the last one I made (about looking for a Chawan) erupted into a debate about wabi-sabi

[Ed]

Tea people are sensitive, you know. It just goes with the territory.

[Chip]

*sigh* Maybe I should refrain from creating new threads ...the last one I made (about looking for a Chawan) erupted into a debate about wabi-sabi

You are quite the trouble maker!

[TEAcipes]

Curiously enough, the meaning of Sencha (at least the meaning of the two Chinese graphs in the Chinese language) is fried tea!

"Sen (煎)" is 'fried' in Chinese, but in Japanese it also means to 'simmer down/reduce'. It gets a little hairy when it comes to etymology. Just sayin'.

[xuancheng]

Curiously enough, the meaning of Sencha (at least the meaning of the two Chinese graphs in the Chinese language) is fried tea!

"Sen (煎)" is 'fried' in Chinese, but in Japanese it also means to 'simmer down/reduce'. It gets a little hairy when it comes to etymology. Just sayin'.

Do you figure the name 'Sencha' refers to the way the leaf is processed, or the way the tea is or was historically infused?

[scruffmcgruff]

I don't have any proof of this hypothesis, but it isn't too hard to imagine. Perhaps the first thing "sencha" referred to was Chinese green tea, back when it was first imported to Japan. The term probably lost its literal meaning at some point and become a standard word for green tea, so it persisted when the Japanese began steaming their tea instead of stir-frying it.

[Maitre_Tea]

Curiously enough, the meaning of Sencha (at least the meaning of the two Chinese graphs in the Chinese language) is fried tea!

"Sen (煎)" is 'fried' in Chinese, but in Japanese it also means to 'simmer down/reduce'. It gets a little hairy when it comes to etymology. Just sayin'.

Do you figure the name 'Sencha' refers to the way the leaf is processed, or the way the tea is or was historically infused?

Going along with Scruff here...if it's referring to the tea that came from China, the term "Sencha" would make sense from a Japanese perspective, because these were tea-bricks, aka "reduced" down from their original form.

[xuancheng]

came from China...

I am aware of the Chinese terms 煮茶/zhucha 煎茶/jiancha(sencha in Japanese) 泡茶/paocha, and the historical contexts in which they were and still are used. However, these are all words for tea preparation methods, or how you get an infusion out of the dry, processed leaf. They are not methods of processing, or names for specific teas.

I was just wondering if anyone knew about the history of the term in Japanese.

[TIM]

came from China...

I am aware of the Chinese terms 煮茶/zhucha 煎茶/jiancha(sencha in Japanese) 泡茶/paocha, and the historical contexts in which they were and still are used. However, these are all words for tea preparation methods, or how you get an infusion out of the dry, processed leaf. They are not methods of processing, or names for specific teas.

I was just wondering if anyone knew about the history of the term in Japanese.

Mr. MarshalN is back from vacation. Perhaps a proper Asian Historian could share some facts?

[Maitre_Tea]

So I'm thinking of ordering some Matcha from Ippodo; however, since shipping is expensive I want to order some other stuff as well, probably some Sencha and Gyokuro. Does anyone here have suggestions on what I should try?

[olivierco]

So I'm thinking of ordering some Matcha from Ippodo; however, since shipping is expensive I want to order some other stuff as well, probably some Sencha and Gyokuro. Does anyone here have suggestions on what I should try?

Kaboku sencha. Not too expensive comparing other top asamushi (light steamed) sencha.
Kanro gyokuro. Ippoen and top grade (Tenka ichi?) are quite expensive but worth trying.
Karigane gyokuro.
Houjicha.

[TEAcipes]

came from China...

I am aware of the Chinese terms 煮茶/zhucha 煎茶/jiancha(sencha in Japanese) 泡茶/paocha, and the historical contexts in which they were and still are used. However, these are all words for tea preparation methods, or how you get an infusion out of the dry, processed leaf. They are not methods of processing, or names for specific teas.

I was just wondering if anyone knew about the history of the term in Japanese.

Here's the story that I know - but I'm sure there are other versions from other scholars too.

When tea originally came to Japan, it was linked to Buddhim and was *the* elixir for the monastry. But eventually the aristrocrats caught on. During this introduction of tea to the masses (non-monks), tea was processed into round brick form like tuocha (called dan-cha in Japanese). These were shaved and boiled in hot water to make a soup like brew. Hence, the name "Sen-cha (simmer tea)".

[deepsplash]

hmmm..I'm looking to buy Sencha. thanks for the recommendations in this thread!