Chinese Sencha

[spot52]

It never occurred to me that Sencha could be produced, and called Sencha, outside of Japan. Has anyone here ever, knowingly, had the two side by side? Is there any noticeable taste difference? I find the whole concept weird and a little dishonest?

[entropyembrace]

there´s sencha grown in Brazil too...

[TIM]

Jaju island produce 70% of Korean Sencha and Bosung follow after.

[britt]

It never occurred to me that Sencha could be produced, and called Sencha, outside of Japan. Has anyone here ever, knowingly, had the two side by side? Is there any noticeable taste difference? I find the whole concept weird and a little dishonest?

There's two things I've been told about Chinese sencha by people in the tea business.

1. Some Japanese companies grow a portion of their tea in China and use it to produce Japanese sencha. This is usually done only for lower-grade senchas, many of which will be exported. This may be from a Japanese tea farm in China, or they may procure it from a Chinese tea farm who they have a contract with.

2. Wanting to get in on the act of profiteering from the popularity and reputation of Japanese products, some Chinese companies grow and produce sencha in mainland China.

I would avoid both, but especially # 2.

I have noticed when I'm in the Asian market there are many Chinese products with packaging that looks Japanese. Some of these are blatant rip-offs of actual Japanese brand-name products while others are just similar products that have that "Japanese look" in an attempt to imply quality. In either case, if the country of origin is not defined, look at the price. A box of white-chocolate macedamia nuts for $0.99 is not likely a product of Japan nor is it likely to be an authentic offshored product from a legitimate Japanese company.

[Chip]

Yeah, know your vendor of Japanese tea!!! Ask direct questions. Japanese tea is often heavily blended.

[Zpro]

Merely for future reference, I would still be interested in knowing, if anyone has the time, if there is a noticeable and worthwhile difference between Chinese sencha (grown and sold in China as Chinese sencha) and Japanese sencha (grown and sold in Japan as Japanese sencha). I have never seen Chinese sencha but I do occasionally drink some ''Japanese'' sencha (I now am not sure if it is even truly Japanese ) and am guessing that Chinese sencha would be an affordable alternative to what I drink now.

Zach

[Chip]

I actually did have some Chinese sencha, total crap. But this place sold total crap, local farmers' market. All their teas were just bad ... but that should tell you something.

TeaSpring sells a Chinese steamed tea, forget its name. I heard it is OK, but nothing like Japanese sencha.

[Zpro]

Thank you for the information Chip, I will definitely stick with Japanese sencha. I am a lurker on this forum, so I don't post much, but I thought I would mention that your resourcefulness and respect to everyone on this forum do not go unnoticed Chip, and I thank you.

Zach

[Chip]

Shucks, thanks and you are welcome!

BTW, same goes for matcha, genmaicha, etc. Could come from China, Korea, Viet Nam ... so, I guess you just have to be aware and beware.

[Zpro]

Notes taken, thanks again! I am glad I won't have to learn by trial and error...

Zach

[britt]

Merely for future reference, I would still be interested in knowing, if anyone has the time, if there is a noticeable and worthwhile difference between Chinese sencha (grown and sold in China as Chinese sencha) and Japanese sencha (grown and sold in Japan as Japanese sencha). I have never seen Chinese sencha but I do occasionally drink some ''Japanese'' sencha (I now am not sure if it is even truly Japanese ) and am guessing that Chinese sencha would be an affordable alternative to what I drink now.

Zach

The soil will differ between Japan and China, as will the water, pesticides, etc.

The Japanese steam their tea while the Chinese usually pan-fry or roast theirs.

Each country has a history of hundreds of years or more producing their own types of tea. That does not make them expert on another country's tea. However, I recently did try some oolong tea grown and produced in Japan. I was impressed, but I wouldn't replace my regular Taiwanese or Chinese oolongs with this one. I just wanted to try it once.

[teaisme]

seven cups has a chinese sencha too, but judging from price I would not expect too much.
I've had a couple of mao jians though that shared similar characteristics of guricha and they were good

[Teacup1980]

If you go to Chinese/Korean grocery stores, there are many Chinese Sencha imitating Japanese Sencha. They have Japanese letter on their packages and are saying "Japanese Green Tea" on the front. But funny thing is their Japanese is totally weired and wrong. If you find a lot of Hiragana on the package, it's probably not from Japan.

[spot52]

A lot of the comments confirm my reaction, it can be a little dishonest. It might explain the lack of depth in the budget Sencha I purchased a while back. It was similar to the authentic stuff, but just a little off. Too bad some vendors cannot admit what they are selling.

I am not mad or anything, I am a little shocked that the concept had never occurred to me. But it really is no different than Keemun being produced outside of Anhui. It is not authentic, and it's a roll of the dice.

Cheers~