is a type of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese
green tea
Green tea is a type of tea made from the leaves and buds of the '' Camellia sinensis'' that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process that creates oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China in the late 1st millenn ...
. It is harvested from the second flush of ''
sencha
is a type of Japanese green tea (, ) which is prepared by infusing the processed whole tea leaves in hot water. This is as opposed to matcha (), powdered Japanese green tea, where the green tea powder is mixed with hot water and therefore the ...
'' between summer and autumn; the first flush is harvested for ''
shincha''.
It can be found in a number of forms such as roasted, unroasted, smoked, matured or fermented for three years and even post-fermented. For example,
goishicha.
Background
Bancha is harvested from the same tea tree as ''sencha'' grade, but it is plucked later than ''sencha'' is, giving it a lower market grade. It is considered to be one of the lowest grades of Japanese green teas.
There are 22 grades of ''bancha''. Its flavour is unique and varies depending on the type.
Flavours range from smoke, roasted nuts, green grass, earth, soil, wet leaves, some of the types of bancha have a stronger straw smell.
See also
*
Hōjicha – often made from bancha
*
Japanese tea
*
Tea Culture in Japan
References
{{Teas
Japanese green tea