Exploring Japanese Green Tea at Aozuru-chaho

Yanaka, Tokyo: a bohemian enclave of eastern downtown that retains an old Tokyo atmosphere. Just two quick train stops on the JR from busy, museum-rich Ueno, cross into Yanaka and busy avenues yield to narrow back alleyways lined with Buddhist temples, small stores and wooden houses with a distinct old-world flavor. And in that neighborhood, nestled along a shopping street, is the distinguished Japanese tea boutique Aozuru-chaho Thés du Japon.

There you will find Florent Weugue, a rare French certified instructor of Japanese tea. Florent is fascinated by the fine characteristics of single-origin tea leaves: high quality tea leaves originating from a single cultivar of a single plantation. What is it about Japanese tea that inspired his journey from regular art history student to tea sommelier? To find out, we journey to Aozuru-chaho Thés du Japon itself, where Florent tells us how he got into this field and teaches us all about sencha, Japanese green tea.

Upon stepping into Aozuru-chaho, Florent Weugue welcomes us with small, fine tea cups of a refreshing sencha brewed from high-quality tea leaves. Sencha is Thés du Japon’s main product, and among the many varieties of sencha, Florent specializes in ones that are single-origin. Many of these originate from green tea plantations in Japan’s major tea-producing regions: Shizuoka, Kagoshima, and Saitama Prefectures, and Kyoto. Others come from small farms in other regions, like Miyazaki, Fukuoka, Kochi, and Niigata.

“The flavor, aroma, note, and aftertaste of sencha,” Florent tells us, “vary based on the cultivar—the type of tea tree—as well as, the region of origin and the tea maker. No two teas are the same. Like aged fine wine in France, refined Japanese green tea is very unique in the sense that it reflects the characteristics of a region’s climate, soil, terrain, and traditions. It offers us a complete sensory experience.”

Florent already had occasion to drink green tea as a university student of Japanese art history in his hometown in France. At that time, he didn’t pay much attention to the characteristics of tea leaves.

It was when he stayed in Japan for language study in 2005 that he first encountered the true taste of Japanese sencha at a department store product exhibition. Tasting the complexity of flavor was a striking experience for him. It was not the same as the tea he had tasted back at home. He sensed the sweetness in his mouth, and the lingering taste deeply permeating his whole body.

Florent proactively visited tea plantations all over Japan to talk to tea farmers and deepen his knowledge of green tea. In 2009, he gained the Nihon-cha Instructor certificate, making him the first officially recognized French instructor of Japanese tea in Japan. Then, while working as a sales representative at a Japanese tea store of long standing, he started with a business partner Thés du Japon as an e-commerce business targeting overseas customers. Finally, in August 2018, he opened Aozuru-chaho, where they appeal to the uniqueness of Japanese sencha and work on creating sencha fans around the world. Since then, he has remained dedicated in his pursuit of high-quality, unique tea leaves.

The store carries a wide variety of tea leaves meticulously selected for what Florent describes as originality.

When it comes to aroma, the teas at Thés du Japon cover a wide range: from woody notes like nutmeg, cinnamon and pine needles, to sweet nuances that hint of raspberry jam, milk or custard. Each price card of tea leaves comes with a brief fragrance description to help customers select the perfect one. Some of the aromas, such as straw, sumi ink, and raw wood, seem almost beyond the realm of imagination for tea.

To enhance the aroma experience, Florent recommends choosing tea leaves with distinctive scents. Some recommended products to start with are Sofu, with a scent of jasmine and grapes; Yamakai, scented of raspberry jam and green melon; and Shizu 7132, which carries the aroma of cherry leaves. Particularly for tea beginners, these teas offer an accessible foothold into the world of sencha.

Florent also suggests brewing tea not just one, but three times. “The first infusion is said to be the best,” he explains, “but the second or the third infusion may augment more of the aroma profile, especially for the tea varieties with distinctive scents.”

And it’s not only aroma but also flavor and note that entirely change from the first, second, and third infusions. To explain this phenomenon, Florent uses as an example one of the most widely grown cultivars, Yabukita, a sencha variety that originates from the mountains of Yabe Village in Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture.

“Yabukita is marked by a pleasant aroma that combines the sweetness of vanilla with a scent reminiscent of a coniferous forest. The first brew results in this aroma, a light and refreshing flavor profile, followed by a delicate and slightly aromatic aftertaste. The second brew enhances the distinguished sweetness, augments the fresh forest aroma in the mouth, and leaves a lingering flavor on the palate. During the third brew, a light astringency emerges, accompanied by very subtle floral notes and a very intense, wonderfully lingering aftertaste.”

Different cultivars, even from the same region, carry different aromas. For example, although grown in the same Yame region as Yabukita, the cultivar Yamakai has a very different aroma: one of raspberries and milk. Discovering such numerous differences in characteristics is the charm of sencha. Above all, you can inhale the delicious scents and literally take a breather over a cup of tea!

The aromas and taste of tea leaves is not only determined by the nature of the region, but also by plantations’ maintenance, process and refining. This involves fertilization, if the plantation is shaded or not, plucking, steaming, and rubbing tea leaves, followed by drying, then, the refining process: sorting to separate out stems and fragments, as well as sorting of leaves by size. Only then do the leaves undergo the final part of the process: roasting.

“The roasting, called hi-ire in Japanese, is the final stage of drying and the key to bringing out the flavor profile,” Florent explains. “Light roasting results in a very green, vegetal, refreshing tea. This is marked 0 to 1 stars on a package of tea leaves. Deep roasting, on the other hand, produces a sweet, empyreumatic,”—meaning having a warm mellowness— marked 3 to 4 stars.

Also essential to flavor are the steeping method.

Yabukita and Yamakai teas from the Yabe village plantation, highly recommended by , are roasted to bring out the flavor and are deep-steamed, giving them a strong and warm flavor profile without any astringency. Such teas, with their rich umami, go surprisingly well with dark chocolate.

Another essential element that brings out the uniqueness of tea is the way it is brewed.

“The taste of tea is 99 percent determined by the brewing method,” Florent says. “The temperature of the water and the amount of tea leaves are keys to a delicious brew. But again,” he adds, “it depends on the characteristics of the tea leaves. Please keep in mind that the hotter the water is, the more astringent the tea gets, and the cooler the water is, the sweeter (umami) it gets. Following this principle, you can easily change the taste of tea to your preference. There is no ultimate rule to brewing a good tea.”

The tea packages at Thés du Japon include information on the recommended water temperature, the amount of tea leaves to use, and the steeping time, so that even beginners can grasp how to make a delicious cup of sencha.

When you find it difficult to accurately measure the temperature, here’s a simple technique: First it is important to boil the water, then if you put it into a thermos, you’ll have about 90°C (194°F) water. When you pour water in another container, the temperature drops by 5-10℃. So by changing the container again one, two or even three times, you can get approximately the temperature you want.

Florent shares his recommended brewing method below.

• Quantity of loose tea leaves: 4g per person (70–80ml). If you’re brewing for two people, you don’t need to double the leaves qty; 6g would be sufficient. For three people, use 8g, and for four people, 10g.
• Water temperature: 70°C (158°F) for the first steeping. Then increase the temperature at each brew. BUT, this temperature is not a rule, and depends on each sencha characteristics. Some would be better hotter, etc
• Steeping time: For the first steeping, brew for 50–60s. The finer and more broken the leaves, the shorter the steeping time. For the second steeping, serve immediately.

Small cups containing around 100 ml (3.5 fl oz) are handy for lowering the temperature of the water. Simply pour hot water into them as described above in order to reduce the water’s temperature by about 10°C (18°F). This is also a convenient way to measure the amount of water needed per person.

It’s not only the brewing method but also the teapot and teacups that make a difference in preparing a refreshing and aromatic cup of sencha. For this reason, Thés du Japon offers a variety of kyusu, Japanese teapots. The most representative kyusu materials are Tokoname ware from Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, and Banko ware from Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. These two types of pottery are made from an iron-rich clay that undergoes a long, slow firing process. Kyusu lids are made to close seamlessly. They also often feature ceramic strainers with countless tiny holes, which helps prevent clogging of tea leaves, leading to a smoother pour.

Tea ware seems to make a difference in flavor and aroma of tea—put perhaps not in the way you might think. Florent says, “I am often asked by customers, ‘Is there a difference in taste depending on the clay used?’ It is true, there is, but to be honest, I feel that there is not such a big difference. More impactful is the shape of the teapot and the brewing method. The shape changes the way hot water cools down, which impacts the way umami and astringency come out in the tea. I recommend choosing a pot with a flattened round shape, known as hiramaru, for sencha which would be good for many kinds of tea. Very flat hiragata type are suitable for tea with strong umami, but not for fukamushi.

Kyusu teapots are generally made small enough to serve one or two people. The large teapots that you often see at restaurants are not suitable for making a good cup of tea, Florent says. “Large teapots and large teacups are remnants of the old custom of drinking daily teas called bancha instead of water all day long.After the post-war period, this custom shifted into the current style of serving sencha instead of bancha with meals”—similar to how water is served by default in many restaurants. But making a good brew in large quantities is very difficult. Also well brewed sencha is strong, and might be too heavy to drink in large quantities in a mug.

It is said that the best-tasting tea is concentrated in the very last drop. Hand-crafted tea wares are the perfect vessels to draw out that most flavorful final drop of tea.

After using a kyusu, just rinse it lightly with lukewarm water and no detergent and dry both the lid and body well.

Florent has recently noticed a shift in the Japanese green tea market. It appears that Japanese people in their twenties and thirties are developing a taste for single-origin teas, just as they are for specialty coffee. He finds it inspiring to see this emerging trend, especially in light of his concerns about the future of green tea.

“The price of green tea leaves remains low comparatively to foreign teas, which may discourage farmers from maintaining the same level of enthusiasm.” As a result of the steadily low price, he says, “many farmers who have been growing tea for a long time have little choice but to quit. If this continues, Japanese green tea may approach the brink of disappearing.”

But there is still hope, Florent says. “Young farmers have begun to grow unique tea cultivars in addition to the popular lines of commonly distributed cultivars like Yabukita, Yutaka Midori, and Saemidori. While it is typical for tea leaf wholesalers to be the ones to complete the refining process, lately there have been some young farmers who roast their own tea leaves to make original teas and sell directly to customers. As more people become aware of the distinctive qualities of sencha tea leaves and value the efforts of small farms, the rich variety of sencha will remain. My mission is to pass on green tea culture and support the farmers in any way I can.”

Driven by his endless passion, Florent’s journey exploring the world of Japanese green tea is ongoing. Stop by his tea shop and discover this world for yourself.