Talking Japanese Tea - Basic terminology

Bancha (“ordinary tea”): a second harvest of sencha picked while summer fades into fall

Cha (“infusion” > “tea”): the general name for tea, though usually preceded by honorific o-, hence o-cha

Chadô (~ sadô “tea way”): Japanese tea ceremony

Chaji (“tea affair”): a full tea ceremony including at least kaiseki, usucha and koicha

Chakai (“tea meeting”): name of a type of tea ceremony once synonymous with chaji but now denoting the simplest type

Chaki (“tea container”): the general name for tea caddies (of which there are several types)

Chakin (“tea cloth”): a rectangular cloth used to clean bowls

Cha-no-yu (“hot tea water”): usually referring to a simple tea ceremony

Chasen (“tea whisk”): a whisk carved out of a single piece of bamboo, used to whisk both usucha and koicha to a frothy consistency

Chashaku (“tea scoop”): a miniature ladle or scoop with a long handle used for tea powder

Chashitsu (“tea room”): room or pavilion dedicated to tea ceremonies

Chawan (“tea bowl”): tea drinking bowl

Dôgu (“way utensil”): cover term for tea ceremony utensils

Genmaicha (“dark rice tea” = “brown rice tea”): green maicha (“rice tea”) blended with brown rice, an everyday tea

Gyokuro (“jade dew”): a tea name alluding to the pale green color that is the result of growing the plants in the shade

Hishaku (“ladle”): a water ladle made from bamboo, with a nodule in the center of its handle

Hôjicha (“pan-fried tea”): roasted green tea

Kabusecha (“capped tea” = “covered tea”): sencha whose leaves have been grown in the shade for some time (not as long as those of gyokuro)

Kaiseki (“bossom stone”): a light meal offered during a tea ceremony

Koicha (“full-bodied tea”): a stronger or thicker tea infusion presented during tea ceremonies

Kukicha (“stalk tea”): green tea made from pickings of stalk tips with the three top leaves

Matcha (“rubbed tea”): powdered tencha, used primarily in tea ceremonies

Mecha (“bud tea”): green tea made from rolled-up early leaf buds, popularly served in sushi restaurants, quality-wise between gyokuro and sencha

O-cha (see cha)

Ryokucha (“green tea” ): a relatively rarely used name, since without qualifier “tea” is by default “green” in Japan

Sadô (see chadô)

Sencha (“simmered tea”): a popular type of green tea made from leaves that (unlike those of gyokuro) have been directly exposed to sunlight

Shincha (“new tea”): sencha made from the first harvest month’s picking

Tamaryokucha (“jade green tea”): a type of green tea whose aroma has notes of grass, berries and citrus

Tencha (“heavenly tea”): a green tea variety of very high quality, mostly used to produce matcha

Usucha (“weak tea”): a weaker or thinner tea infusion presented during tea ceremonies