Fukamushi Sencha

The same young buds used for ordinary sencha, but steamed roughly two to three times longer. The longer steam is said to break down the leaf's structure, leaving it closer to a fine powder. Because of this fineness, more compounds dissolve into the water, tending toward a mellower umami with less astringency and a deep green liquor. The spent leaf also comes out fine, so a slightly powdery sediment can appear when it's poured, said to be a telltale sign of fukamushi tea.

Only the steaming step is extended beyond ordinary sencha; rolling and drying follow the same process. The longer steam softens the leaf, said to make it break apart more easily during the final rolling, leaving finer spent leaves than regular sencha too. Because the fragments are small, they tend to sink readily, and flavor comes through even with a short steep. Steaming time runs roughly 60 to 120 seconds as a guide, more than twice as long as ordinary sencha, said to break down the leaf's structure. Brewing at a slightly cooler water temperature, around 70°C, is said to help keep the powdery fragments from turning overly astringent.

Leaf grown on sun-drenched flatland like the Makinohara plateau is said to have thicker flesh and more astringency, and extending the steam to tame that bitterness is said to have spread as a workaround. It's said to have taken hold especially in Shizuoka's large-scale tea districts, and its mellow, easy-drinking character is said to be one reason it caught on as an everyday tea. Leaf grown on sun-drenched, less foggy terrain like the Makinohara plateau is said to be exactly where extending the steam this way has proven most useful.