Tea & drinks ── Nihoncha (Japanese tea)
Kyo-bancha
Kyo-bancha — Kyoto's sun-dried, smoke-roasted bancha
A Kyoto-specific bancha made from the large leaves and stems left over after picking for gyokuro and tencha — steamed, sun-dried, then roasted over high heat. Said to carry a smoky, bonfire-like aroma and a faint sweetness, traditionally boiled in a large kettle.
- Origin: Kyoto
- Fermented and bancha teas
- About 370 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
The raw material is said to be the large, tough leaves and stems left over after picking the fine new buds used for gyokuro and tencha. Steamed, then sun-dried without rolling, and finished with a strong roast, it's said to end up a darker brown than other bancha. Its fallen-leaf look and smoky, bonfire-like aroma are distinctive, with a light flavor and little astringency or bitterness. The roasted leaf is nearly blackish brown, turning a pale amber liquor once brewed, with a faint sweetness said to sit beneath the smokiness.
How it's made
Harvested leaf is steamed to stop oxidation, then dried in the sun as-is without rolling, before being roasted over high heat for its aroma. Because it isn't rolled, the leaf structure is said to resist breaking down, so it's said to suit brewing at a higher temperature and a longer boil than ordinary green tea. In Kyoto households, boiling a large batch in a big kettle is said to be the traditional way to drink it. It's typically steeped in boiling water for a few minutes as a guide, and some households are said to still simmer it kettle and all directly over the flame.
Why it took this shape
While 'bancha' originally just meant everyday tea, this is said to be a distinct lineage that came to carry the place-name 'Kyo' in front of it. Making use of the tough leaves left over from premium gyokuro and tencha production is said to have developed into Kyoto's own sun-drying and roasting process. Kyoto, dense with temples and shrines, is said to have long been a place of heavy tea consumption, and a culture of drinking every last part of premium tea's byproduct is said to have grown up there.
Before you go
Dishes in the same style
- Awa BanchaA post-fermented tea from Naka and Kamikatsu towns in Tokushima, fermented by lactic acid bacteria. Coarser leaves picked from midsummer on are boiled, packed into wooden barrels, fermented for roughly 10 days to two weeks, then sun-dried — said to give a refreshing sourness.
- BanchaGreen tea made from later-picked leaves or larger, tougher leaves left over after the prized first flush — an everyday tea. Compared to sencha's young leaves, it's said to carry less astringency and bitterness, and has long been valued as an affordable, everyday drink.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Contrast
- BanchaGreen tea made from later-picked leaves or larger, tougher leaves left over after the prized first flush — an everyday tea. Compared to sencha's young leaves, it's said to carry less astringency and bitterness, and has long been valued as an affordable, everyday drink.
- Awa BanchaA post-fermented tea from Naka and Kamikatsu towns in Tokushima, fermented by lactic acid bacteria. Coarser leaves picked from midsummer on are boiled, packed into wooden barrels, fermented for roughly 10 days to two weeks, then sun-dried — said to give a refreshing sourness.
Also from Kyoto
- Chirimen SanshoChirimen-jako simmered sweet-salty with fresh sansho peppercorns in sake, soy sauce, and mirin — a Kyoto side dish said to have begun as a cook's gift in the mid-Showa era. The peppercorns leave a sharp, fragrant aftertaste.
- Ebiimo to Bodara no TaitanEbi-imo, a striped Kyoto heirloom taro named for its shrimp-like ridges, simmers together with bodara, cod dried in Hokkaido. Gelatin from the dried cod is said to keep the taro from falling apart, while the taro's bitterness softens the cod — a textbook 'deaimon' pairing.
- Fushimi no SakeSake from Fushimi in Kyoto, a district fed by groundwater from the Momoyama plateau. Its water is said to be softer than Nada's, giving a round mouthfeel and gentle, full sweetness that overlaps with the profile recognized under the GI Kyoto geographical indication.
- GanmodokiTofu mixed with vegetables, rolled into balls, and fried. Known in Kyoto as hirousu or hiryōzu, thought to have taken this form through the vegetarian temple-cooking idea of a filling dish made without meat.
- Hamo no YakimonoPike conger, riddled with fine bones, is scored with the skilled honekiri cut and then grilled — teriyaki-glazed or salted — in Kyoto cuisine. Said to have taken root in landlocked Kyoto because the hardy fish could be carried in alive, it is also a festival food for Gion Matsuri, nicknamed the 'hamo festival.'
- Kamonasu DengakuKamonasu, a round Kyoto heirloom eggplant over 10cm across sometimes called the 'queen of eggplants,' is sliced and pan-fried in plenty of oil, then topped with a sweet miso reduced with sake and mirin. It is said to have long been grown on the alluvial fan of Kamigamo.