Mecha

Said to be made by collecting the tightly curled bud tips sorted out during the sieving stage of finishing sencha or gyokuro. Because only young bud tips are gathered, they're said to carry a high concentration of umami compounds, and since bud tips naturally make up only a small share of the leaf, mecha is a byproduct that's hard to collect in bulk. The small, tightly curled bud tips keep a deep green color, and are said to slowly unfurl in hot water while releasing a concentrated umami and sweet aroma.

During the sieving stage of finishing raw tea, shaped leaf is separated from bud tips, and only the curled bud portion is collected. Because the pieces are small and tightly wound, they're said to unfurl slowly in hot water, releasing umami steadily as they open. A slightly longer steep than sencha is said to draw out more flavor. Brewing with a cooler water temperature, around 60-70°C as a guide, is said to hold back astringency while drawing out sweetness.

Mecha is said to have emerged as one of the categories sorted out apart from hon-cha (the main, well-shaped leaf) during finishing. Being scarce, it's treated as a rarer grade, and the effort to make use of this umami-rich portion rather than waste it is said to have nurtured a culture of treating finishing byproducts as their own separate products. Tea gardens under shaded cultivation, as for gyokuro, are said to grow bud tips with a stronger umami, so finer producing regions tend to yield finer mecha.