Tea blending
More than 90% of the teas distributed in Japan are blended teas.
Do you ever feel that no matter which sencha you drink, the taste and aroma are the same?
This is because the blending has weakened the character of each leaf itself.
Why most of the tea is blended?
1. To make the taste and aroma of the tea more equal.
Sencha is called Sencha in a nutshell, but its origin, type, and quality vary widely.
Also, since tea leaves are agricultural products, even the same tea has a different taste and aroma from one tea plantation to another.
These differences in taste and aroma are homogenized through blending.
2. To cover the shortcomings of the tea leaves.
For example, blending three types of tea leaves that look bad, taste bad, and smell bad can help cover the shortcomings of each one.
Is blending a bad thing?
Blending tea is a traditional and advanced technique called “gogumi” that has been around since the Warring States period.
Blended by the best tea masters of the art, the tea is balanced, maximizing the original flavor of the tea leaves.
Unfortunately, if you use good tea leaves to cover up the shortcomings of other leaves, you will lose the rich character of the tea leaves before they are blended.
What is unblended tea?
The tea leaves themselves have a deep flavor and fresh aroma before being blended, and can be enjoyed without blending if they are of a high quality and rich in character.
Tea that tastes good without being blended is very rare.