The is a fine Japanese green tea, also commonly known as . It has a tangy, berry-like taste, with a long almondy aftertaste and a deep aroma with tones of citrus, grass, and berries. It can be processed in one of two ways to destroy the

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...

s: pan fried (rarely used in Japan, it is the Chinese process), or steamed (as most Japanese teas). Many believe that steaming preserves the

vitamin A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrie ...

s and antioxidants better than pan-frying. The taste varies between the two as well. The pan-fried version has more of an aroma of cooked vegetables. In both cases, the leaves are then rolled into "comma" shapes (instead of being kneaded into "needle" shapes, like ''

sencha is a type of Japanese ''ryokucha'' (, green tea) which is prepared by infusing the processed whole tea leaves in hot water. This is as opposed to matcha (), powdered Japanese green tea, where the green tea powder is mixed with hot water and t ...

'' teas). It is produced in the Kyūshū area. The tea is golden yellow and it should be steeped at for about two minutes or for about one minute. The

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine to ...

level is normal for green tea and it can be drunk throughout the day. It can be reinfused, with a slightly different taste. The name ''tama-ryoku-cha'' means "coiled-green-tea" (''tama'' being "ball, jewel" but becoming the attributive "coiled, rolled" here), and ''guri-cha'' means "curly-tea" (''guri'' being the name of a classic Japanese decorative pattern, of curly appearance). Both names refer to the comma-shaped, coiled leaves.

References

"Tamaryokucha = guricha"
blog post of tea merchant Mellow Monk

info page of tea merchant Den's Tea {{Teas Japanese tea Green tea

See also

References