Aracha
Japanese green tea as it leaves the primary factory, before refining: stems, dust, large leaf and fine leaf all still mixed together. Almost all Japanese tea passes through this state, and almost none is sold in it — which is why the small quantity that reaches drinkers directly is a genuine curiosity.
Character
Livelier and rougher than finished sencha, with more sweetness from the stems and more astringency from the fines. Its interest is that it shows what refining actually removes.
- Flavour
- Grassy, Vegetal, Sweet
- Aroma
- Fresh, Marine
- Mouthfeel
- Medium, Astringent
- Complexity
- Moderate
- Notes
- fresh grass, sweet stem, steamed greens
- Aftertaste
- Rough-edged and sappy, with real sweetness underneath.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- Japan
- Region
- Shizuoka
- Oxidation
- Unoxidised
- Harvest
- Spring
- Processing
- Steaming (Japanese fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Drying
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1.5–2.5 g/100 ml · 70–80 °C · 1 authored infusion
Kyusu brewing (Japanese style)
3–5 g/100 ml · 65–75 °C · 3 authored infusions
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
3–4 g/100 ml · 75–85 °C · 4 authored infusions
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
Common mistakes
- Judging it as a finished tea rather than as an intermediate one
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Bancha
Both are intermediate or lower-grade Japanese green teas rarely exported. Aracha is unfinished tea before sorting; bancha is a later harvest — different stages, not different grades.
- Mecha
Two intermediate Japanese grades rarely sold outside Japan, both from the sorting that produces finished sencha.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Kagoshima sencha
Shares 6 descriptors with Aracha: vegetal, sweet, grassy, medium, fresh and marine.
- Sencha
Shares 6 descriptors with Aracha: grassy, vegetal, medium, astringent, marine and fresh.
- Chumushi sencha
Shares 5 descriptors with Aracha: grassy, vegetal, medium, marine and fresh.
- Enshi Yu Lu
Shares 5 descriptors with Aracha: vegetal, sweet, medium, marine and fresh.
- Guricha
Shares 5 descriptors with Aracha: vegetal, sweet, grassy, medium and fresh.
- Konacha
Shares 5 descriptors with Aracha: grassy, vegetal, astringent, medium and marine.