Fukamushicha
Sencha steamed for up to two minutes rather than the usual thirty seconds. The long steam breaks the leaf down considerably, producing a cloudy, deep green, full-bodied cup with much less aroma and much more weight — a deliberate trade rather than a defect.
Character
Deep green, opaque and thick, with far more body and far less aroma than ordinary sencha. The cloudiness is the point — the fine particles in suspension carry most of what makes the style worth choosing.
- Flavour
- Vegetal, Umami, Creamy
- Aroma
- Marine
- Mouthfeel
- Full bodied, Rich, Smooth
- Complexity
- Moderate
- Notes
- steamed spinach, cream, sweet grass
- Aftertaste
- Thick and savoury, with little drying.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- Japan
- Region
- Shizuoka
- Cultivar
- Yabukita
- Oxidation
- Unoxidised
- Harvest
- Spring
- Processing
- Steaming (Japanese fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Drying
History
Deep steaming was developed in the mid-twentieth century, particularly in Shizuoka, to make thicker-leaved lowland tea palatable. It is a processing answer to an agricultural problem and now defines a regional style.
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1.5–2.5 g/100 ml · 65–75 °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
- Reading the cloudy liquor as a fault or as bad filtering
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.
- Chumushi sencha
The far end of the same axis. Cloudy, thick and fast-extracting, with the top notes traded for body.
- Asamushi sencha
Opposite ends of the steaming axis, and the difference in the cup is dramatic. Cloudy dark liquor is not a sign of quality, it is a sign of deep steaming.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Gyokuro
Shares 6 descriptors with Fukamushicha: umami, vegetal, creamy, full bodied, rich and marine.
- Matcha
Shares 6 descriptors with Fukamushicha: umami, vegetal, creamy, full bodied, rich and marine.
- Matcha koicha grade
Shares 5 descriptors with Fukamushicha: umami, creamy, full bodied, rich and marine.
- Matcha usucha grade
Shares 5 descriptors with Fukamushicha: umami, vegetal, creamy, smooth and marine.
- Tencha
Shares 5 descriptors with Fukamushicha: umami, vegetal, creamy, smooth and marine.
- Yame gyokuro
Shares 5 descriptors with Fukamushicha: umami, vegetal, full bodied, rich and marine.