TeaHQ

Mecha

The buds and leaf tips sorted out during sencha and gyokuro refining, rolled into small dark pellets. Bud material is richer than the leaf around it, so mecha is stronger and more savoury than the sencha it came from while costing considerably less.

Green teaModerate intensityAccessible to appreciateForgiving to brew芽茶
Brew at 65–75 °CUse 1.5–2.5 g per 100 mlFirst steep 60sWestern brewing (teapot or mug)Full schedule and equipment →

Character

More concentrated and savoury than the sencha it was sorted from, and cheaper because it is a by-product. One of the reliable value plays in Japanese tea.

Flavour
Umami, Vegetal, Grassy
Aroma
Marine
Mouthfeel
Medium, Drying
Complexity
Moderate
Notes
seaweed, sweet grass, cooked greens
Aftertaste
Savoury and concentrated.

Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.

Provenance and production

Origin
Japan
Oxidation
Unoxidised
Harvest
Spring
Processing
Steaming (Japanese fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Drying

Brewing

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.

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.

  • Konacha

    Two by-product grades sorted out of sencha production. Konacha is the dust and fannings, mecha the buds and tips, and both are far better than by-product suggests.

  • Aracha

    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.

  • Sencha

    Shares 6 descriptors with Mecha: grassy, vegetal, umami, medium, drying and marine.

  • Chumushi sencha

    Shares 5 descriptors with Mecha: grassy, vegetal, umami, medium and marine.

  • Uji sencha

    Shares 5 descriptors with Mecha: umami, vegetal, grassy, medium and marine.

  • Yu Lu supreme grade

    Shares 5 descriptors with Mecha: vegetal, grassy, umami, medium and marine.

  • Enshi Yu Lu

    Shares 4 descriptors with Mecha: umami, vegetal, medium and marine.

  • Kabusecha

    Shares 4 descriptors with Mecha: umami, vegetal, medium and marine.

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