Sencha Steaming Levels

Sencha steaming levels -- they are more what you would call guidelines.  I am sure most Japanese tea drinkers that order from multiple sources share similar frustrations as myself.  But before I get too far, lets recall what the steaming levels of sencha are, and how the leaf looks for each one.

• Asamushi - Light steamed sencha.  Personally my favorite style, maybe because it requires the least fuss to brew.  That is because it was steamed for a shorter time, the leaves rolled into tiny "needles" are more intact, often creating beautiful picturesque looking leaves.   (An asamushi sencha is pictured below).

•  Fukumushi- Deep steamed, jumping to the other side of the steaming level, is a tea that produces a very rich broth like brew.  Often it is jam packed with a plethora of flavors.  The leaves are often not much to look at, while there are some of the longer "needles" the amount of steaming the leaves took broke them up quite a bit.  It is not uncommon to get fukumushi sencha that looks like it has a fair bit of tea particles that belong in a teabag.
• Chumushi- Mid steamed, lies in the middle, some may say the perfect balance, but this is actually the steaming level I avoid the most. As you can see (below) the "needles" are a bit more broken up than with asamushi, and there are some smaller particles in the mix.

Going back to the very first Sentence of this article, that is the heart of why I avoid Chumushi, but why you should know the tea, and if the vendor posts them, look at pictures of the leaves.  These steaming levels, while I have heard it broken down to specific time frames ( I am not sure it is that simple), are really just guidelines, and sometimes you never really know what you are going to get.

Most Japanese tea drinkers, especially those that drink quite a bit of sencha, have seen fukumushi sencha that other would call chumushi, the other way around too.  Heck sometimes you can order a fukumushi and have something that looks like it got locked in the sauna.  ( I had one of those recently, clogged any pot I used almost instantly, but what I got out was delicious).

So what ever mushi (steam) you prefer, know it might not be the same when you switch vendors. Either way we all just love to drink tea right?