Kabusecha
かぶせ茶 · Shaded Sencha
Green
Kabusecha is named after a cloth thrown over a bush.
Gyokuro gardens hide under great raised canopies for weeks. This tea is shaded by laying the covering straight onto the plants, and only for about a week before picking. It is the same idea done briefly and cheaply.
That short darkness lifts the theanine and softens the bitterness without going the whole way, so the tea ends up between two others. It has sencha's fresh edge and gyokuro's rounded sweetness at the same time, and it will not commit to either. Brewed cool, it gives both at once, grassy and thick together.
- umami
- fresh
- mellow
- Origin
- Mie Prefecture (and others)
- Water
- 65°C / 149°F
- Ratio
- 5 g / 100 ml
- Caffeine
- Medium
- Rinse
- Not needed
Standard shaded green between sencha and gyokuro
How much leaf
Gong fu brewing is leaf-heavy and short. Set your gaiwan or pot size and this is what to weigh out.
Vessel volume
100 ml
Recommended dose
Use ~5.0g of tea
The session
3 infusions, about 3m 10s of total contact time.
- Steep 11m 30sSoft green, gently shaded.
- Steep 240sUmami rounds out the freshness.
- Steep 31mA clean sweet close, light.
Also sold as
Kabuse, Covered Tea
Steaper times this session for you
A countdown per infusion, a gong when each one is up, and the whole library in your pocket. Coming to iPhone.
Get notified at launchThese numbers are a median of independent gong fu sources, not a law. Leaf age, vessel and water all move them. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.