Sencha is the tea most Japanese households drink every day, and it accounts for the large majority of the country's green tea production. The leaves are grown in full sun, then steamed within hours of picking to stop oxidation before it starts — the step that separates Japanese green tea from Chinese pan-fired styles. Rolling and drying follow, shaping the leaf into the thin dark needles you see in the bag. In the cup it is fresh and grassy with a clean astringency, and the balance shifts with the water: cooler water pulls the sweetness and umami forward, hotter water brings out the briskness. One portion of leaf will give you two or three good infusions, each a little different from the last.
Tea Artisan: TakadaさんKyoto
We source this tea from Takada Masahiro, a farmer based in Uji, who runs the company Chanoka. The legacy of Chanoka dates back to 1900, when Masahiro's great grandfather established their first tea garden in Uji. Since then, their family has been passionately involved in cultivating and manufacturing some of the finest teas in Japan.
Origin: UjiJapan
The mountain sencha is sourced from Uji, the most famous region for Japanese green tea production. The specific green tea is cultivated on Mr. Chanoka's farm in Uji. Grown at an altitude of 400 meters, this tea is unshaded, allowing it to maintain some of it’s more citrusy flavor profiles.
Cultivar: YabukitaTea variety
The Chanoka mountain sencha is made from the Yabukita cultivar, the most popular tea variety in Japan.
Yabukita: The Yabukita cultivar is the most prevalent type of tea plant utilized in Japan due to two primary reasons. Firstly, it is a hardier variety, making it easier to grow. Secondly, it yields a robust vegetal and savory flavor that is greatly appreciated by tea enthusiasts in Japan.
Preparation & ServingsUp to 60 cups
Hot brew: 5 g of leaves, 150 ml of water at 60°C (140°F), 1 minute.
Brew it again: the same leaves give 3 infusions. Re-infuse 2 more times with water at the same temperature, 20 seconds each; every infusion tastes a little different.
Cold brew: best enjoyed hot, we do not recommend cold brewing this tea.
One pack: Up to 60 cups · 20 × 5 g servings, 3 infusions each · 100 g / 3.5 oz.
Why choose Nio Teas?
For us, tea is more than a beverage, it’s a way of life. We’ve spent years visiting tea farms across Japan, tasting teas with the people who grow them and building lasting, direct relationships. We believe this is the most sustainable way to source tea: fewer intermediaries, greater traceability and a closer connection between farmer and drinker.
Every tea is 100% pesticide-free and carefully selected for its taste, origin and craftsmanship. Whether you’re discovering Japanese tea or comparing cultivars and terroirs, you’ll find honest tasting notes, precise brewing guidance and real support to help you get the best from every cup.
Typical values per 100 ml of brewed tea, from the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (MEXT, 8th edition), sencha infusion (food no. 16037; 10 g leaf, 430 ml water at 90°C, 1 min). Values in your cup vary with the leaf, the water and the brewing time.
Complete Your Tea RitualNo Kyusu at home? No problem!
100% Pesticide-FreeDirect from FarmersPure & UnblendedSingle-Origin TerroirSmall-Batch HarvestAuthentic Japanese Craft
Unveiling Sencha's Superfood Power
•
Caffeine
Natural caffeine for a gentle, sustained lift.
•
Antioxidants
Rich in catechins and other naturally occurring antioxidants.
•
Chlorophyll
Naturally rich in chlorophyll, the pigment behind matcha’s vibrant green colour.
•
Potassium & Calcium
Naturally occurring minerals that contribute to matcha’s nutritional profile.
•
L-theanine
An amino acid naturally found in tea, associated with a calm, focused feeling.
•
Vitamins A, C, E & K
Contains a range of vitamins naturally present in the whole tea leaf.
Why Buy Your Sencha from Nio Teas
No middlemen, no pesticides, no risk.
30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee
Try it with confidence. If it isn’t right for you, contact us within 30 days.
15 Japanese Tea Farmers
Our tea brings together the craft and regional expertise of 15 partner farmers across Japan.
Direct from Farmer to Cup
We build lasting relationships with our farmers for fewer intermediaries and greater traceability.
100% Pesticide-Free Sencha
Every Sencha is grown without pesticides, then personally tasted and selected by our team.
How to Make Sencha Like a Pro
For the preparation of the Chanoka mountain sencha, it is recommended to use water at a lower temperature and a shorter brewing time. 1 minute is more than enough time to extract a delicious flavor from the mountain sencha.
Heat the Water
Heat water to 60°C (140°F).
Add the Leaves
Add 5 g of leaves to a kyusu teapot.
Steep
Pour 150 ml of water and steep for 1 minute.
Pour & Brew Again
Pour out every drop, then brew the same leaves 2 more times (20 seconds each).
Loose Leaf Tea Over Teabags
Rich in Flavor, Not in Microplastics.
Chanoka, a family tea garden in Uji since 1907.
Farmer: Takadaさん
Masahiro Takada carries on the Chanoka family tea business in Ujitawara, in Kyoto's Uji tea region. The garden's own records date its opening to 1907. From shaded matcha to sencha and stem teas, the family's work combines tea-making experience with an inventive approach to how tea is prepared and enjoyed.
Why Organic Sencha Fields Make a Difference
Tea plants absorb everything from the soil, making pesticide-free farming especially important. The farmers we work with have found a way to grow delicious tea without harming the natural ecosystem.
Nio teas has been my favourite place to purchase good quality teas for a while now, and still they never disappoint me. Their teas are excellent quality, however, I’d like to give more attention to customer service - Nio team has been very kind and helpful each time I had any sort of problem. Their customer service never disappoints, they are very attentive and quick in responding to any queries, hence why I’ve been a loyal customer for a while now.
Apr 1, 2026
5 out of 5 stars
5/5
Sean
My favorite vendor for Japanese organic loose leaf green teas. They are sourcing some of the best organic teas out of Japan and supporting family farmers and the growing organic tea industry as a whole.I have ordered from every vendor for years and Nio consistently has the best prices and selection overall. They provide top notch customer service and fast shipping as well. Highly recommended 🍃
Shipping is free once your order passes the threshold for your country — USD 54.99 · EUR 54.99 · GBP 44.99 · CHF 49.99 · CAD 74.99 · DKK 399 · SEK 599 · PLN 229 · CZK 1,290. Everywhere else it's the equivalent of USD 54.99, converted automatically. Below the threshold a flat rate applies, always shown at checkout before you pay.
We ship from warehouses in the US, the EU and Japan — whichever is closest to you. US and EU orders arrive in 4–12 business days; the handful of countries served from Japan take around 10. Business days count from dispatch rather than from when you order, and exclude weekends and public holidays. You'll get a tracking number by email the moment your parcel leaves the warehouse.
We only buy from fields grown without pesticides or chemicals. We ask each farmer directly how they manage their land, visit the plantation and processing facility ourselves, taste every harvest before committing, and check that the biodiversity around the fields is alive. Small family farms don't always carry paperwork — so we verify it in person instead.
Japanese green tea covers an enormous range, and choosing online isn't easy. If you've tried yours and it isn't for you, email info@nioteas.com within 30 days with your order number and a line on what you didn't enjoy. We'll send a different tea of equal or lower value, free. Nothing to post back — keep it, share it, or try brewing it cooler. Once per order.
Email info@nioteas.com within 30 days with your order number and a photo. We'll approve it, cover the return postage with a prepaid label or a reimbursement, and refund you — no restocking fee. Refunds go to your original payment method within 2 business days of the return reaching us; your bank may take another 5–20 to show it.
Unopened items in their original packaging can be returned within 30 days. Tea is sealed for hygiene, so opened packs can't come back — but the swap above covers exactly that situation. Return postage is yours unless the item arrived damaged, defective or incorrect.
Orders to the US and EU ship domestically from our local warehouse, so there's no customs charge and no duty. A small number of destinations are served from our Japan warehouse, where your own customs authority may apply import duty, VAT or a carrier handling fee on delivery. Those are set by your country, not by us. Ask before you order and we'll help you check.
info@nioteas.com or +41 79 751 83 88. We reply within 2 business days, usually much sooner, in English.
Customer Reviews
Overall rating: 4.7 / 5 from 15 reviews.
Ta sencha jest dość słodka i delikatna, lecz bez wyczuwalnej głębi. Oraz dodatkowo niestety kolor naparu wpadał w żółto-zielony, byłem nieco zaskoczony - samo w sobie może to nic nie znaczy, niemniej spodziewałem się czegoś więcej, w tym także żywego silnego zielonego koloru świadczącego o maksymalnej świeżości. Tak się jednak się stało i dlatego niestety muszę dać tylko cztery gwiazdki.
Dry leaf: Very dark, needle shape, very good for a quality sencha. The smell is a bomb of freshness
The texture of the first infusion was not thick, very smooth and too light yet flavorful, lack of astringency. It has the usual vegetal flavor yabukita gives and also it was quite sweet and not even bitter something usual a classic yakubita sencha gives. It is very high quality tea. I'd prefer it thicker, but you can use higher temperature up to 65°C, almost 70°C, so it makes it thicker like the the second and third infusions, surprisingly, the tea doesn't become bitter and not too dry, it is very flavorful and savory. The wet leaves have the classic boiled green vegetables like spinach, asparagus and I somehow found in the leftover cup a scent of flower bloom, not very much but yeah it left a nice scent of flower and freshness. Unfortunately I couldn't find the so called minerality, but I smelled it in the leftover cup somehow a mettalic scent as well and after the third cup, my palate had a hint of minerals. So, it is a very nice choice for everyday sencha.
Tasting and aroma notes detected in different phases of tasting:
Dry leaf - oatmeal, sweet almond milk, chicken and potato stew, honey roasted carrots and baked sweet potato, fresh apples and honeysuckle.
Wet leaf - sticky rice dumplings, sugar snap peas, steamed apples, honeysuckle, hint of lily of the valley and chicken broth.
Texture - very thick, coating, warming, interestingly doesn't linger particularly long.
Taste - hot slate, magnesium rich mineral water, very fresh and rich grassy note, cucumber, creamy pea and lentil soup, chicken broth, sakura leaf senbei, quite umami and savoury but perhaps not as much as the sincha I tried from Nio.
This one has a strong minerality to its flavour as you would expect from a mountain grown tea and personally it's something I really enjoy in a tea (you'll see that a lot of oolongs I've reviewed will have this characteristic). It's very rich in flavour in comparison to some of the previous samples, this one seems to have a little more depth to it, very much like many teas from Uji. I have tried matcha from Uji at a matcha café but that's the only one I could draw comparison to in that specific aspect. If you like a very rich, fresh, bright green tea you'd probably really enjoy this one.
Lovely unshaded sencha! Full of creams, flowers and vegetal notes with a hint of salty seaweed chips aroma. Texture is smooth and it leaves your mouth feeling like you’re in the clouds - cooling, tingling with sweet corn sweetness finish. Yummy 😋
The complexity of the flavor profile in this sencha is truly impressive. The slightly sweet and grassy taste is layered with hints of steamed vegetables, fresh cut grass, and sweet corn that come together to create a true experience.
The combination of sweet corn, steamed vegetable, and grassiness is unlike anything I've ever tasted before, and it leaves a lingering aftertaste that is simply divine.