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Short answer: Sencha is a Japanese green tea made from tea leaves grown in full sun, then steamed, rolled and dried into thin, needle-shaped leaves that you steep and strain. Matcha comes from shaded leaves that are dried flat and ground into a powder you drink whole, so it tastes more savory and usually has more caffeine per serving. Brewed sencha has about 20 mg of caffeine per 100 mL, according to Japan's official food composition tables.
Sencha is a loose-leaf Japanese green tea that you steep, while matcha is a powder that you whisk. Here is what sencha is, how it compares with matcha and other Japanese green teas, how much caffeine it has, what the research says about its benefits, and how to brew a good cup.
What you'll learn
- What sencha is and how it is made
- Sencha vs matcha, side by side
- The main types of Japanese green tea, with caffeine for each
- What the research says about sencha, and how to brew it
What is sencha?
Sencha is a Japanese green tea made from tea leaves grown in full sunlight. Right after picking, the leaves are steamed to stop them from oxidizing, then rolled and dried into thin, needle-shaped leaves (Unno et al., 2026). Steaming is what keeps the leaves green. It is also the Japanese method; Chinese green teas are usually pan-fired instead (Unno et al., 2026). Like all green, black and oolong teas, sencha comes from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis (NCCIH).
You make sencha by steeping the leaves in hot water and then removing them, so you drink an infusion, not the leaf itself. The brewed tea is pale yellow-green.
What does sencha taste like?
Sencha has a fresh aroma and a balance of light astringency and umami, the savory taste (Unno et al., 2026). Many people describe it as grassy or vegetal. The taste changes with the harvest and the way you brew it: first-harvest (first-flush) sencha has more amino acids such as theanine, which add sweetness and umami, while autumn-harvest tea has less theanine and more catechins, the polyphenols that make tea astringent (Unno et al., 2026). Water that is too hot or a steep that is too long brings out more bitterness.
Sencha vs matcha: what's the difference?
Sencha and matcha are both Japanese green teas from the same plant. The differences come from how the plants are grown, how the leaves are processed, and how you drink them.
| Sencha | Matcha | |
|---|---|---|
| How it's grown | In full sunlight (Unno et al., 2026) | Shaded for at least 20 days before harvest (Unno et al., 2026) |
| How it's processed | Steamed, rolled and dried into needle-shaped leaves (Unno et al., 2026) | Steamed and dried flat without rolling (this is tencha), then ground into a fine powder (Unno et al., 2026) |
| How you drink it | Steeped, then the leaves are removed | Whisked into water or milk; you drink the whole leaf |
| Flavor | Fresh, grassy, light astringency and umami | Savory and rich; good matcha has strong umami and little bitterness (Unno et al., 2026) |
| Caffeine per serving | About 20 mg per 100 mL brewed (MEXT Japan) | About 28 to 70 mg in a drink made with 2 g of powder (Meyer et al., 2023; Koláčková et al., 2022) |
| Theanine in the leaf | About 10 mg per gram (Unno et al., 2026) | About 8.5 to 41 mg per gram in matcha sold in Japan, depending on quality (Unno et al., 2026) |
| Catechins | Sun-grown leaves make more catechins, but only part of them reaches the cup (Unno et al., 2026) | Shading lowers catechins in the leaf, but you consume all of them (Unno et al., 2026) |
Gram for gram, the dry leaves are not that different in caffeine: Japan's food tables list sencha leaves at 2.3 g of caffeine per 100 g and matcha at 3.2 g (MEXT Japan). The big gap per serving comes from the fact that you drink the whole matcha leaf, while a steeped cup of sencha only extracts part of what is in the leaves.
In short: choose sencha for a lighter, brighter cup with less caffeine; choose matcha for a richer, more concentrated drink. One thing to watch for: powdered sencha is sometimes sold as matcha, but ground sencha is "powdered tea," not matcha (Unno et al., 2026). For more on matcha quality, see what is ceremonial grade matcha?
Types of Japanese green tea
Sencha is one of several Japanese green teas. Here is how the common ones compare. Caffeine figures are for brewed tea, from Japan's Standard Tables of Food Composition; each tea is brewed differently in the tables, so the numbers are a rough guide.
| Tea | What it is | Caffeine per 100 mL, brewed (MEXT) |
|---|---|---|
| Sencha | Sun-grown leaves, steamed, rolled and dried (Unno et al., 2026) | 20 mg |
| Gyokuro | Shaded for about 20 days; more theanine and fewer catechins than sencha (Unno et al., 2026) | 160 mg (brewed strong: 10 g tea in 60 mL) |
| Matcha | Shaded leaves dried without rolling and ground into powder (Unno et al., 2026) | Not brewed; the powder has 3.2 g per 100 g (about 32 mg per gram) |
| Kamairicha | Pan-fired instead of steamed, giving more rounded leaves (Unno et al., 2026) | 10 mg |
| Bancha | Made from mature, harder leaves (Unno et al., 2026) | 10 mg |
| Hojicha | Sencha or bancha roasted until brown; see what is hojicha? | 20 mg |
| Genmaicha | Green tea blended with roasted rice | 10 mg |
Source: MEXT Japan, Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan 2020 (8th revised edition). Gyokuro is brewed with a lot of leaf in very little water, which is why its number per 100 mL is so high; a typical cup is small.
How much caffeine is in sencha?
Brewed sencha has about 20 mg of caffeine per 100 mL, or very roughly 50 mg in an 8-ounce cup.
Japan's food composition tables list brewed sencha at 0.02 g of caffeine per 100 g, or about 20 mg per 100 mL, brewed with 10 g of leaves in 430 mL of water at 90°C for 1 minute (MEXT Japan). That is very roughly 50 mg in an 8-ounce cup brewed the same way, by our conversion. The tables round to the nearest 0.01 g, so treat this as approximate. For comparison, an 8-ounce cup of brewed coffee has about 95 mg (USDA FoodData Central).
Your cup can have more or less. Hotter water and longer steeping pull out more caffeine, and first-harvest tea has slightly more caffeine than autumn-harvest tea (Unno et al., 2026). If you re-steep the same leaves, most of the caffeine comes out in the first two cups (Unno et al., 2026). See also how much caffeine is in tea?
Sencha benefits: what the research shows
Green tea has been studied a great deal, but the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says definite conclusions cannot yet be reached on whether it helps for most of the purposes people use it for (NCCIH). Many studies also use concentrated extracts rather than a cup of tea. With that in mind, here is what is known:
- It contains catechins. Catechins such as EGCG are green tea's main polyphenols and have antioxidant properties (Unno et al., 2026). Because sencha is grown in the sun, its leaves are richer in catechins than shaded teas. Japan's tables list 13.0 g of tannins (the tea polyphenols that include catechins) per 100 g of sencha leaves, compared with 10.0 g for matcha (MEXT Japan). Only part of them ends up in a steeped cup, though (Unno et al., 2026).
- Caffeine and theanine together may support focus. Sencha contains both. In human studies, 75 mg of caffeine with 50 mg of theanine improved performance on attention tasks compared with either one alone (Unno et al., 2026). A cup of sencha has less of both than those studies used. See L-theanine and caffeine.
- A possible small effect on body weight. The catechins and caffeine in green tea may have a modest effect on body weight, and results vary by product and by how active people are (NCCIH).
- It is nearly calorie-free. Brewed plain, sencha has about 2 calories per 100 mL (MEXT Japan), so it is an easy swap for sugary drinks. It also has a little vitamin C, about 6 mg per 100 mL (MEXT Japan), or roughly 15% of the Daily Value in an 8-ounce cup by our conversion.
How to brew sencha
- Measure the leaves. Japan's food tables brew sencha with 10 g of leaves per 430 mL of water (MEXT Japan), or about 5 grams for an 8-ounce cup. Use less if you like a lighter cup.
- Let the water cool a little. Sencha is generally brewed with water at 70 to 90°C (158 to 194°F) (Unno et al., 2026). Use the lower end for delicate first-harvest sencha and to keep bitterness down.
- Steep for 1 to 2 minutes. Researchers found that most of the caffeine and theanine came out within about 1.5 minutes, and recommend 2 minutes or less for the first steep (Unno et al., 2026).
- Pour out every last drop, then re-steep the same leaves. Later cups need only a short steep; Japanese researchers used 15 seconds at 90°C (Unno et al., 2026).
Soft water is a good choice. Hard water lowers the amount of catechins and caffeine that end up in the cup (Unno et al., 2026). For iced sencha, steep it a little stronger and pour it over ice. If you prefer a whisked tea, see how to make matcha.
Who should be careful with sencha?
No safety concerns have been reported for green tea drunk as a beverage by adults, but it does contain caffeine (NCCIH). For most healthy adults, the FDA says up to 400 mg of caffeine a day is not generally associated with negative effects (FDA), so count sencha toward your daily total along with coffee and other caffeinated drinks.
Green tea extract supplements are a different matter: liver injury has been reported in rare cases, mostly with extracts in pill form, and green tea can interact with some medicines (NCCIH). If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, take medication, or have a heart condition, anxiety or sleep problems, ask your health care provider how much caffeine is right for you.
Common myths (quick reality check)
Myth: Sencha has no caffeine. Reality: Sencha contains caffeine. Japan's food tables list brewed sencha at about 20 mg per 100 mL, much less than coffee but not zero.
Myth: Powdered sencha is the same as matcha. Reality: Ground sencha is "powdered tea." Matcha is made from shaded leaves that are dried without rolling and then ground.
Myth: You should brew sencha with boiling water. Reality: Sencha is generally brewed at 70 to 90°C. Boiling water and long steeps make it more bitter.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What is sencha?
Sencha is a Japanese green tea made from sun-grown tea leaves that are steamed, rolled and dried into needle-shaped leaves. You steep the leaves in hot water and strain them out.
What is the difference between sencha and matcha?
Sencha is grown in full sun and steeped as loose leaves. Matcha is grown in the shade, dried flat, ground into a powder and whisked, so you drink the whole leaf. Matcha is usually richer in flavor and caffeine per serving.
Is sencha the same as green tea?
Sencha is one type of green tea. Other Japanese green teas include gyokuro, matcha, bancha, hojicha and genmaicha.
Does sencha have caffeine?
Yes. Brewed sencha has about 20 mg of caffeine per 100 mL, or very roughly 50 mg in an 8-ounce cup, according to Japan's food composition tables. Brewed coffee has about 95 mg per 8 ounces.
Which is healthier, sencha or matcha?
Both are green teas with catechins, caffeine and theanine. Matcha gives you more of all three per serving because you drink the whole leaf. Sencha is a lighter cup with less caffeine.
What does sencha taste like?
Sencha tastes fresh and grassy, with light astringency and some umami. Cooler water and shorter steeps make it sweeter and less bitter.
How do you brew sencha?
Steep about 5 grams of leaves in 8 ounces of water at 70 to 90°C (158 to 194°F) for 1 to 2 minutes, then strain. You can re-steep the same leaves with a short steep.
Related guides
- What Is Genmaicha? Taste, Caffeine and How to Brew It
- What is hojicha? Hojicha vs matcha
- What is matcha? What it's made of and matcha vs green tea
- How much caffeine is in tea?
- Does matcha have caffeine?
- What is ceremonial grade matcha?
- L-theanine and caffeine
- Matcha benefits
Disclaimer and when to seek help
This article is for general education and is not medical advice. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Talk to your health care provider about caffeine if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a heart condition, anxiety or sleep problems, or take medication.
References
- Unno K, Kameoka Y, Nakamura Y. "Compositional Diversity and Functional Interactions of Bioactive Compounds in Japanese Green Tea: Focus on Matcha, Sencha, and Gyokuro." Molecules, 2026;31(16):2934. doi:10.3390/molecules31162934
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan. Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan 2020 (Eighth Revised Edition). Chapter 2 data: tea leaves (sencha 16036, gyokuro 16033, matcha 16035) and tea infusions (sencha 16037, gyokuro 16034, kamairicha 16038, bancha 16039, hojicha 16040, genmaicha 16041).
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. "Green Tea: Usefulness and Safety." Last updated February 2025.
- Meyer BR, et al. "Catechin composition, phenolic content, and antioxidant properties of commercially-available bagged, gunpowder, and matcha green teas." Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 2023;78(4):662-669. doi:10.1007/s11130-023-01121-2
- Koláčková T, et al. "The effect of in vitro digestion on matcha tea (Camellia sinensis) active components and antioxidant activity." Antioxidants, 2022;11(5):889. doi:10.3390/antiox11050889
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central (SR Legacy: coffee, brewed).
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?"
