Making cold brew Japanese green tea - Mizudashi sencha
How to Make Cold Brew Japanese green tea
How to make cold brew tea
- First add tea leaf (10 to 15g / 0.35 to 0.53oz)
- Add water (1 liter / 33.8 fl oz)
- Put it in refrigerator for 6 to 14 hours depending on preference
How cold brewing changes the cup
Cold brewing changes how the tea tastes. Brewing sencha at lower temperatures shifts what gets extracted from the leaf, which gives cold-brewed sencha a noticeably different character from the same tea brewed hot.
Lower caffeine compared to hot sencha
Sencha's caffeine extracts more readily in higher-temperature water. Water under 60°C tends to hold caffeine in the leaf, so cold-brewed tea generally has less caffeine than the same tea brewed hot.
Less bitter, more umami
At lower temperatures, bitterness extracts less, while amino acids such as L-theanine come out more. L-theanine is what contributes to the umami and the natural sweetness of the cup — cold brewing tends to highlight that softer, sweeter side of the tea.
Cold-water extraction shifts the catechin balance
Catechins are the tea polyphenols that give green tea much of its astringency. They extract differently at different temperatures: lower-temperature brewing tends to draw out less of the more astringent catechins, which is one reason cold-brewed sencha tastes softer and smoother than the same tea brewed hot.
Teas we recommend for cold brew
Cold brewing works especially well for sencha: cooler water brings forward amino-acid sweetness and umami, while keeping catechin bitterness and astringency gentler.
Hoshino Shizuku 2026 First Pick (Yame Hoshinomura): A deeper, fuller-bodied cold brew with the umami that the Yame highlands are known for. Recommended brewing time: 10–14 hours.
Saemidori 2026 First Pick (Kagoshima): A clean, sweet cold brew — first-pick leaves give the most refreshing cup in our line. Recommended brewing time: 9–13 hours.
Saemidori 2025 Final Batch (Kagoshima): The original cold-brew Saemidori that anchored these recommendations for several years. Beautiful green color, deep sweet umami, refreshing aftertaste. Recommended brewing time: 9–13 hours. Once this batch is gone it transitions to the 2026 first pick above.
Many loose-leaf Japanese teas can be prepared as cold brew, so if you have other teas at home, please give it a try. You'll likely notice a softer, sweeter side of the leaf you're used to drinking hot.
Thank you!