Best Japanese Green Tea UK: 3 Picks for 2026
Japanese green tea is having a moment in the UK, but most of what's sold here as "green tea" is a single generic bag. Real Japanese green tea comes in genuinely different styles: grassy and fresh, deeply roasted, or blended with toasted rice, each suited to a different time of day and a different palate. We stock a small, carefully sourced range from Otsuka, all grown in Shizuoka, Japan's best-known tea-growing region; here are our three picks, ranked by how classic they are, from the everyday reference point to the most distinctive.
| Product | Best For | Price | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otsuka Japanese Sencha Green Tea Bags 2g x 20 Units | The classic, everyday green tea | £6.99 | Shop now |
| Otsuka Japanese Shizuoka Hojicha Green Tea Bags 2g x 20 Units | Low-caffeine, evening drinking | £6.99 | Shop now |
| Otsuka Japanese Shizuoka Genmaicha Green Tea Bags 2g x 15 Units | Nutty, most distinctive pick | £6.99 | Shop now |
1. Otsuka Japanese Sencha Green Tea Bags 2g x 20 Units: Best for everyday drinking
Sencha is the most popular and widely consumed green tea in Japan, and the natural starting point if you're new to Japanese tea. It has a fresh, grassy flavour with a slightly sweet, vegetal taste and a hint of bitterness, light and refreshing rather than heavy.
- Provenance: made by Otsuka, grown in Japan.
- Taste and texture: fresh and grassy with a light, invigorating aroma; slightly sweet and vegetal with a gentle bitterness.
- Practical note: brew at 70-80°C for 1-2 minutes, water that's too hot will pull out more bitterness than you want. 20 bags per box at £6.99.
Not for: anyone after a low-caffeine or after-dinner tea, sencha is a standard green tea, not a roasted or decaffeinated style.
2. Otsuka Japanese Shizuoka Hojicha Green Tea Bags 2g x 20 Units: Best for low-caffeine, evening drinking
Hojicha starts as the same green tea leaf as sencha, harvested later in the season from Shizuoka and then roasted, which is what gives it a completely different character: toasty, nutty and slightly smoky rather than grassy.
- Provenance: Otsuka, using tea leaves sourced from the Shizuoka region, harvested late summer to early autumn and roasted.
- Taste and texture: toasty, nutty and slightly smoky, with a warm, earthy aroma and a mellow, smooth finish.
- Practical note: genuinely lower in caffeine than standard green teas because of the roasting process, the one to reach for later in the day. Store airtight, away from light, heat and moisture. 20 bags at £6.99.
Not for: anyone wanting the classic fresh, grassy green tea flavour, hojicha's roasting trades that for a warmer, toastier profile.
3. Otsuka Japanese Shizuoka Genmaicha Green Tea Bags 2g x 15 Units: Best for a nutty, distinctive cup
Genmaicha blends green tea (typically sencha or bancha) with roasted brown rice, which adds a nutty, toasty note you won't get from a plain green tea. It's the most distinctive of the three, and a good conversation-starter if you're introducing someone to Japanese tea beyond the basics.
- Provenance: Otsuka, tea leaves sourced from Shizuoka, known for fertile soil, ample rainfall and mild temperatures well suited to tea growing.
- Taste and texture: nutty and aromatic, with roasted brown rice giving a toasty depth alongside the green tea base.
- Practical note: brew at 70-80°C for 1-2 minutes; store airtight away from light, heat and moisture. 15 bags at £6.99, a slightly smaller box than the other two.
Not for: purists after an unadulterated green tea taste, the roasted rice genuinely changes the flavour, it isn't a subtle addition.
How to Choose a Japanese Green Tea
Classic vs. roasted
Sencha is the reference point for Japanese green tea: fresh, grassy, slightly bitter. Hojicha takes the same base leaf and roasts it, trading grassiness for a toasty, smoky warmth and, usefully, less caffeine.
Caffeine and time of day
If you're drinking tea in the evening or want to keep caffeine lower generally, hojicha is the one built for that, the roasting process itself reduces caffeine content. Sencha and genmaicha are better suited to daytime drinking.
Plain green tea vs. genmaicha
Genmaicha isn't a "purer" or "stronger" green tea, it's a genuinely different drink, cut with roasted brown rice for a nutty, toasty note. Choose it if you want variety rather than a more intense version of sencha.
Brewing and storage
All three are best brewed at 70-80°C for 1-2 minutes, full boiling water will over-extract and bring out unwanted bitterness. Keep bags sealed in a cool, dry place (hojicha and genmaicha specifically call for airtight storage away from light, heat and moisture) to preserve freshness.
FAQ
What's the difference between sencha, hojicha and genmaicha?
They start from the same family of Japanese green tea leaves but are processed differently. Sencha is the standard, unroasted green tea. Hojicha is roasted, giving a toasty, smoky, lower-caffeine cup. Genmaicha blends green tea with roasted brown rice for a nutty flavour.
Does hojicha really have less caffeine than other green teas?
Yes, the roasting process used to make hojicha genuinely lowers its caffeine content compared with unroasted green teas like sencha, which is why it's often chosen as an evening or more relaxing option.
What temperature should I brew Japanese green tea at?
Around 70-80°C (158-176°F) for sencha and genmaicha, steeped for 1-2 minutes. Water that's too hot draws out excess bitterness rather than the tea's natural sweetness.
How should I store the tea bags?
Keep them in a cool, dry place, ideally in an airtight container away from light, heat and moisture, to preserve freshness and flavour.
Explore the full range in our Japanese Tea collection.
