The sencha the world drinks today descends from the Uji method, established in 1738 by Nagatani Soen of Ujitawara: steamed leaves rolled by hand over a charcoal-heated table until dry. Eight steps, roughly four hours, and 3 kg of leaves become about 600 g of tea. Today's tea machinery reproduces these hand movements, and the craft itself — temomi — is preserved as an intangible cultural asset of Uji City.
"I thought Uji was a matcha region — does it have anything to do with sencha?" It has everything to do with it. Part eight of Learning Ujicha visits the craft that gave Japan its most popular tea.
What Did the Uji Method Change?
Before Soen, most Japanese tea was brownish in color and coarse in aroma. Soen devised a way to roll steamed leaves by hand on a hoiro — a table warmed by charcoal — while they dried. Rolling breaks the leaf cells so flavor releases easily into hot water; drying at the same time preserves the green color and lifts the aroma. The result was a green, fragrant tea: the prototype of modern sencha. The method spread to Yamato, Omi and Ise and eventually became the national standard.
The Eight Steps of Temomi
Uji-style hand rolling begins with 3 kg of steamed leaves spread on the jotan, a wooden frame lined with persimmon-tannin-coated washi paper, set over the hoiro.
Chakiri (dew cutting) — leaves are lifted high and shaken down to drive off surface moisture, quickly so they don't stick together. About 25 minutes.
Yokomakuri (side rolling) — leaves are rolled across the jotan, with more pressure as they dry. About 1 hour 30 minutes.
Tamatoki (breaking the ball) — clumps formed during rolling are broken apart. About 5 minutes.
Nakaage — leaves are taken off the jotan to cool and even out their moisture, now at about half the original level. About 10 minutes.
Chazoroe — single-hand rolling and rubbing alternate vigorously, repeated at least seven times. About 30 minutes.
Denguri — leaves are scooped and passed from hand to hand, shaped so they are neither too moist nor too dry. This is the step that decides the flavor. About 20 minutes.
Itazuri (final kneading) — leaves are rolled and pressed on a board to bring out color and sheen. About 50 minutes.
Kanso (drying) — leaves are spread thinly and turned occasionally until dry. About 40 minutes.
The result: 3 kg of steamed leaves become about 600 g of finished tea, in roughly four hours excluding drying.
Where Does This Craft Live Today?
Modern sencha is made by machine, but the machines — rough roller, kneader, mid-roller, final roller — mechanize each stage of the hand process. To understand temomi is to read the blueprint of every sencha factory. That is why Uji still has preservation societies passing on the technique, and why Uji City protects it as an intangible cultural asset.
Uji, the matcha region, is also the birthplace of sencha's method. That both were born on the same ground is what makes Uji the origin of Japanese tea.
Ask your supplier: "Does your region have a hand-rolling preservation society, or a place where the craft can be seen?" When you plan a farm visit, it is one measure of how deep a region's technical tradition runs.
FAQ
Can you still buy hand-rolled sencha?
Tiny quantities are made for preservation societies and competitions, at very high prices. The sencha in general circulation is machine-made.
Is there a rolling step for matcha (tencha) too?
No. Tencha is dried without kneading after steaming. "Never kneaded" is precisely what sets tencha apart from every other Japanese tea.
Learning Ujicha, part 8 of 10. Next: What's Inside a Bowl of Matcha? Reading the Ingredient Table.
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