The water temperature is a little higher than for deep steamed green tea. The secret is to make it with boiled water that has been cooled a little.
(1) Put some tea leaves in a small teapot.
Put one heaped tablespoon of tea leaves (about 5 g) into the teapot for each person. Just like for deep steamed green tea, if it looks like a little too much, that’s the perfect amount.
(2) Pour the boiled water into a yuzamashi.
The hot water’s temperature should be about 80°C (in the case of shincha, a slightly higher 85°C is the right temperature). Pour the boiled water into a yuzamashi. By doing this, you can lower the temperature of the boiled water by around 10°C. (If you don’t have a yuzamashi, a teacup will work just fine. This also has the effect of warming up the teacup.)
(3) Pour the cooled boiled water into a teapot.
Wait for about 1 minute, without moving the teapot. If the teapot is shaken the tea will be cloudy with a bitter taste. Please wait for the delicious flavor to slowly dissolve into the water. However there’s no need to wait the second time the teapot is filled. The tea leaves are already opened up, so please pour it straight after putting the hot water into the teapot.
(4) Drink the delicious sencha that has been cooled to the right temperature.
The delicious flavor is condensed in the last drop. To ensure that you can also drink delicious tea from the second pot onwards, please don’t leave any hot water in the teapot.