TeaMinded

About TeaMinded

Tea podcast featuring tasting notes for all sorts of teas, along with observations and musings on the tea culture and the rich history and rituals of tea worldwide. Most importantly, this podcast is all about community - bringing people together with tea, and creating + celebrating tea as a simplistic and intentional way of life.

Publisher

Tea Minded

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Oct 2020

Latest episode

11 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

31 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Sept 2026

   What is Sencha Tea? | Why Japan’s Most Popular Green Tea Tastes So Different

   What exactly is sencha tea, and why does it taste so different from other green teas? Sencha is one of the defining styles of Japanese green tea, known for flavors that can be fresh, grassy, vegetal, sweet, slightly bitter, and even savory with hints of umami. But behind that seemingly simple cup is an extraordinary combination of origin, cultivar, harvest, steaming, craftsmanship, and brewing. In Episode 28 of TeaMinded, we explore what makes sencha unique and why it's such a fascinating introduction to the world of Japanese tea. In this episode: • What sencha tea actually is• Why Japanese green tea is steamed• How steaming changes the flavor of tea• Where sencha is grown in Japan• Why cultivars such as Yabukita, Saemidori, and Okumidori matter• What shincha and the first spring harvest mean• The difference between asamushi and fukamushi sencha• How sencha develops sweetness, bitterness, astringency, and umami• Sencha vs. matcha• Sencha vs. gyokuro• The best water temperature for brewing sencha• Why boiling water can make green tea taste overly bitter• How to steep sencha multiple times• A simple way to compare two senchas side by side Sencha is accessible enough to become an everyday tea, yet complex enough to spend years exploring. Start with a good sencha. Use cooler water. Pay attention to the aroma, texture, sweetness, vegetal character, and umami. You may discover that “Japanese green tea” isn't one flavor at all. TeaMinded explores loose leaf tea, Japanese tea, tea culture, craftsmanship, brewing, ritual, mindfulness, and intentional living through the lens of tea. Put the kettle on, brew something green, and stay TeaMinded. #TeaMinded #Sencha #JapaneseTea #GreenTea #LooseLeafTea #TeaPodcast #TeaEducation #Umami

2. 

   5 Sept 2026

   What Is Umami in Tea? Why Japanese Green Tea Tastes Savory

   What does it mean when someone describes a tea as “umami”? Umami is the savory quality we associate with foods like mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, seaweed, and broth. But it's also one of the most fascinating flavors found in tea—especially Japanese green teas like sencha, gyokuro, and matcha. In this of TeaMinded, we explore what umami actually is, where it comes from, and why some Japanese teas can taste remarkably sweet, rich, vegetal, and almost broth-like. In this episode: • What umami actually means• Why umami is considered one of the basic tastes• How amino acids, including L-theanine, contribute to tea's flavor• Why Japanese green tea is particularly associated with umami• How sencha can provide an introduction to savory tea flavors• Why gyokuro can have extraordinarily intense umami• How shade-growing changes the chemistry of tea leaves• Why high-quality matcha can taste both sweet and savory• How tea cultivars influence flavor• Why the first harvest can produce distinctive Japanese green teas• How cooler water can help bring sweetness and umami forward• Why umami doesn't mean “salty”• A simple tasting experiment you can try with Japanese green tea One of the easiest ways to begin exploring umami is with a good Japanese sencha. Brew it carefully with cooler water and pay attention to the sweetness, vegetal character, texture, and subtle savory quality beneath the surface. Then compare it with gyokuro or matcha. Eventually, umami stops being an abstract tea-tasting term. You begin to recognize it in the cup. And behind that flavor is an extraordinary combination of agriculture, chemistry, cultivar, sunlight, season, craftsmanship, and brewing. That's part of what makes tea endlessly interesting. TeaMinded explores loose leaf tea, Japanese tea, tea culture, craftsmanship, brewing, ritual, mindfulness, and intentional living through the lens of tea. Put the kettle on, use a little cooler water, and stay TeaMinded. #TeaMinded #Umami #JapaneseTea #GreenTea #Sencha #Gyokuro #Matcha #LooseLeafTea

3. 

   3 Sept 2026

   How Long Should You Steep Tea? A Practical Guide

   How long should you actually steep tea? One minute? Three minutes? Five? And why does a green tea sometimes need only a short infusion while an herbal tea may steep for ten minutes or longer? In this episode of TeaMinded, we take the confusion out of tea steeping with a practical guide to green tea, black tea, white tea, oolong, and herbal tea. You'll learn why steeping time matters, how extraction works, and how small adjustments in time can dramatically change the flavor of your cup. In this episode: • How steeping extracts flavor from tea leaves• Why there is no single perfect steeping time• How long to steep green tea• How long to steep black tea• How long to steep white tea• How long to steep oolong tea• How long to steep herbal tea• Why water temperature changes extraction• How leaf size affects steeping time• Why more tea leaves can sometimes mean shorter infusions• How and why to steep loose leaf tea multiple times• What happens when you over-steep tea• How to fix tea that tastes too weak• A simple experiment for finding your preferred steeping time As a general starting point: Green tea: 1–3 minutes Black tea: 3–5 minutes White tea: 3–5 minutes Oolong: 2–5 minutes, or shorter repeated infusions Herbal tea: 5–10 minutes But these aren't rules. The tea, water temperature, amount of leaf, brewing method, and your own preferences all matter. Start with the guidelines. Then taste. Adjust. And taste again. Because sometimes the difference between a good cup of tea and a remarkable one is only thirty seconds. TeaMinded explores tea culture, loose leaf tea, Japanese tea, craftsmanship, brewing, tea rituals, mindfulness, slow living, and intentional living through the lens of tea. Put the kettle on, give the leaves the time they need, and stay TeaMinded. #TeaMinded #LooseLeafTea #TeaBrewing #TeaTips #GreenTea #BlackTea #OolongTea #TeaPodcast

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings