Kamairi Ryokucha

Tea (Camellia sinensis)Greenstyle

Kamairi Ryokucha is a pan-fired Japanese green tea. Pan-firing, curled leaves and a mildly roasted flavour distinguish this style from steamed, needle-shaped sencha.

How kamairi ryokucha is prepared

Prepared by infusing the processed leaves in water. Related curled green teas can be re-infused, with the flavour changing over successive brews.

Cold Brewing

Beverages using this technique · 1
Royal Blue Tea
The Japanese Green Tea IRIKA Kamairi Ryokucha
Still white0% ABV
prepared as Cold-Brewed Kamairi Ryokucha

Royal Blue Tea uses Cold-Brewed Kamairi Ryokucha in The Japanese Green Tea IRIKA Kamairi Ryokucha: kamairi Ryokucha infused in cold water. The linked provenance notes cultivar: Sakimidori.[4][5]

In depth

Pan-firing defines the style

The fresh leaves are heated in an iron pan early in production to stop oxidation. They are kept moving so that the heat does not char them, then rolled and dried. This early heating preserves a green-tea character.[1]

Curled leaf and gentle toast

Kamairicha is associated with curved, comma-like leaves rather than sencha’s straight needles. Its flavour is typically fresh and mildly toasted, with sweetness and relatively gentle astringency. Different rolling methods can produce different leaf shapes, so the curl is a useful representative image rather than a promise that every finished leaf looks identical.[1][2]

A Kyushu tea tradition

Pan-firing has Chinese roots and remains a specialty of Kyushu. Ureshino in Saga and Sechibaru in Nagasaki are among the places associated with the craft, while other prefectures also produce it. Most Japanese green tea is steamed; kamairicha preserves a distinct regional approach within that broader tea culture.[1][2]

Related to tamaryokucha

Tamaryokucha, also called guricha, is another name associated with curled Japanese green tea. It can be made by steaming or pan-firing, so its shape alone does not identify the heat treatment. Both styles are leaf infusions. The distinction helps explain why a curled green tea may share kamairicha’s appearance while having a different aroma and processing history.[3][1]

Part of Green Tea