Aosei Sencha Seiho (Blue Sencha Method) (青製煎茶製法)
Aosei Sencha Seiho was one of the revolutionary changes made in the Japanese tea industry.
Tea that was brought and cultivated in Japan during the Heian Period was made from the new (or old) leaves picked in spring and heat treated by steaming or boiling before being dried in sunlight in 'hoiro' (the structure is different from modern one). The tea leaves made with this process had a blackish color.
The 'rubbing' process began to be incorporated prior to the drying process in modern years and the quality gradually improved. Such sencha made using a revised method was created with green leaves and was called 'blue made' to distinguish it from previous ones (called 'black made').
The introduction of 'Aosei Sencha Seiho' process started to be revealed in documents of that period and indicated the shift from maccha (powdered green tea) to sencha at the end of the Edo Period as one of the goals reached in the search for high quality tea.
The tea industry centering around Uji believes that this method was developed by Soen NAGATANI.