Bancha is the Japanese green tea made from later-season leaves and stems. It is typically harvested after the earlier, more prized sencha flushes, often from the third and fourth flushes between summer and autumn.
Because bancha leaves remain on the plant longer, they are generally more mature, thicker, and tougher than the tender leaves used for early sencha. Later harvests may also include lower leaves and stems that were left behind after the first picking. These raw materials give bancha a lighter market grade and a flavor that can be earthy, grassy, woody, or pleasantly straw-like.
Bancha is not a single uniform recipe. It may be sold roasted, unroasted, smoked, matured, or fermented. Hōjicha, for example, is often made by roasting bancha, which turns the leaves brown and creates a toasted aroma.
The key distinction is timing, not simply leaf shape. Sencha usually refers to earlier-harvested leaf tea, while bancha refers to later harvests. Kukicha is the more specific “twig tea” category, although stems can also appear in bancha.