sencha

Where does the word "sencha" come from? It comes from Japanese sencha, and was adopted directly into English (1900s-2000s).

Sencha’s story begins in Japanese: sencha meant “steamed and rolled green tea.” Literally 'roasted tea', naming a new method of steaming and rolling green tea leaves. It reached English by 1900s-2000s as sencha. Steamed rather than pan-fried, a method introduced by Nagatani Sōen in 1738. Today, sencha means the most common variety of Japanese green tea, made from steamed, rolled leaves.

1. Stage 1 · Japanese · 18th century sencha "steamed and rolled green tea", literally 'roasted tea', naming a new method of steaming and rolling green tea leaves.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s-2000s sencha "a common variety of Japanese green tea", steamed rather than pan-fried, a method introduced by Nagatani Sōen in 1738.