Japanese tea

It is said that tea trees were imported from China to Japan first around the 9th century.
After that, high preist Eisai learned Buddhism in China brought the seed of tea tree and the method of drinking tea in the 12th century.

Japanese tea developed on the basis of them, but Chinese tea had changed independently in the later history.
Therefore, Japanese tea differs from Chinese tea in production process and how to drink.

Production process of Japanese tea

Tea trees are relatively suitable for the climate in Japan, so it is produced in wide areas.
But, Shizuoka, Kagoshima, Mie Prefectures are the major production centers.

And Kyoto has been the production center of high-class tea since ancient times.

Unlike black tea, Japanese tea is made by steaming the picked leaves and blocking the fermentation of the leaves.

The leaf of tea is dark green, the color of tea is green or yellow.
So, it is often called "green tea".

Main kinds of Japanese tea

Sencha

Sencha (煎茶) is a common Japanese tea.
The tea leaves are put in a tea pot and how water is poured.
One or two minutes later, it is put in a cup.

Sencha is made of young tea leaves, so it tastes a little bitter and sweet and refreshes your mouth.

As the same kind, there is cheap Bancha (番茶) made of grown tea leaves.
It tastes milder than common sencha.

By contralies, there is premium "Gyokuro" (玉露) and it is a high class tea.
The tea leaves are grown carefully and the taste is elegant and sweet.

Hôjicha

Hôjicha (焙じ茶) is made by roasting the leaves of sencha.

It has red-brown color like black tea.
The way to make the tea of Hôjicha is identical to Sencha.

By roasting the leaves, the bitterness is reduced.
The taste is milder than sencha and it has savory flavor.

Maccha

Maccha (抹茶) is powdered tea, and the powder is bright green color.
Generally it is mainly served at tea ceremony.

Unlike sencha, it is dissolved in hot water and is whisked with a small bamboo whisk.
It is bitter but feels creamy.

This is the ancient method of tea drinking.

Mugicha

Mugicha (麦茶) is the tea made from roasted barley.
It has red-brown color like black tea and Hôjicha.

Mugicha doesn't use tea leaf and is caffeine free.
It is also drunk like sencha.

Mugicha is cheap and it is usually sold in summer.
Cold mugicha is the popular drink in summer.

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