Five teas, one plant, and a little bit of history.
Tea anyone? Well, in Japan it’s going to be green. In fact, green tea (“ryokucha” 緑茶) is the daily drink of choice for the majority (around 72%) of Japanese people. Iced or hot, crisp and refreshing: green tea is an excellent option for those who want to cut down on sugar and boost their health via beverages!
History & Health
As we talked about in a previous post, tea originally came from China. However, a Japanese Zen buddhist monk named Myouan Eisai brought the Chinese tea culture onto the island during the 12th century. Born in the modern-day Okayama prefecture, Eisai was a son of a Shinto priest who later on became an ordained buddhist priest by the age of 14. According to My Japanese Green Tea, after his religious studies in both China and India, he returned to his homeland with knowledge of Zen buddhism and tea preparations — specifically matcha. After gifting seeds to other monks in the Fukuoka and Kyoto prefectures, tea culture firmly found its place within Japanese culture and agriculture. In fact, a monk named Myoue Shounin planted these seeds near his temple Kyoto which started the famous Uji tea region known for superior matcha.
Health-wise, green tea is at the top of the list. We have all heard about the great antioxidative properties and how great it is for our heart health, but what about the rest of the body? This pamphlet from O-cha stated that green tea is helpful for: 1) cholesterol control, 2) blood sugar moderation, 3) digestive regulation/gut biome, and even 4) flu prevention & therapy. Typically, it is recommended to drink 3–4 cups of green tea to gain all of these benefits.
Now that we have a quick background about all of the goodies behind the tea, let’s see which cup of green tea would be your cup of green tea. With around 20 types in Japan, we’ll focus more on the most accessible genres found all over the world.
Everyday
Despite what some other blogs may report, sencha (煎茶) is the most common tea in Japan. Not matcha. This humble green tea provides a crisp and refreshing taste as if it was just plucked from the garden. Sencha specifically is picked from the upper part of the plant within the first and second flushes, where the leaves are much more delicate. Bancha, its sister tea, is made from the sturdier leaves from the lower regions and later flushings which leads to a more robust flavour.
(What’s a flush? Check out the Darjeeling section in our previous article!)
Genmaicha (玄米茶/”brown rice tea”/”popcorn tea”), is another great choice for a casual cup. It is typically made with basic tea types like sencha, bancha, or kukicha at the base, with toasted brown rice added in later to provide some balance to low-grade tea. This results in a big toasty, nutty flavour with a green and clean finish.
Another reason to get yourself a nice pack of loose-leaf green tea? These tea leaves stand up to multiple steepings — so that means you can make a pot for the morning and reuse the same leaves for your after-dinner palate cleanser!
High-End
Gyokuro (玉露) roughly translates to ‘jade dew’, which is no surprise with this pearl of a tea. This tea type is “shade grown”, meaning the tea plants are “finished off” under special straw covering for the last 20 days before the first-flush. With this special process, the chlorophyll builds up in the tea leaves which results in a delicate, sweet, and sometimes even marine-like notes in its prepared form.
If you go for a tea tasting, like at Sakurai in Tokyo, prepare yourself for a luxury, gustatory experience as different steepings and styles that open up a variety of flavours within the tea liquor. Not to mention, you can even eat your gyokuro tea leaves at the end!
Low-Caffeine
Some of us are caffeine-sensitive, but fortunately we have Hojicha (焙じ茶) and Kukicha (茎茶) as natural option!
The leaves of hojicha may resemble those of black tea, but don’t be fooled. Black tea takes on a more withered and spindly appearance due to the fermentation process. Hojicha is not fermented, but roasted — which leaves the leaves more intact with a lovely golden brown colour.
Another great (and sustainable) choice is kukicha, which translates to “twig tea”. This usually includes the stems and stalks from tea plants grown for sencha (if taken from gyokuro tea plants, it’s called ‘karigane’). Shizuoka Tea said that tea made from these extra bits provide a mildly nutty flavour with creamy notes — perfect for an after dinner tea
If you can only drink tea that is decaffeinated, look for brands that use the CO2 process. This method heats up the leaves to a level where the CO2 within transforms into a solvent, said Sencha Tea Bar. Due to the molecular structure of carbon dioxide, caffeine, and those that create flavour, the flavour is largely unaffected. Chemical solvents and the Water Method on the other hand, change the natural flavour and may leave an aftertaste.
Where To Buy
If you’re in Japan, you’d be hard-pressed to avoid tea. It’s almost every grocery store in both loose-leaf and tea bags forms, but we recommend going to a specialty store just for tea. Another option is to go to a ‘depachikka’ or the basement level of department stores where they sell tea, food, candies, and plenty of other gastronomical delights. Lastly, take part in a tea tasting found in most big cities like or even a tea farm tour when you’re in the south!
For everywhere else in the world: Checking out your local tea merchant is a great way to support small businesses and to ensure higher quality. If you don’t have access to a local person, check out this user-approved catalogue of online sellers from the Reddit r/tea page!
Last but not least: Tea & Ritual. For our last post in the Tea Series (for now), we will open up to the world of Matcha and the famous Japanese Tea Ceremony. Why is Matcha so special? Why is the Tea Ceremony so difficult to do? Find out on Sunday, April 10th at 12pm EST! In the meantime, follow us on Facebook and Instagramfor more fun facts, photos, and tidbits!
