Cold green tea is really delicious on a hot summer day when you are thirsty.

The full-bodied, refreshing taste not only quenches your thirst but also refreshes your mood.

How much do you know about cold brew green tea / iced green tea?

What is cold / ice brew tea?

Cold brew green tea or iced green tea is literally making tea with water or ice instead of hot water.

The temperature of the water used to brew green tea changes the ingredients extracted, so even if the same tea leaves are used, the taste can be surprisingly different.

What is the difference between tea brewed with hot water and tea brewed with ice?

The lower the extraction temperature of green tea, the less catechins, which are the source of bitterness, are extracted, but amino acids, which are the source of sweetness and umami, are extracted unchanged.

In particular, the temperature of ice brewing is lower than that of cold brew, resulting in a deeper, full-bodied, richer flavor with more umami.

In addition, the color of cold brew and ice brew does not change much, so the water remains a beautiful green color even after a long time. Compared to green tea made with hot water, cold brew green tea contains much less caffeine, making it a good choice for a cup of tea before going to bed.

How to make cold brew green tea

There are a few ways to cold brew green tea, but we are going to introduce the standard one.

Prepare cold water

You can use tap water but it will be more better using tap water that’s once boiled and cooled, mineral water or filtered water.

Prepare tea bags

Put 10-15g of tea leaves in a bag to make 1 liter of green tea ( 1 tablespoon of green tea leaves is measured about 5g).

If you don’t have tea bags, you can put tea leaves directly in a teapot and use a tea strainer when pouring in.

Make green tea in a cold brew tea maker (teapot).

Put the tea bag in the cold brew tea maker (teapot) and pour the cold water in.

Leave it in the fridge and wait 3-6 hours, and voila!

How to ice brew green tea

You may have cold brewed green tea before, but few of you may have ice brewed green tea.

Ice brew tea tastes really good as it extracts more sweetness and umami than cold brew.

Here’s the recipe to make 1 liter.

Prepare ice

Prepare 1 liter of ice cubes

Put tea leaves in an cold brew tea maker (teapot)

Place 15-20g of tea leaves (about 3-4 tablespoons) on the bottom of the teapot. Spread the tea leaves out as much as you can so the tea ingredients can easily get extracted.

Put the ice in and wait till it melts

Place the ice on the tea leaves in the teapot and leave it till the ice melts. Rich umami ingredients will be extracted by taking time.

Shake gently before drinking

It’ll be ready when the ice melts, then shake the teapot gently before pouring in a glass.

The ingredients on the bottom can be diffused evenly by shaking, which makes the taste well-balanced and the color look better.

It would surely be no problem using a kyusu teapot instead of an ice brew tea maker.

Did you know that the sencha you usually drink can be made much tastier with a little effort and attention?

In this article, FETC, which drinks several hundred kinds of tea each year, will introduce you to the best way to brew sencha and deep steamed sencha teas.

Points to keep in mind when brewing sencha and deep steamed sencha

Compared to black tea and oolong tea, sencha offers a delicate aroma and a taste of umami and sweetness.

There are two things to keep in mind in order to enjoy its fresh and invigorating aroma and balance of bitterness, astringency, and umami.

These are the temperature of the water, the tea leaves, and the amount of hot water.

What is the temperature of the water used to brew Sencha?

The higher the temperature of the water, the stronger the astringent and bitter tastes are extracted from the tea.

This is because catechin, an astringent component, and caffeine, a bitter component, dissolve at higher temperatures, while amino acids such as theanine, a umami component, can be easily extracted at lower temperatures.

Therefore, at higher temperatures, the tea has a strong bitter taste, while at lower temperatures, the bitter taste is suppressed, and the tea is easy to taste umami and sweetness.

Recommended temperatures are around 50-70°C for gyokuro and high-grade teas, and 60-80°C for regular sencha, but it depends on the tea leaves and your preference, so please refer to this article for more details.

*Related Article: Relationship between tea flavor and temperature

There are two types of water, soft water and hard water, and the water suitable for Japanese teas such as Sencha is soft water.

Japanese tap water is soft water, so there is no problem using it as it is. However, if you use tap water, it is recommended to boil it once and let it cool down in order to remove chlorine from the water.

*Related Article: How does the taste of tea change between soft and hard water?

30ml of hot water per gram of tea leaves!

To brew a good cup of tea, the amount of tea leaves and hot water should not be too much or too little.

For sencha, the best amount is 30ml of hot water for every 1g of tea leaves.

Many mistakes in brewing tea are made by adding too much hot water for the tea leaves. Use a scale to measure accurately and be particular about the amount for a delicious cup.

Before Brewing Sencha and Deep Steamed Sencha

The following tools are required to brew a good cup of sencha

Tools to use

• Kyusu / Teapot
• Tea bowl / Tea cup
• Teaspoon
• Iron kettle or Kettle with temperature-control
• Yuzamashi

There are various types of kyusu (teapots) made of ceramic, glass, plastic, and other materials, and there are also differences in the shape of the mesh (tea strainer), which also affects the flavor of the tea brewed.

Although it may be difficult to find an iron kettle or a yuzamashi in your home, you can enjoy the taste of tea better when you use them.

How to brew sencha and deep steamed sencha

• Tea leaves: 4g
• Hot water: 120 ml (70°C)

The quantity is for one cup. It does not matter how much you brew, as long as you observe the 30 ml per 1 g of tea leaves.

This recipe is for a single cup of tea rather than to enjoy the second or third brewing of tea.

(1) Boil water

(2) Cool the water to 70 degrees.

(3) Measure 4g of tea leaves

(4) Pour 120ml of hot water into the kyusu / teapot and let it steep.

(5) Pour the tea into a teacup while turning it over by hand.

All that remains is to pour the tea into a teacup, but at this point, try brewing the tea by "Te-gaeshi" (turning the teapot back and forth by hand).

"Te-gaeshi" refers to the technique of brewing tea by shaking the kyusu with your wrist as shown in the picture below.

By doing this, the tea leaves rub against each other in the kyusu and more of the ingredients are extracted, allowing you to enjoy a richer flavor.

Hold the kyusu like this, grasping the handle with the palm of your hand and supporting the lid with your thumb to prevent it from shifting.

(6) Pour out every last drop.

The last drop left in the kyusu is a golden drop that has absorbed the full flavor of the tea.

Shake the kyusu gently two or three times vertically to pour out every last drop.

(7) Enjoy the aroma and flavor of tea

The deliciousness of sencha is its aroma and flavor.

Enjoy to your heart's content the aroma rising from the teacup, the flavor spreading to your tongue, the balance of astringency and bitterness that strengthens it, and finally, the aroma that smoothly escapes into your nose.

Can tea be eaten even the tea leaves left over after extraction?

In fact, tea leaves can be surprisingly tasty.

Please try "tea boiled" as well, which is a great way to take in all the rich nutrients that remain dissolved in the tea leaves.

Related Article: Tea doesn't end when it's brewed? How to Make Tea Ohitashi

We introduce Takeo Shaowo, who succeeded Sen no Rikyu in the perfection of "Wabicha," the art of tea ceremony that began with Murata Juko.

About Takeno Joo

Takeno Joo (1502 -1555) was born in Yamato (now Nara Prefecture), Japan, and began living in Kyoto in his 20s. At 27 years old, he studied classics and waka poetry under Sanjonishi Sanetaka, the most significant cultural figure of his time.

At 31, he moved from Kyoto, devastated by the Onin War, to Sakai, where he was ordained as a monk, received the Buddhist name of "Joo," and devoted himself to the tea ceremony, pursuing the path of "Wabicha."

Murata Juko's goal of "Wabicha"

Joo was a grandson of Murata Juko. The "Wabicha" discovered by Murata Juko was further refined by Joo and perfected by Sen no Rikyu, a disciple of Joo.

By learning the words left by Joo, we can understand the source of the "Wabicha" that Joo aimed for.

Words about "THINGS"

Juko left the following: "It is important to muddle through the boundary between the Japanese and Chinese arts." In contrast to the trend that favored only Chinese ceramics, he insisted that it was essential to pay attention to the simple beauty of Japanese ceramics and brought a new aesthetic sense to the world of the tea ceremony.

The tea utensils left by Juko are called "Juko Meibutu," and there is an anecdote that Sen no Rikyu used one of his tea bowls.

The phrase "I do not like the moon to be hidden among the clouds (the moon that appears and disappears among the clouds is more elegant than a full moon that shines brightly)" reveals the "new chanoyu," which appreciates the beauty of "beauty of lack." This aesthetic sense also influenced the creation of the tea room. Juko aimed to create beauty by dividing the room into four-and-a-half tatami mats and eliminating decoration.

Words about "mind and spirit"

Influenced by Zen, Juko pursued the "beauty that appears when things are eliminated to the utmost limit." He sought to make up for what he lacked in material things with the richness of his heart.

Juko emphasized the "heart and spirit" of chanoyu, and he believed that the greatest obstacle to the way of the tea ceremony was "pride and attachment to oneself." He taught that no matter how much one progresses, one should be honest with others and help beginners in their training.

In the following passage, Juko writes to his disciples, "Do not let your mind be your teacher." It means, "Be the master of your mind but do not let your mind be your teacher." Juko aimed to make chanoyu a "place for spiritual practice," where one could control one's mind and confront oneself.

"Wabicha" by Takeno Joo

Joo inherited the tradition from Murata Juko and introduced more spirituality into "Wabicha." We want to introduce two people who influenced him.

Sanjonishi Sanetaka, a cultural figure

Learning renga and waka poetry from Sanjonishi Sanetaka, one of his time's most significant cultural figures, greatly influenced Joo's "Wabicha."

Joo said, "I say that renga is withered and cold. I want the end of the tea ceremony to be like that." This means that the concept of "cold and withering" in renga is the heart of facing the tea ceremony. "cold and withering" means "the chilly air of early winter when the trees are dying. Or the fresh and dignified feeling one gets there." Joo aimed to approach the tea ceremony with such a mind.

Another poem that expresses the state of mind that Joo aimed for is found in a waka poem. It is "Miwatashiwa, hana mo momiji mo nakari keri ura no tomaya no autumn dusk" by Fujiwara no Sadaie. The concept of beauty in this scene leads to the idea of "wabicha," "to be content with what is not enough and to act with modesty."

Zen monk Dairin Sōto

By learning Zen from the Zen monk Dairin Sōto at Nansōji Temple, Soto combined the tea ceremony's spirit with the Zen spirit more than ever before. This led Sen no Rikyu to perfect the concept of "Chazenichimi." It means "Tea and Zen are different in the appearance of what they do, but they are not separate in their essence, and both are paths of human development."

The tea ceremony was linked to Zen by Murata Juko amid a sense of impermanence during the Warring States period. Furthermore, Takeno Joo refined the tea ceremony together with the essence of waka and renga, moving toward the Zen spirit of "essentially nothingness (everything is empty, so one should not be bound by anything)," leading to the perfection of "wabicha" by Sen no Rikyu.

The Makinohara Plateau in Shizuoka Prefecture was a desolate place, abandoned even by local farmers during the great transformation at the end of the Edo period (1603-1868).

In this article, I’m going to introduce CHUJO Kageaki, who led the “amateur farmers’ group” made up of over the 200 samurai and transformed the area into one of Japan’s leading tea producing regions.

About CHUJO Kageaki

Samurai days

CHUJO Kageaki was born in 1827 as an illegitimate child of the samurai in Edo (Tokyo). He served Iesada, the 13th Shogun, and was an expert swordsman who taught martial arts to samurai in his family. In 1867, when Yoshinobu, the 15th Shogun, moved to Shizuoka after the return of his political power to the Emperor, Kageaki guarded the enemy as a member of elite troops. After that, the elite troops were disbanded after completing their mission.

In the Meiji period (1868-1912), the samurai including Kageaki, who lost the Shogunate, were forced to make a new choice in life.

Cultivation begins

Kageaki decided to challenge the cultivation of Makinohara Plateau, leading the “Kanayahara (present Makinohara Plateau) Cultivation Group”. At that time, the Makinohara Plateau was a desolate place that even local farmers gave up on. It is said that he swore to KATSU Kaishu that “If you give me this land, I would pledge myself to cultivate the land”.

Later, at the age of 42, Kageaki led the “Kanayahara Cultivation Group” and began cultivation, but it was not until four years later that he was able to harvest the first few tea buds.

Late days

As time went by and land that had been owned by the government became available for individual purchase and sale, the members of the Cultivation Group were gradually divided from those who remained as farmers to those who left the land.

In such a situation, there was a request to the Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, but he refused it in order to continue the cultivation.

After that, he tried to establish the “Makinohara Tea Manufacturing Company” in order to collect the produced tea, manufacture it jointly for export. However, the petition for the business fund was rejected and it was never realized.

Despite this hardship, he devoted his life to the cultivation of Makinohara plateau and died in 1896 at the age of 69.

Achievements of NAKAJO Kageaki

Outstanding leadership

Kageaki was an outstanding leader, having been acquainted with the leader of the era, KATSU Kaishu and YAMAOKA Tesshu,

The “Kanayahara Cultivation Group” led by 42 year-old Kageaki had about 200 people, and including their family, it was quite a household.

Moreover, the members of the Cultivation Group were “an amateur group in agriculture” with various backgrounds, from high-ranking samurai to Noh actors.

The leadership of Kageaki, who achieved the cultivation of Makinohara Plateau by compiling such a wide variety of “an amateur group in agriculture”, was admirable.

With the pride of a samurai, he dedicated his second life to the Makinohara Plateau.

Today we can easily imagine how difficult it must have been for him to make the transition from an “elite bureaucrat” guarding the shogun's personal affairs to the unknown field of cultivation and tea planting.

Kageaki, who was also an excellent leader, made a request to the governor of Kanagawa Prefecture. However, he refused, saying, “Once I have climbed a mountain, no matter what I would never come down. It would be the fertilizer of the tea tree.” It suggests Kageaki’s sincerity.

At the funeral of Kageaki, who did not cut the topknot in his life and dedicated himself into Makinohara Plateau cultivation with the samurai's pride, KATSU Kaishu served as the funeral committee chairman in respect of his great achievement.

Furthermore, members of the Cultivation Group who mourned the death of Kageaki visited his grave for 21 days, which reminds us of his personality.

The present Makinohara plateau

The Makinohara Plateau turns bright green in the season of the first tea, but when the land was first cultivated, it was a wilderness with an area of 200 hectares (about the 42 times the size of Tokyo Dome) and with an insufficient water supply.

The “Kanayahara Cultivation Group” cultivated the land to 5,000 hectares (about the 1,063 times the size of Tokyo Dome) and turned it into a large tea garden.

After the death of Kageaki, the land and tea leaves were improved repeatedly, and the prototype of the “Deep steamed tea” method was devised.

Thanks to the continued efforts of the people, “Makinohara tea” with deep green light blue color and rich taste is now one of the representative brands of Shizuoka.

We today have much to learn from the way of life of CHUJO Kageaki, who risked his second life to venture into unknown field during the tumultuous period from the Edo to Meiji.

YAMAMOTO Kahee and his achievements in “Yamamotoyama”

YAMAMOTO Kahee is an essential figure in the history of Japanese tea.

However, YAMAMOTO Kahee is not a single person. This is because the heads of the Yamamoto family have called themselves “Kahee” for generations.

In this article, I’m going to introduce the achievements of YAMAMOTO Kahee, the first, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth, among the successive family heads of the Yamamoto family.

YAMAMOTO Kahee, the First - The beginning of Yamamotoyama

YAMAMOTO Kahee, the first owner, moved from Kyoto to Edo and founded a shop named “Kagiya” in Nihonbashi in 1690, dealing in Japanese paper, tea and tea utensils.

This is the beginning of the ongoing “Yamamotoyama”. The stage family name of “Kagiya” subsequently changed to “Kamiya Kahee”, “Toryuken Kahee”, “Yamamotoya Kahee” and “Yamamotoya Kahee Shoten”.

Then, in 1941, the shop was renamed “Yamamotoyama” after a popular tea it was selling.

YAMAMOTO Kahee, the Fourth - The rise of Yamamotoyama and Nagatanien

In the era of YAMAMOTO Kahee, the fourth head of the company, the chance to make a breakthrough “Yamamotoyama” came.

NAGATANI Soen who developed the Green Sencha Method, visited Yamamotoyama to promote Sencha (steeped green tea).

After drinking the Sencha, which no other tea merchants were able to match YAMAMOTO Kahee, the fourth generation owner who drank it, was so surprised by its beautiful color and depth of taste that he decided to buy it immediately.

This Sencha was later named “Tenka-ichi (the best in the country)” and became a very popular product not only in Edo but throughout Japan.

There is an episode that Yamamotoyama thanked the Nagatani family for the huge profit he made by this and kept sending 25 ryo of koban (former Japanese oval gold coin) to the Nagatani family for about 130 years.

Then, Nagatanien was established by NAGATANI Yoshio, the 10th generation after NAGATANI Soen.

YAMAMOTO Kahee, the Fifth – The discovery of “Sayama Tea”

The fifth generation, YAMAMOTO Kahee, discovered “Sayama Tea” that was grown in what is now Saitama Prefecture.

In Sayama, where tea was originally produced, people began to make tea following the Sencha method, which was popular nationwide at that time.

YAMAMOTO Kahee the fifth recognized the good taste of the tea and repeatedly gave advice on how to make it and the result was “Sayama Tea”.

In 1819, they signed a sales contract and named it “Shimo no Hana (Frost Flower)”, “Yuki no Ume (Snow Plum)” and it became popular.

Sayama tea has become known as “Three major teas in Japan” along with “Shizuoka tea” and “Uji tea”. There is a Sayama tea picking song that is said ‘Shizuoka has the finest color, Uji is the finest fragrance, and the tea with the best taste is Sayama’.

YAMAMOTO Kahee, the Sixth - Creating the “Gyokuro”

It is said that YAMAMOTO Kahee, the sixth invented the production method of Gyokuro. At that time, every tea dealer was competing fiercely to differentiate Sencha, which was very popular.

YAMAMOTO Kahee, the sixth came up with the idea of roasting tea leaves like dew when he visited Uji (Kyoto), and this is said to be the reason for the birth of “Gyokuro”.

“Gyokuro” became popular with hatamoto and daimyo for its mild and elegant flavor.

By the way, there is another theory that the name comes from the unique taste of Gyokuro like the dew of the ball.

Furthermore, it is said that TSUJI Riemon (the founder of Tsujiri) perfected Gyokuro in its current stick form in the Meiji period.

Sugiyaa Hikosaburo was a Japanese man who pursued cultivar development of tea throughout his life. In his hometown of Shizuoka, he is called “Hikosaburo Okina (old man)” and respected even after his death.

In this article, we're going to explain Hikosaburo, the father of “Yabukita”.

Who is Sugiyama Hikosaburo?

Hikosaburo Sugiyama was born in 1857 in Arito Village, Abe County (now Shizuoka City). He gave up his father's liquor brewery and Chinese medicine practice to his younger brother, who became a farmer.

Around the time of Hikosaburo's birth, Japan concluded the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States. As a result, tea became the second largest export item after raw silk and became a flourishing industry. During this time, Hikosaburo Sugiyama began tea cultivation, learning from experience and without a teacher.

Due to the rapid development of the tea industry, he became the secretary of the tea industry association, which controlled the inferior products in the mixed tea industry. Still, his sincere character can be seen from his recollection that he was ashamed of not being able to produce good quality tea himself.

Hikosaburo was ashamed of not being able to produce good tea by himself, which shows his sincere personality.

Although he succeeded in breeding the "Yabukita" after much hard work, he died in 1941 at 83, without ever seeing it flourish.

Today, a monument to his achievements stands in Shizuoka City, and the original "Yabukita" tree has been designated a natural monument by Shizuoka Prefecture. There is also the "Sugiyama Hikosaburo Award," which is given to those who have contributed to the tea industry.

The achievements of Sugiyama Hikosaburo who changed Japanese tea

The Beginning of "Cultivar Breeding"

Hikosaburo, who had cleared his land and created a tea plantation, was almost self-taught in tea cultivation. Instead, he learned tea making from officials of the Kannou Bureau (an internal bureau of the Ministry of the Interior in charge of agricultural promotion) and his distant relative, the tea master Yamada Bunsuke.

He learned tea making from his distant relative, Yamada Bunsuke, a tea master who believed that "to make good tea, you need good tea leaves."

Hikosaburo realizes that some teas grow faster and some slower and that the quality of tea leaves cultivar depends on the cultivar.

These things are now taken for granted, but at that time, it was commonplace to have different broad cultivars of tea in a single tea plantation, and the quality of the tea leaves harvested varied widely. Under such circumstances, this realization was a great discovery and the first step toward improving tea cultivars.

Development of “Yabukita”

Convinced that good tea plants were necessary to produce a stable supply of high-quality tea, Hikosaburo focused on improving tea cultivars. However, this was a process of trial and error without any academic knowledge.

Today, what Hikosaburo did is recognized as "breed improvement," but people did not understand him and treated him as an eccentric at the time.

Even so, from around 35, he began to develop new varieties one after another. Finally, he selected good tea trees and named the one planted on the north side of the bush "Yabukita" and the one planted on the south side "Yabu-Minami" and started cultivating them. The "Yabukita" was found to be resistant to disease and easy to grow, producing tea leaves with a well-balanced flavor.

Although "Yabukita" was recognized for its quality after its announcement, it was not until 14 years after Hikosaburo's death that it finally spread throughout Japan due to the intervening war.

Dedicated to promotion of the local tea industry

Hikosaburo Sugiyama's achievements were not limited to cultivar improvement.

In his fifties, he finally found a supporter in Kahei Otani, the chairman of the Central Chamber of Tea Industry. He worked on a cultivar improvement project at the test site, but when Otani stepped down as chairman, he could not obtain continued support from the Central Chamber of Tea Industry and was forced to give up the test site.

However, the 77-year-old Hikosaburo did not give in to this predicament.

He continued his research at the tea plantation he had purchased and asked for the cooperation of young men in the neighborhood to pass on the knowledge and experience he had gained in breeding to future generations. He also generously shared his expertise with neighboring farmers, and when new machines were developed, he was quick to introduce them and mechanize the tea industry. This is why he is still called "Mr. Hikosaburo" in his hometown, even after his death.

Click here to read an article detailing the process of "breed improvement" that Hikosaburo pursued throughout his life.

Three episodes telling the passion of sugiyama Hikosaburo

The man called “a weasel”

It is said that to find good tea plants, Hikosaburo wandered around the tea fields day and night, sometimes even entering people's fields. Even though he was ridiculed as a "weasel" for crawling on the ground and moving around in the tea fields, he never stopped searching for the perfect tea tree.

Whenever he found a tea tree, he thought, "this is the one!" So he chewed the tea leaves raw and examined them so thoroughly that he was missing his front teeth.

He put all his passion into his search for the ideal cultivar.

Travel anywhere for tea trees

Hikosaburo's passion for finding good tea moved him endlessly.

In an era when transportation was not well developed, he traveled all over Japan and even to Korea in search of tea plants. He always brought along water moss for water retention and sometimes stuck branches into the cut ends of vegetables to get back good tea plants when he found them.

Even if all his 20 years of hard work is turned into firewood

Hikosaburo was 77 years old when he lost his supporters and was forced to give up the test land. All the tea trees he had poured his heart and soul into growing for more than 20 years at the test site were pulled out and used as firewood.

Despite his advanced age of 77, Hikosaburo's passion for continuing his research and nurturing the next generation of tea growers can be described as his persistence.

When you think of the hard work and passion that Hikosaburo Sugiyama, who was an amateur tea grower, spent his life to achieve, you may feel that his usual tea is something special and flavorful.

Fertilizer" is used when growing tea.

Appropriate use of fertilizers can make tea aroma and taste to your liking.

In this article, we will explain the types of fertilizers and their merits and demerits in detail.

Fertilizers used for tea

The purpose of fertilizers used for tea is to produce a large harvest of high-quality tea leaves, and the necessary nutrients are applied. This is called "fertilization."

The main components of fertilizer are nitrogen (N), phosphoric acid (P), and potassium (K), which are called the three primary elements of fertilizer.

Since tea leaves are a crop rich in amino acids, nitrogen supply is essential.

Fertilizers can be divided into two main categories: chemical fertilizers and organic fertilizers.

What are the characteristics of each type of fertilizer?

Chemical fertilizers

Chemical fertilizers are made by chemically manipulating components essential for plant growth and increasing their concentration.

There are two types of chemical fertilizers: "simple fertilizers," which are made from single fertilizer components such as nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, and "chemical compound fertilizers," which are made by mixing these components.

Organic fertilizers

Organic fertilizers are fertilizers made from organic materials such as animal feces and food dregs.

Plant-based fertilizers are made from rapeseed, soybean, etc., and animal-based fertilizers are made from fish, fish, etc. There is also a type of fertilizer called "bokashi fertilizer," in which microorganisms ferment these materials.

Advantages and disadvantages of using fertilizers

The next topic is the advantages and disadvantages of chemical fertilizers and organic fertilizers.

Advantages of chemical fertilizers

Because the fertilizers are separated by component, you can use different types of fertilizers depending on what you want them to act on. In addition, fertilizer management becomes easier because you can choose the type and amount of fertilizer while watching growth.

In particular, since nitrogen determines the umami components of tea, the amount of nitrogen fertilizer can be adjusted to suit the desired umami of the tea.

Disadvantages of chemical fertilizers

Tea plants have a limited amount of fertilizer that they can absorb. Therefore, excessive application of fertilizers can cause tea plants to have trouble absorbing the fertilizers, resulting in lower yields and poor quality.

There are also concerns about the environmental impact of chemically produced fertilizers.

Advantages of organic fertilizers

Because of its high organic content, it provides food for microorganisms living in the soil and stimulates their activity. The products produced by the microorganisms improve the quality of the soil, which in turn enhances the growth of tea plants.

In addition, because the fertilizer is made from organic matter such as food, it is environmentally friendly.

Disadvantages of organic fertilizers

Compared to chemical fertilizers, organic fertilizers do not have an immediate effect, making the timing of fertilizer application more difficult.

Incorrect fertilizer management can delay growth and reduce yields, so constant attention to soil, climate, and growth conditions are necessary to manage fertilizers.

“Cover cultivation” is one of the tea cultivation methods. Tea leaves grown in this method are processed into “Gyokuro,” “Tencha,” and “Kabusecha.” Why are tea leaves grown in cover cultivation preferred to make these types of tea? This article provides the reason in detail.

What is cover cultivation?

Cover cultivation is a cultivation method in which tea trees with growing fresh buds are covered to avoid sunlight for a certain period. Photosynthesis in the leaf barely happens without the sun, so the fresh buds take a longer time to grow to become harder leaves. Picking time can be longer thanks to this process. In addition, the cover keeps the leaves warm so that they can be protected against frost and picked earlier. Good-quality tea is produced from the leaves that are “less hard and kept warm.”

Features of tea grown in cover cultivation

A tea leaf covered during cultivation takes on a distinctive grassy aroma called “ooika (literally cover aroma in Japanese).” An increased number of chlorophylls deepen the green color of the leaf.

The tea grown by cover cultivation has a bright green liquid color compared with the tea produced without covering. Its characteristic rich fragrance arising from the cover aroma and slightly astringent flavor entertains you well. The brilliant tint and light astringency are suited for the processing of “Gyokuro” and “Tencha”

Why does cover cultivation make tea more delicious?

The tea’s umami component theanine, when exposed to the sun, changes to the tea’s astringent component catechin. However, cover cultivation blocks sunlight and prevents theanine from changing to catechin, so the tea can store full of umami. Furthermore, the amount of caffeine, which is less bitter than catechin, increases by light shielding. As a result, the tea grown by cover cultivation provides a sweeter flavor with lighter astringency and bitterness than the tea grown without covering.

"Organic cultivation" is one of the methods of tea cultivation.

Do you know what organic cultivation is? Strict standards must be met before tea can be labeled as organically grown. In this article, we will explain in detail about organic farming.

What is organic farming?

Organic farming uses methods that "do not use chemically synthesized fertilizers or pesticides, do not use genetic modification technology, and reduce the environmental impact of agricultural production as much as possible."

Specifically, it refers to cultivation methods that do not use prohibited pesticides or chemical fertilizers and that take into consideration nature's natural ecosystems.

There is also pesticide-free cultivation, but it is not the same as organic cultivation because the regulations differ. Organic cultivation is subject to strict standards, not only in terms of whether or not pesticides are applied but also in terms of soil preparation and seed suppliers.

JAS Certification

JAS certification is given to agricultural products and processed foods that meet the standards for organic cultivation.

Based on the JAS Law established by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, a registered certifying organization conducts inspections. Only products that pass these inspections are allowed to be labeled "organic" or "organically grown.

When applying the JAS mark, the name of the inspection organization that conducted the inspection and the certification number must be indicated.

Organic Farming of Tea

Organic tea must be harvested from areas free of synthetic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and synthetic soil conditioners for at least three years and where the soil has been prepared with compost or other fertilizers.

If fertilizers are used, only organic fertilizers that meet the standards may be used. When organic farmers use fertilizers, they mainly use homemade fertilizers (fermented fertilizers).

During cultivation, farmers take the time and effort to harvest leaves appropriately to prevent a sudden increase in insects and diseases and to cut weeds to ensure that the tea plants are well nourished.

Features of Organic Tea

Because the tea leaves are grown in a near-wild state, the original flavor of the tea leaves is brought out to the maximum extent.

Although the aroma is strong, the bitterness and astringency are not too strong, and the tea has a moderate richness and a refreshing aftertaste.

Advantages

When usual tea leaves are brewed in hot or cold water, agrochemicals also melt into the liquid.

Even though the amount is safe to our body, there are concerns about consuming agrochemicals for many years.

However, organically grown tea leaves are completely free of such concerns, and can be consumed safely even by those with chemical sensitivities.

In addition, by not using pesticides in cultivation, the tea is environmentally friendly and does not negatively impact the ecosystem. Therefore, it is expected to help maintain and stabilize agriculture in the future.However, organically grown tea leaves are completely free of such concerns, and can be consumed safely even by those with chemical sensitivities.

In addition, by not using pesticides in cultivation, the tea is environmentally friendly and does not negatively impact the ecosystem. Therefore, it is expected to help maintain and stabilize agriculture in the future.

Disadvantages

In the early stages of conversion to organic farming, yields are unstable due to many pests and diseases.

Organic fertilizers are also challenging to handle, and their ingredients are less stable than chemical fertilizers, so you must constantly assess the condition of the soil and crops to manage fertilizers.

Because the tea plant is more susceptible to crop failure due to weather conditions and adverse effects of pests and diseases, it isn't easy to achieve stable production year after year in terms of yield and quality.

Without knowledge and skill and a long period of time for the soil to stabilize, obtaining stable yields with organic farming isn't easy.

Another disadvantage is that because herbicides are not used, weeding is required throughout the year to remove weeds that have grown between the rows, increasing the workload for farmers.

Saponin is a type of glycosides that is slightly contained in tea.

It has effects such as antibacterial, fever reduction and antiasthmatic

In this page, we are going to introduce the basic information, taste and effects of saponin.

What is saponin?

Saponin is a type of glycosides that is slightly contained in tea.

It is named after “Shabon” that means bubbles, which comes from foam that looks like tiny bubbles on top of whisked Matcha.

Does saponin taste very bitter?

Saponin is an ingredient with its unique bitterness, astringency and egumi(harsh bitterness) taste.

However, as mentioned before, since saponin is only contained a small amount in tea, it does not make tea taste significantly bitter.

Is saponin found in animals?

Saponin is a compound mainly found in plants. For instance, it is contained in bellflower, licorice and date fruit.

However, it does not mean that saponin is only found in plants. Animals such as sea cucumber and starfish also have saponin.

Effects of saponin

Saponin has effects listed below;

• Antiasthmatic
• Antibacterial, Antivirus
• Inflammation relief, Fever reduction
• Sedation
• Cholesterol reduction and
• Antiobesity

*References: Glossary of Pharmaceutical Terms (The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan), Survey of Functional Components and Utilization (National Agriculture and Food Research Organization), "All You Need to Know about Japanese Tea" (Nobunkyo)

It is said that one of these listed effects of saponin that is Antibacterial/Antivirus especially fights off the flu virus.

Therefore, gargling with tea in addition to taking medicine would be helpful when not feeling well.