History of Japanese tea: Edo period

The Edo period (1603-1867) was a very important period in the history of Japanese tea, with the development of Gyokuro and the start of export of Japanese tea.

In this article, I’m going to explain the history of tea in the Edo period.

Development of Sencha and Gyokuro

Uji in Kyoto had been growing tea since ancient times, but in the late 16th century, a unique method of growing tea called “the covered cultivation” was invented and succeeded in producing highly flavored tea.

However, this method of growing tea leaves under covers was not permitted for everyone, and was only applicable to houses with a limited position.

Under such circumstances, NAGATANI Soen (1681-1778) developed a new production method for Sencha (steeped green tea).

After a great deal of trial and error, he came up with the idea of a production method called “a method for producing green Sencha” in 1738.

It is a method of tea production by drying tea leaves in a drying oven and kneading them by hands.

By this method, green tea with much better taste, aroma and color can be produced.

Later, when Soen took the tea to Edo, YAMAMOTO Kahee, a tea dealer in Nihonbashi, praised it very much.

Soen's tea was sold through YAMAMOTO Kahee, and since then it has spread to various places along with the production method.

In 1835, the sixth generation, YAMAMOTO Kahee created the tea that was described as “taste like honeydew” and Gyokuro that is still popular today was born.

What kind of tea was drunk in the Edo period?

In the Edo period, the culture of drinking tea was widespread among the common people.

According to researcher NISHIMURA Toshinori, the types of tea familiar to the common people gradually became more sophisticated from dark brown coarse tea to yellowish green tea.

The type of tea used to be drunk differs a little depending upon the family and social status, but there is no doubt that there was such a transition.

Modernization of tea distribution

The Edo period was also a time when distribution systems such as wholesalers, brokers, and retailers were developed that are similar to those of today.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the development of the distribution system was one of the factors that led to the spread of tea production throughout Japan.

It is a well-known fact that Japan had a policy of seclusion during the Edo period, but only Dejima (island) of Nagasaki was allowed to trade.

In fact, tea was an important export there and the basis of foreign trade.

At the time of the unequal treaties with the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries, 181 tons of tea was exported.

For this reason, tea was recognized as a useful export item for earning foreign currency even in the Meiji period (1868-1912).

Green tea has become the national drink for the Japanese, but it was originally introduced from China in the late Nara period (710-794).

In this article I’m going to explain the history of Japanese tea in the Nara and Heian periods.

The introduction of tea

It is said tea was introduced to Japan about 1,200 years ago and when monks who had studied in China such as Saicho, Kukai, and Eichu, brought back solid tea called “Heicha” from China.

The earliest record of tea drinking is found in Nihon Koki, which records that Eichu offered tea to Emperor Saga in 815.

As a result, Emperor Saga decided to have tea grown in areas such as Yamato and Harima in June of the same year and ordered it to be offered every year.

This was the beginning of tea cultivation in Japan.

The tea drunk before the Heian period

As mentioned above, the earliest record of tea drinking can be found in 815, during the Heian period (794-1185), but it is believed the tea was drunk even before that.

This is because there is a material that shows there were already tea utensils in the late Nara period.

In other words, tea had already introduced to Japan through the Japanese envoys to the Tang dynasty at that time.

However, the tea of this period was a drink for the upper classes and was not available to the common people.

What is Heicha (Dancha)?

The type of tea that was drunk in the Nara and Heian periods was called “Heicha (Dancha)”.

Heicha is a kind of tea that is made from steamed tea leaves into powder and solidified like Mochi (rice cake) at the finishing stage.

When Japanese people drank it, they would cut off the necessary amount, roasted it with a fire, then powdered it and put it in hot water to drink.

Later, Dancha, a solid tea made with a mortar to finely grind the tea leaves, was also introduced, but Heicha and Dancha had a disadvantage of having a strong smell.

As a result, Heicha and Dancha did not suit Japanese tastes and gradually faded away.

The aroma compounds contained in tea can be described as the compounds that create a variety of aromas such as aromas of roasted tea leaves and young leaves.

Surprisingly, there are more than 300 different aroma compounds like these in tea.

This time, we are going to introduce the major aroma compounds and how each compound creates aromas.

Tea aroma is subtle and complex

Tea aroma can include many different aromas such as aromas of roasted tea leaves, young leaves and sweetness.

In fact, these aromas are created by compounds called “aroma compounds”.

Tea is the beverage that contains more than 300 different aroma compounds.

The harmony of these aroma compounds is where the subtle and complex tea aroma comes from.

Difference between Black Tea & Oolong Tea and Green Tea

Black tea, oolong tea and green tea are all produced from the same tea leaves.

However, each one of these teas has their own characteristic aromas as if they are not from the same tea leaves.

This is because each tea is produced in different processes that create different aroma compounds.

Now, let’s see the 3 different tea producing processes and the aromas created in those 3.

Green tea

At the beginning of producing green tea, there is a process called “sassei” that is to steam and heat freshly picked tea leaves.

This process deactivates enzymatic fermentation (oxidization) in the leaves from producing aroma compounds, which keeps refreshing aromas of tea leaves.

But, this doesn’t mean that green tea has few aroma compounds: even though the fermentation stops, there are still more than 200 aroma compounds contained in green tea.

Black tea / oolong tea

Black tea and oolong tea leaves would first be withered, instead of the heating process like the green tea’s.

When tea leaves are not heated at the beginning, oxidation would get enhanced to produce a variety of aroma compounds.

As a result, black tea / oolong tea contains about 600 aroma compounds, while green tea’s is about 200.

This is how floral and fruity aromas are produced in tea leaves to make the taste of black tea / oolong tea.

In other words, the types and volume of aroma compounds produced from the same tea leaves would vary according to the time length of oxidation.

Major aroma compounds

Now, let’s see the major aroma compounds contained in tea.

Linalool

Linalool is an aroma compound with the light and refreshing odor like lily of the valley.

It has effects of antibacterial, antivirus and immunity booster.

Geraniol

Geraniol is an aroma compound with the rose-like odor.

It is used to produce the artificial citrus flavor and vitamin E and A supplement.

Leaf alcohol

Leaf alcohol is an aroma compound with the refreshing odor of young leaves.

It is used to produce artificial flower essential oils and food flavors.

Cis-jasmone

Cis-jasmon is an aroma compound with the sweet and thick odor like jasmine and gardenia.

It is mainly contained in black tea and used to produce fruity or floral compounded fragrances.

Dimethyl sulfide

Dimethyl sulfide is an aroma compound with the odor of green seaweed.

It is contained in nori seaweed and wasabi, and it can cause bad smells when using a big amount.

However, since only a small amount is contained and blended with other aroma compounds in tea, it only plays a role to create refreshing aromas.

Indole

Indole is an aroma compound with the grassy, bitter and heavy odor.

It is also contained in jasmine oil and coal-tar

Indole itself can cause bad smells like dimethyl sulfide, but it would have the floral odor when low-concentrated.

Pyrazine

Pyrazine is an aroma compound with the roasting odor created by heating.

Particularly, the roasting aroma of Japanese tea comes from pyrazine.

Tea is a beverage with rich vitamin C.

Vitamin C is an important component that helps you maintain your immunity.

In this page, we are going to introduce the basic information and detailed effects of tea, and tips to effectively ingest vitamin C from tea.

Vitamins contained in tea.

Vitamins contained rich in tea are listed below;

• Vitamin C
• Vitamin A and
• Vitamin E

The 13 vitamins are classified as water-soluble and fat-soluble: vitamin C is water-soluble, vitamin A and E are fat-soluble.

These terms “water-soluble” and “fat-soluble” may not sound familiar to you but, it can simply be described that water-soluble is a type that easily dissolves in water and fat-soluble is not quite.

Therefore, when drinking brewed tea, water-soluble vitamin C can effectively be ingested, whereas, fat-soluble vitamin A and E cannot be ingested much.

Effects of vitamin C

According to the research done by Incorporated Administrative Agencies and General Research Organization of Agri-Food Technology, vitamin C contained in tea has effects listed below;

• Anti-scurvy
• Cold prevention
• Cataract prevention
• Anti-allergy
• Immunity booster
• Antioxidant and
• Prevention of nitrosamine formation

You may be familiar with some of these effects such as anti-allergy and immunity booster, on the other hand, the terms like antioxidant and nitrosamine may not ring the bell.

Thus, we are going to explain these two effects.

Antioxidant effect

Antioxidant effect is a function that detoxifies extra substances in your body.

This is considered as an important function that can prevent all types of diseases, and it works to inhibit tissues from aging.

Prevention of nitrosamine formation

Nitrosamine is a chemical compound that is strongly carcinogenic.

Ingestion of vitamin C can prevent formation of nitrosamine, which eventually leads to cancer prevention.

Tips to effectively ingest vitamin C

Sencha is recommended for those who want to ingest rich vitamin C.

Since vitamin C is formed by sunshine, sencha that soaks up lots of sunshine while cultivated contains rich vitamin C

On the other hand, Gyokuro and Matcha cultivated in shades don’t have as much vitamin C as sencha’s

Also, oolong tea and red tea have little vitamin C as most of it in those teas changes while in the process of fermentation / oxidation.,

Tips to ingest other vitamins in tea.

As mentioned at the beginning, tea also contains fat-soluble vitamins E and A.

These vitamins can hardly dissolve in water, while tea powder makes the ingestion possible.

As tea powder is ground tea leaves, the whole ingredients of tea leaves can be ingested in your body.

Since vitamin E has a strong antioxidant effect and vitamin A has an effect to maintain your skin in healthy condition, tea powder is recommended for those who want both health and beauty effects.

FYI, make sure to purchase “tea powder”, not “instant tea powder” that looks like tea powder.

Catechin is a type of polyphenol. It is a unique ingredient of tea with health effects such as reduction of bad cholesterol and stress relief.

In this page, we are going to introduce the basic knowledge of catechin and tips to effectively ingest catechin from tea.

What is Catechin?

Catechin is a type of polyphenol. It’s a unique ingredient of tea, which attributes bitterness and astringency in tea.

Many of you may have heard that polyphenol is good for your health, likewise, catechin is also one of the ingredients whose health effects are clinically proven.

There are four main catechins in tea that are;

• Epicatechin
• Epicatechin gallate
• Epigallocatechin and
• Epigallocatechin gallate

Each catechin has their own effects, and they also commonly have basic effects such as reduction of bad cholesterol.

Catechin attributes astringency in tea.

Astringency in tea mainly comes from catechin and caffeine.

Specifically, catechin contains astringency with bitterness, caffeine includes light and refreshing astringency.

Health effects of catechin

Health effects of catechin are listed below;

1. Antibacterial / Detoxification
2. Antioxidant
3. Reduction of bad cholesterol
4. Deodorization
5. Stress-relief

Let’s see in order:

Antibacterial / Detoxification

Catechin has effects of antibacterial and detoxification.

Specifically, it can be active against bacteria that cause O-157, flu, mycoplasma pneumonia. Besides, catechin has an effect of detoxification as it can easily be bonded to alkaloid that is a toxin found in many plants.

Antioxidant

Catechin has an antioxidant effect.

Antioxidant is simply described as a function that detoxifies extra substances in our body.

It is an important function that can prevent all types of diseases as it plays a role that prevents tissues from aging and maintains the immune system.

Surprisingly, it is said that antioxidant in catechin is tens of times more effective than Vitamin C’s and E’s.

With the data, no wonder it is said that tea is good for your health.

Reduction of bad cholesterol

Reduction of bad cholesterol is also an effect of catechin.

Cholesterol has 2 types that are “HDL cholesterol (good)” and “LDL cholesterol (bad)”. Catechin has an effect that reduces LDL cholesterol.

Particularly, it is said that epigallocatechin gallate rich in tea has more of the effect.

Deodorization

You may have heard that tea leaves have an effect of deodorization.

This deodorization actually comes from catechin.

For instance, research done by Miki Ui et al. (1991) reports that chewing gums that contain catechin have an effect of oral deodorization.

Stress-relief

You may feel relaxed while drinking tea.

In fact, the effect of drinking tea that relieves stress and tension is scientifically proved.

Research done by Takako Yamato et al. (2012) indicates that drinking tea and catechin tea on the market brings these effects of;

• stress/tension relief
• counteraction of fatigue and mood enhancement

Also, drinking catechin-rich tea on the market has an effect of anti-depression and decrease of low mood.

This shows that ingesting catechin by drinking tea can relieve your stress.

It is surprising that ordinary tea that we casually drink actually brings a variety of effects.

How to ingest catechin in tea

Here are 2 tips to ensure the ingestion of catechin in tea;

1. use hot water at a high temperature
2. purchase second / third flush tea

Let’s see in order.

Use hot water at a high temperature

Catechin has a characteristic that hardly dissolves at a low temperature. Whereas, it can dissolve well in hot water at a high temperature.

Although high temperatures can cause astringent in tea, we recommend brewing tea at a high temperature for the purpose of rich catechin.

Purchase second / third flush tea

Tea leaves are classified as first/second/third flush teas by the harvest times of year

First flush is considered as the most premium and flavorful tea, but second and third flush teas are recommended when expecting the ingestion of rich catechin.

Second and third flush teas grow in the times that the daylight hours are long, which results in rich catechin produced by sunlight.

Therefore, try second / third flush teas when you want to take rich catechin.

Tea is divided into “unoxidized tea,” “semi-oxidized tea,” “oxidized tea,” and “fermented tea” according to the degree of oxidation/fermentation.

Green tea, which Japanese people drink, is “unoxidized tea.” It can be produced by “the steaming method,” which uses steam, or by “the roasting method,” which uses a pan. Today’s mainstream is the steaming method.

Kamairicha, a tea produced by the pan-roasting method, has very little production volume in Japan. The rare tea is called “illusory tea.”

What is Kamairicha?

Kamairicha is a tea that is produced, as its name literally suggests in Japanese, by roasting in the pan. While over 95% of Japanese tea is produced by the steaming method, Kamairicha, which requires long time and high technique, accounts for less than 1%. It is indeed illusory tea.

It is said that Kamairicha originated in the mid-15th century and came down from China to Kyushu. Tea of that time required great care before drinking; steaming, hardening, and powdering to drink or simmering, drying, and boiling to drink.

However, the tea produced by roasting leading to today’s pan-roasted tea just required pouring hot water to drink. The easy-to-prepare tea quickly spread and established its popularity. Kamairicha is rare in Japan, but most of the tea produced in China is this kind.

Features of Kamairicha

While steamed tea leaves are slender, pan-roasted ones become round and are called “Tamaryokucha (round green tea)”. Kamairicha is featured by an aroma called “kamaka (literally pan aroma in Japanese).” A pleasant aroma that arises from pan-roasting stays on the leaf. A green tea’s distinctive light flavor is less bitter and astringent.

Features of Kamairicha ingredients

Unoxidized tea has not undergone the oxidation process, so its ingredients and nutrients remain almost untouched. The tea leaf keeps a great deal of original nutrients almost as they are.

In addition to vitamin C and amino acids, the leaf contains full of nutrientive ingredients such as tannin for antioxidant effect, beta-carotene for immune enhancement and cancer prevention, etc.

Features of Kamairicha manufacturing process

Kamairicha undergoes “roasting” instead of “steaming” unlike usual green tea. Fresh tea leaves are roasted in the pan for deactivation. Pan-roasting is done by an expert because it requires considerable experience and high skills.

Production areas of Kamairicha

Kamairicha is produced mostly in Kyushu. Even famous tea-growing areas such as Shizuoka and Kyoto rarely produce it. As present, Saga Prefecture, Kumamoto Prefecture, Nagasaki Prefecture, and Miyazaki Prefecture produce it in mountain areas with abundant nature. Why does Kyushu produce a lot of it? They say it is because Kamairicha first arrived in Kyushu when it came from China.

How to drink Kamairicha

You can drink it as you drink green tea or Sencha (steeped green tea). Brew it in hot water of about 80 degrees C. Otherwise, cold brew Kamairicha also tastes good.

<Related Link>

How to Brew Nice Sencha / Fukamushi-Sencha(Green Tea)

Manufacturing Process of Kamairicha

What Kinds of Ingredients/Nutrition are In Unoxidized Tea(Green Tea)?

Matcha is used for a drink and also for a snack. It is so popular not only in Japan but also abroad. This article guides you through the wide use of Matcha, from tea ceremony to dessert, and its material Tencha.

What are Matcha and Tencha?

Even if you know Matcha, you may not know about Tencha. Tencha is a tea to make Matcha and not usually sold in the market. As with Gyokuro, Tencha undergoes cover culture for about 20 days, which lends a green-laver-like distinctive aroma and a mild, rich flavor to the tea. It is often confused with another Tencha of Chinese tea, but they are completely different teas.

Matcha is a finely ground Tencha. It is also used for tea ceremony. It is in 1783 when Sencha (steeped green tea), which is commonly consumed by Japanese people, was invented. Before then, tea exclusively referred to Matcha. In addition to the original use of drinking, there is an increased demand for other uses such as making snacks nowadays. Tencha does not need to be covered to make the Matcha for food processing.

Features of Matcha and Tencha

Matcha is the finely ground particles of Tencha and so susceptible to humidity, temperature, and light that it needs to be treated gently. Its drinking manners are different from other green teas. There are very few opportunities to see Tencha because it seldom comes on the market, but it looks very much like green laver. Its original cultivation method requires cover culture as a rule, but the covering process can be skipped to make the material of snacks.

Features of Matcha ingredients and Tencha ingredients

The ingredients of Matcha are mostly similar to Gyokuro. However, by swallowing the whole leaves that are finely ground, you can consume even the ingredients that usually remain in the leaves and are hard to take in when you brew the leaves of normal tea such as Sencha. It is called “Superfood” both domestically and internationally nowadays because you can take in a great deal of fat-soluble vitamins, catechins, and other ingredients that are good for health and beauty.

Features of Matcha process and Tencha process

Tencha is produced through cover culture as a rule. The tea farm is covered to avoid sunlight before about 20 days prior to plucking so that the leaves grow gradually. In this way, with less bitter and astringent flavors, the tea gains a lot of sweetness and umami. The manufacturing method does not have the process of rolling (i.e. kneading leaves). It just dries the leaves. Sencha’s cultivation process can be applied to Tencha if it is to be processed into snacks.

Productions areas of Matcha and Tencha

Matcha and Tencha are produced across the country. Let us focus on famous areas here.

Kyoto Prefecture

Kyoto boasts the largest production volume of Tencha. Above all, Hamacha from Kozuya, Joyo City won the first prize of the Tencha section at the National Fair of Tea, 2017. Its landscape of tea farms is declared as a Japanese Heritage site. It is said that the cultivation method of Tencha, “cover culture,” was developed in Kyoto.

Aichi Prefecture

Especially Nishio City in Ehime Prefecture has a suitable environment for Tencha cultivation with a rich soil mixed with sand, good humidity, etc. They have been growing Tencha for a long time. In Nishio City, many farmers take time and effort to hand-pluck fresh buds. Tea farms of approximately 150 hectares are growing high-quality Tencha.

How to drink Matcha and Tencha

To drink Matcha, the tea is made with a tea whisk. A freshly-made tea is the best. Drink it up while it is warm.

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Manufacturing Process of Matcha and Tencha

What Kinds of Ingredients/Nutrition are In Unoxidized Tea(Green Tea)?

Even if you don’t know much about tea, “Gyokuro” perhaps sounds like a high-class tea. Let us get to know more about Gyokuro, such a high-end tea also called “the king of tea.”

What is Gyokuro?

Gyokuro is a top-quality Sencha (steeped green tea). Its manufacturing process is the same as Sencha, but they differ in cultivation methods. Gyokuro is featured by the process in which the growing leaves are kept away from sunlight for about 20 days before plucking. In this way, Gyokuro gains full of umami. While the annual tea leaf production volume in Japan amounts to 86,300 tons, the production volume of Gyokuro is only 240 tons, or one four-hundredth of the nation’s output. Some of the highest-grade ones are plucked only once in a year and appreciated as an extremely rare tea.

History of Gyokuro

Gyokuro is a tea invented originally to develop a “high-grade Sencha” based on research. In 1835, the 6^th head of the famous tea merchant “Yamamotoyama” applied the cover culture method to Sencha. There are several views on the story afterward, but it is said that the tea was named “Gyokuro (jewel dew in Japanese)” because its young buds were appraised for “a flavor like Kanro (dew from heaven in Japanese).”

Features of Gyokuro

Produced through time and effort, Gyokuro’s flavor and price are far above the others. A high-end Gyokuro, if it is hand-pluck Ichibancha (first picked tea), can be priced 20 times more than Sencha. The tea leaves produced through the special cultivation method called cover culture make a beautiful, deep-green liquid color. They yield rich sweetness and umami and tasty, mild flavor, and also entertain you with a distinctive aroma called “ooika (covered aroma in Japanese).”

Features of Gyokuro ingredients

Besides vitamins, caffeine, and catechin contained in Sencha, Gyokuro has a great deal of theanine, a kind of amino acids. Theanine serves as umami and also acts on nerve functions and psychology to provide various effects such as relaxation, sleep improvement, and even dementia prevention.

Features of Gyokuro process

The manufacturing process of Gyokuro is the same as Sencha, but they differ in cultivation methods. Gyokuro undergoes a 20-day cover culture to avoid sunlight three weeks prior to plucking. The purpose is to keep the leaves from gaining astringency with sunlight and let them store full of umami. Plucking is often done by hand. The cultivation of Gyokuro takes more time and effort than the other teas.

Production areas of Gyokuro

Gyokuro is produced across the country. Uji in Kyoto and Yame in Fukuoka are well-known producers.

Uji in Kyoto Prefecture

Kyoto has the largest production volume of Gyokuro and also of Tencha, the material of Matcha. Especially Uji, as a famous tea-growing area, has many domestic and international visitors seeking tea. It is said that Gyokuro’s unique cultivation method “cover culture” was developed in Uji. Many brands of Gyokuro are there. “Uji Gyokuro” is a synonym for high-grade tea. The time-and-effort-taking Gyokuro from hand-pluck ichibancha (first picked tea) is recognized as the top-quality tea across the world.

Yame in Fukuoka Prefecture

Fukuoka Prefecture has the second largest Gyokuro production. Fukuoka Prefecture started making Gyokuro in 1879. Fog arises easily in Yame, moderately shielding the growing tea leaves from sunlight so that they can contain a greater deal of amino acids. For this reason, Gyokuro in Yame has been appreciated as “Natural Gyokuro.” Its quality is one of the highest in Japan. Yame Gyokuro won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Prize for 10 years in a row and has swept the first 26 places in the Gyokuro section at the National Fair of Tea. It has been receiving a high reputation.

How to drink Gyokuro

The best temperature to brew Sencha is about 80 degrees C, but Gyokuro should be brewed at around 60 degrees C. As with Sencha, you can enjoy only the umami of Gyokuro by brewing at low temperature. In the case of high-grade Gyokuro, you can take a sip in the mouth and slowly enjoy, or savor its flavor and aroma.

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How to Brew Nice Gyokuro

Manufacturing Process of Unoxidized Tea(Green Tea)

What Kinds of Ingredients/Nutrition are In Unoxidized Tea(Green Tea)?

Sencha is the most common tea consumed in Japan and accounts for 80% of Japanese tea production. All Japanese people should be drinking Sencha and Fukamushi-sencha even unconsciously. How much do you know about them?

What are Sencha and Fukamushi-sencha?

Sencha originally referred to “a tea to drink by infusing.” However, today, it refers to a tea produced by blocking the oxidation of the fresh leaves with heat, kneading the leaves to dry, and giving them a needle-shape. In general, Sencha is steamed for 30–40 seconds. If it is steamed double, for 60–80 seconds, the tea is called “Fukamushi-sencha.”

Sencha was born more than 300 years ago during the Edo Period. Tea culture spread among ordinary people then. They started infusing tea leaves to drink tea. At that time, any tea to drink by infusing was collectively called Sencha. Its color was blackish and its flavor was not good.

In 1738, Soen Nagatani, who was later called the originator of Japanese green tea, invented “the steaming method” as a new manufacturing way, making use of existing tea manufacturing methods. It changed the liquid color from brown to green and improved the flavor. Tea produced in this method became popular across the country and led to today’s Sencha.

Features of Sencha and Fukamushi-sencha

Fully-sunbathed tea leaves are used for Sencha so that the astringent ingredient catechin and the bitter ingredient caffeine increase to provide astringent and bitter flavors. However, the tea contains full of umami of the ingredient theanine, you can enjoy balanced flavors of astringency, bitterness, and umami. The liquid color is deep green. An invigorating, refreshing sent arises due to the use of fresh buds

Fukamushi-sencha has a weak aroma due to the prolonged steaming process, which gives less astringency than a normal Sencha. As a result, the tea provides a mild flavor with more sweetness and richness. The liquid color is deep green. In addition, Fukamushi-sencha’s fine leaves are suited for cold-brew tea, and also easy to brew, leaving fewer ingredients in the leaf.

Features of Sencha ingredients and Fukamushi-sencha ingredients

Unoxidized tea skips the oxidation process so that its ingredients and nutrients change little. The leaf keeps a great deal of the original nutrients almost as they are. It is full of vitamin C, amino acids, tannin for antioxidant effect, beta-carotene for immune enhancement and cancer prevention, and many other nutrient components.

Features of Sencha process and Fukamushi-sencha process

The plucked leaves are steamed, and repeatedly kneaded in various ways, and dried. The leaves should be steamed first to block the activity of oxidative enzymes so that they do not get oxidized. This process is called “deactivation.” Then, the leaves are fired (or roasted) and sorted alternatively. Lastly, they undergo blending to equalize the quality to become a product.

Production area of Sencha

Sencha, the most produced tea in Japan, has its production areas across the country, especially in Shizuoka Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Fukuoka Prefecture, and Kagoshima Prefectures.

How to drink Sencha

Sencha is sold with tea bags and easily prepared. However, the tea brewed from the leaves tastes especially good.

Approximately 6 g of tea leaf serves 2 people. Hot water can be used, but bitterness and astringency are also extracted at high temperature. For high-quality Sencha, it is recommended to use water of about 70 degrees C to extract only umami in the leaves for a nice flavor. For Fukamushi-sencha, please drink to the last drop because even the leaves remaining at the bottom of a cup contain full of umami and nutrients.

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Manufacturing Process of Unoxidized Tea(Green Tea)

What Kinds of Ingredients/Nutrition are In Unoxidized Tea(Green Tea)?

We need “pesticides” to grow tea. Crops are susceptible to diseases and pests, so pesticides are used in cultivation for stable supply. Every crop has a different purpose of using pesticides. This article is about pesticides in the cultivation of tea.

Pesticides that are used for tea

pesticides that are used in tea cultivation are pesticides, fungicides, herbicide, etc. Fungicides are divided into the two types: Protectants for disease protection and therapeutic agents for disease treatment. The use of pesticides, regarding residue standards and the period and method of use, is strictly regulated by Agricultural Chemicals Regulation Act, Food Sanitation Act, Water Pollution Prevention Law, etc.

Diseases of tea

There are several diseases of tea. Infected parts can be fresh buds, leaves, roots, stems, or others depending on the case. While different cultivars are liable to different diseases, common diseases are anthrax, blister blight, Pythium red blight, Dendrophoma obscurans, Pestalotiopsis longiseta, etc. Anthrax in particular can be seen at tea plantations across the country because “Yabukita,” the representative cultivar of tea, is susceptible to it. Pesticides are effective against these diseases to some extent.

Pests of tea

Tea has 100 types of pests. There are so many, but only a dozen or so require control. Major pests include yellow tea thrips, Kanzawa spider mites, tea jassids, tea leaf roller, and white peach scales. Pest damage varies by pest types. Some suck the sap of tea trees, and others eat leaves, especially fresh buds. There is also one that blights stems and branches.

Advantages and disadvantages of Pesticides

The advantages and disadvantages of pesticides are as follows.

Advantages

The basic disease prevention is to grow a disease-resistant cultivar, but it is unlikely that the chosen cultivar also makes large yields of good quality. To cover these shortcomings, farmers use pesticides. In addition, increased weeds take necessary nutrients for the growth of tea trees, so they sprinkle herbicides to prevent the growth of weeds. It also reduces labor for farmers suffering continuous shortage of hands.

Disadvantages

To fulfill the purposes of pesticides, such as killing pests and removing weeds, they need to be violently poisonous. It is not only consumers but also the farmers sprinkling them who worry about health hazards. Furthermore, the use of pesticides is disturbing the ecosystem by acting only on specific pests and weeds, and inevitably causing negative environmental effects. Today’s pesticides are friendlier to the human body and environment than before. However, there are still many challenges.

Caffeine is a type of alkaloid with effects that keeps you awake and promotes your digestion and absorption.

In this page, we are going to introduce the basic knowledge, detailed effects and tips for effective ingestion of caffeine.

Hope this article will help you benefit from caffeine in your life.

What is caffeine?

Caffeine is a type of compound called alkaloid that is contained in tea.

It is contained in tea and coffee, also used for medicine for cough and headache.

Caffeine causes bitterness in tea

Caffeine is an ingredient of bitterness as well as catechin contained in tea.

Caffeine attributes light bitterness, while catechin has astringency.

Who discovered caffeine?

Caffeine was discovered by a German doctor named Runge in 1819.

The year 1819 is in the late of the Edo period in Japan, which means that caffeine had been known very early in Europe.

Caffeine was first discovered in coffee, then also discovered in tea in 1827.

After, a lot of effects of caffeine got to be confirmed.

Effects of caffeine

Ingestion of caffeine has effects that;

• keep you awake
• stimulate heart and kidney to promote urination
• promote secretion of gastric acid that helps digestion and absorption of food
• promote fat burning in your body

Also, the highlight of caffeine is that caffeine effects are expected immediately as caffeine gets absorbed in your body right after ingestion.

Pay attention to the amount of your caffeine ingestion!

Taking caffeine has many effects, but it is confirmed that taking too much caffeine can cause some health risks.

For example, a study done by Hisashi Kurihara in 2015 reports that;

• taking more than 100mg caffeine may cause insomnia
• a risk of heart attack would be increased for 1 hour after taking more than 200mg of caffeine

However, as a cup tea in general (60ml) only contains about 16mg of caffeine, there would be no health problem as long as you simply enjoy tea.

Which one of tea and coffee has more caffeine?

Caffeine may remind you of coffee, but when comparing the same amount of tea leaves and coffee beans, tea leaves actually contain more caffeine than coffee beans.

For instance, sencha contains 1.7 times, Gyokuro has 2.7 times more caffeine than coffee beans.

However, when comparing the amount of caffeine per cup, more caffeine can be ingested in coffee than tea due to the amount to use of coffee beans.

For example, when comparing 100ml of coffee and tea, the amount of caffeine of each is ;

• Regular coffee: 60mg
• Sencha: 20mg

*Coca Cola Official Website

Therefore, those who want to effectively ingest caffeine should drink coffee rather than sencha.

Tips to effectively ingest caffeine in tea.

Since caffeine is likely to dissolve in hot water at a high temperature, brewing tea with hot water at a high temperature would be recommended. Whereas, there is not much caffeine in cold brew tea.

Thus, pay attention to the temperature of water when brewing tea.

Theanine is a type amino acid that has effects such as stress-relief and improvement of blood flow.

In this page, we are going to introduce the basic knowledge, detailed effects and tips for effective ingestion of theanine.

Hope this article will encourage you to drink tea for your health.

What is theanine?

Theanine is a type of amino acid contained in tea. This may surprise you but, tea contains amino acids below;

• Gultamine acid
• Arginie
• Asparagines acid
• Theanin
• Other

Particularly, theanine is the most contained amino acid that is about 50% of all types of amino acids in tea.

Theanine attributes sweetness and umami in tea.

Theanine is a unique ingredient of tea that attributes sweetness and umami.

As it is not contained in coffee or cocoa, tea is the only one that can taste refreshing sweetness and umami of Theanine.

Thenine was discovered by Japanese.

Theanine is an ingredient discovered in Gyokuro by Yajiro Sakato in 1950.

In fact, theanine is named after tea: It was named after the old scientific name of tea “thea sinensis”.

Effects of theanine

Theanine has an effect that releases alpha waves in brain.

“Alpha wave” may not sound familiar, but it is simply described as a brain wave that is released when relaxed.

When alpha waves are released in brain, these effects can be expected;

• Increase in memory
• Increase in concentration
• Tension-relief and improvement of blood flow
• Stress-relief

Isn’t it great to gain these effects only by drinking tea?

How to ingest theanine in tea

Theanine tends to be contained more in high-end tea with rich umami such as Gyokuro, Matcha and high-end Sencha.

Therefore, those who want to ensure enough theanine are recommended choosing higher ranked tea than they usually take.

Also, brewing tea with iced water can suppress catechin that causes astringency and caffeine that boosts your mood.

So, relaxation effects and umami of theanine can be more in ice-cold brewed tea than hot brewed tea.