Today “Matcha” is loved throughout the world. It is made of a tea called “Tencha.” How much do you know about “Tencha?” This article guides you through how “Tencha” is manufactured and how it becomes “Matcha.”

Features of Matcha process and Tencha process

“Tencha,” the material of Matcha, is the only tea that skips the kneading process unlike Sencha (steeped green tea). For this reason, its Aracha (crude tea) takes shorter to manufacture than Sencha. However, its whole process takes time and effort as with Sencha, considering its leaves need to be ripened and ground in a mill.

From picking fresh leaves into shipment

The picked fresh leaves are processed into “Tencha” at first. Then it undergoes the finishing process to be shipped as “Matcha” across the country.

Tencha process

Tencha process is broadly divided into two phases of “Aracha” and “finishing.” Let us start from the “Aracha” phase.

Steaming

Freshly-picked leaves contain oxidative enzymes. The enzymes immediately start fermentation (oxidation). This process is to deactivate their action with the heat of steam. Tencha is steamed shorter than Sencha. As a result, the leaves turn bright yellow-green and gain a distinctive scent called “ooika (covered aroma).” To make a deep-colored Matcha, the leaves should be steamed longer.

Cooling/blowing

The leaves are put in a tea leaf blower. The 5-meter-tall machine repeatedly blows the leaves up and down, and cools them down. It can separate and arrange the cooled leaves in a single layer.

Rough drying (main drying)

Leaves are dried with hot wind of over 150 degrees C through a special drying oven. The layered oven has three conveyor belts. The leaves are dried rapidly on the bottom belt, blown up to the top belt, and dried gradually until they go down to the middle belt.

That’s all for the Aracha process.

Finishing

The stems of Aracha are not fully dried so they are not good for making Matcha. The finishing process needs to follow. In the case of Tencha, this finishing process is also referred to as “Shitate (tailoring).”

Sorting

The stem portions are cut off from the leaves using a machine called stem cutter. Furthermore, only the leaf portions of good-quality are sorted out and cut into the regular length, removing hard leaves and remaining stems.

Drying

The sorted leaves are blown and slowly dried. The wind can further separate the stem portions that have not been removed.

Blending

To make a preferred flavor and color, different types of Tencha are blended. This concludes the Tencha process.

Stone-mill grinding

Tencha under thoroughly controlled temperature and humidity is ground in a stone mill just before shipment. Finally the Matcha process is done.

Production areas of Matcha and Tencha

Uji City in Kyoto Prefecture and Nishio City in Aichi Prefecture are well-known as production areas of Matcha. Shizuoka Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, and Fukuoka Prefecture are also producing a lot of Matcha.

The birthplace of Matcha is said to be China, but today their Matcha production is much less.

Broadly speaking, unoxidized tea is processed in “the steaming method” or “the pan-roasting method” according to the way of deactivation. “The steaming method” is more common for Japanese green tea, while Chinese green tea is mostly processed in “the pan-roasting method.” The tea produced in “the pan-roasting method” is called “Kamairicha.” This article guides you through the features and process of “Kamairicha.”

Features of Kamairicha process

Kamairicha is a kind of unoxidized tea. It has undergone the deactivation of oxidative enzymes in the leaf immediately after plucking. It is featured by the process of “Kamairi (pan-roasting)” for deactivation.

From picking fresh leaves to shipment

Upon picking, the fresh leaves are processed up to the “Aracha (crude tea)” phase at a nearby site and transported to a finishing factory to undergo the “finishing” process. “Aracha” becomes a product through “finishing” to be shipped across the country.

How to make Aracha

Let us take a closer look at the process to make “Aracha”

Kamairi (pan-roasting)

The plucked tea leaves are thoroughly roasted in a hot iron pan of 300 degrees C. The heating and finishing processes rely on the experience and intuition of an expert.

Rough rolling

The leaves are vigorously kneaded and dried with hot wind under an appropriate pressure. This process softens the leaves and reduces their moisture.

Rolling/twisting

Rough rolling does not knead the leaves enough. Now the leaves are kneaded only with pressure, with no heat. This process equalizes the leaf moisture and breaks up the leaf cells so that the ingredients come out easily.

Medium rolling

Rolling/twisting leaves the leaves shrunk and unshaped. By further kneading in hot wind, the leaves become easy to shape at the fine rolling process.

Fine rolling

The leaves are dried and at the same time kneaded in one direction. This process gives green tea’s characteristic slender shape.

Drying

The leaves are dried in the sun to bring out their umami. They can be dried also with agitation in the pan. Now “Aracha” is ready.

Finishing

In the phase of Aracha, the leaves are still irregularly-shaped and moist. It is difficult to maintain the quality. Here comes the need of the finishing process. In this process, “pre-firing, sorting/shaping, firing, and blending” take place in this order. Shipment follows measuring, checking, and packaging. Finishing enables longer storage and enhances the tea flavor.

Pre-firing

Prior to sorting/shaping, the entire Aracha leaves undergo firing (roasting, etc.).

Sorting/shaping

Aracha is sieved to remove fine stems and sort the leaves by the size. And the following processes such as cutting shape the leaves.

Firing

Drying once again with fire improves the shelf life of the leaves and brings out the tea aroma.

Blending

As the final adjustment, blending can equalize the composition and quality of the tea. Blending makes a well-balanced tea.

Kamairicha’s production areas and features

Kamairicha came from China to Japan around the 15^th century. Most Japanese teas of that time were Kamairicha until the manufacturing process of Sencha (steeped green tea) was established. While “the pan-roasting method” is still the mainstream in China, Kamairicha accounts for less than 1 % of Japanese tea production. Main production areas in Japan are concentrated in Kyushu District, especially in Saga Prefecture, Nagasaki Prefecture, and Miyazaki Prefecture.

“Kamairicha” is featured by a pleasant aroma, called “Kamaka (pan aroma),” resulting from pan-roasting. It has a refreshing flavor with less astringency and attracts you by a light, transparent golden liquid color.

“Jasmine tea” is known for its elegant and gentle fragrance. Do you know how they flavor it? There are several processes to flavor it. Time and effort are spent. Jasmine tea is one of the teas called “flowering teas.” There are many other “flowering teas.” Let us take a look at various kinds of flowering teas and how tea leaves are flavored.

Features of flowering tea process

“Flowering tea” is a white tea (bai cha), blue tea (qing cha/oolong tea), green tea, or other tea flavored with flowers and fruits. Some are flavored by mixing raw flowers into tea leaves as with jasmine tea. Others are flavored by mixing dried petals into tea leaves as with osmanthus tea. Rose tea is brewed only with dried flowers, not using tea leaves.

From picking fresh leaves to shipment

In the case of jasmine tea, the plucked fresh leaves are processed to Aracha (crude tea) and then scented with alternatively layered flowers. Once flavoring has been done, flowers are removed and the packaged products are shipped.

How to make Aracha

It is common to use green tea, but in China white tea and blue tea are also used as follows.

Flowering tea is generally green-tea-based. Green tea has the property of “absorbing scents” and fits to make flowering tea more than other types of tea. In China, however, besides green tea, white tea and blue tea are also used for some types and brands.

1. Flavoring (In the case of jasmine tea)

Let us see the example of jasmine tea for the flavoring process.

You can add a scent only by directly mixing flowers with tea leaves. However, jasmine tea is valued higher when the leaves are flavored for a longer time. It may take several months to make a high-grade product.

2. Sorting

Unopened jasmine flowers are chosen and hand-plucked one by one. The plucked buds are arranged and laid at a well-ventilated place until they open a little. Then, the buds are sieved to sort out only opening flowers. It is because opening flowers are giving out the strongest scent and suited for flavoring.

3. Layering

After sorting, the flowers and the tea leaves are placed alternatively in several layers to let the flower’s fragrance permeate the leaves.

4. Flavoring

During the flavoring process, the fragrance permeates the leaves with the flower moisture. It is important to keep a proper amount of moisture in this process.

5. Radiation

The plucked flowers keep breathing, which generates respiration heat. The increasing heat withers the flowers and spoils the fragrance. To release the heat, the pile needs to be put down once. After the temperature decreases, the flowers are mixed into the tea leaves to uniform the fragrance.

6. Separation

The withered flowers and the tea leaves are separated through the siever. The tea leaves contain the moisture from the flowers now and need to be dried a little to stabilize the quality. The key is to dry slowly so that the flower scent is not blown off. The withered flowers are replaced by fresh ones. The processes from layering to separation are repeated. The number of repetition is generally three times, but a higher-grade product will require more.

7. Finishing

Lastly, a small amount of fresh flowers are added and the packaged products are shipped. In fact, a higher–grade product is finished with fewer flowers. You can assume a product with a lot of flowers is low-graded.

About Jasmine tea and Flowering tea

Jasmine tea became the most popular because it was considered best-suited for flowering tea with its strong scent and good durability. It accounts for 80% of the production of flowering tea and still enjoys great popularity as a beloved flowering tea. Flowering tea was originally meant to entertain us with its fragrance, but some types of flowering tea plays the role of herbal medicines. In Japan, its health benefits are gaining publicity and various flowering teas are becoming available besides jasmine tea. In addition, an eye-pleasing type of “flowering tea” called “art tea” is coming on the scene. You can enjoy “flowering tea” in various ways. Many “flowering teas” are easy to drink. Why not find your favorite ones?

Do you know your daily oolong tea is called “semi-oxidized tea?” In fact, most of the Chinese teas are categorized as “semi-oxidized tea.” Let us take a closer look at “semi-oxidized tea” and its manufacturing process and methods.

Features of semi-oxidized tea process (Chinese tea process)

“Semi-oxidized tea” is a tea whose fermentation (oxidization) has been stopped halfway. Tea leaves originally contain oxidative enzymes. The enzymes start oxidative fermentation right after harvesting. Stopping fermentation (oxidization) by heating at a suitable timing lends a unique color and flavor to semi-oxidized tea.

Fermentation or oxidation?

In the world of tea, fermentation refers to oxidation by oxidative enzymes in the tea leaf, not microbial or bacterial fermentation as in miso and yogurt. Oxidation refers to the reaction of enzymes with oxygen to change the original ingredients. Some teas such as post-fermented tea utilize microbes for fermentation, but as a rule, fermentation in the tea industry means oxidization.

Different types of semi-oxidized tea

Semi-oxidized tea is classified according to the degree of oxidation as follows:

Types of semi-oxidized tea

· White tea (bai cha): bai mudan, baihao yinzhen, etc.

· Yellow tea (huang cha): mengding huangya, junshan yinzhen, etc.

· Blue tea (qing cha): oolong tea, tieguanyin tea, etc.

Different oxidization degrees

“White tea” is a tea made from very young downy leaves still covered by white hair. It is featured by the short oxidation process. In addition, it is the only semi-oxidized tea that skips the rolling process.

“Yellow tea” is a tea that has been slightly oxidized during the Aracha (crude tea) phase. It undergoes the oxidation process, “menhuang,” which utilizes the leaf’s heat and moisture after heating treatment.

“Blue tea” is a representative type of semi-oxidized tea. It is called “blue tea” from the appearance of oxidized leaves that have turned reddish-brown and unoxidized leaves that remain green mixed together. Oolong tea is also a type of “blue tea.”

From picking fresh leaves to shipment

Every tea manufacturing starts from tea leaf picking called “plucking.” In the case of Chinese tea, unlike Japanese tea, tea leaves with a wider opening are to be picked. The picked leaves undergo withering, oxidization, rolling, drying, etc. to become “Aracha” and go through the finishing process at a finishing factory to be shipped.

How to make Aracha

There are various steps according to the type of tea. For example, in the case of ordinary oolong tea, the manufacturing method consists of sun-withering (shaiqing), indoor-withering (liangqing), rotary oxidization (yaoqing), pan-roasting (shaqing), wrapping (bao rou), rolling, and drying in this order to become Aracha.

1. Sun-withering (shaiqing)

The leaves are sun-dried in fine weather to be withered. The withering tank’s hot wind is also used in case of bad weather, but sun-dried ones are graded better in general.

2. Indoor-withering (lianqing)

Sun-withering makes the leaf temperature higher. The leaves need to be spread and cooled down on the indoor shelf before going to the next process.

3. Rotary oxidization (yaoqing)

The leaves are rotated in a bamboo basket to damage the leaf edges. Enzymatic oxidization gets activated from the damaged parts. The edges turn reddish-brown, while the inside of the leaf remains green. Now the leaves are semi-oxidized.

4. Pan-roasting (shaqing)

Oxidization is stopped at a right moment by roasting the leaves in the pan. The mainstream is hand-roasting with a tilted pan, but machine-roasting is coming on the scene nowadays.

5. Rolling

As with Japanese tea, the leaves are kneaded under pressure. The process evenly spreads the leaf moisture so that the leaf ingredients get easy to come out.

6. Wrapping (bao rou)

The tea leaves are wrapped in a cloth roughly about 20 by 20 inches and shaped by squeezing and narrowing down in a rolling way. This process and the following drying process are repeated about 20 times.

7. Drying

The tightened bundle gets loosened and dried to remove the leaf moisture. Drying should take place slowly so that the leaves will not revert to the original shape by rapid drying. Then, the leaves are kept in a hemp bag to be transported to a finishing factory.

Finishing

The leaves become Aracha after drying, but the leaves at this phase are not enough to be a product. Aracha needs to undergo “finishing” at the end.

8. Drying/Firing

Aracha is slowly roasted for the final adjustment of the leaf moisture. Roasting to a preferred degree brings out a nice flavor.

This completes the oolong tea process.

Have you ever heard of a tool called a "drip bag" that allows you to easily brew tea without using a teapot?

Drip bags are recommended for those who do not have a teapot or teapot, or for those who want to drink delicious tea outside the home, such as at the office or park.

Here, we would like to introduce you to the drip bag and how to brew a delicious cup of tea using the drip bag.

What is a drip bag of tea?

A drip bag for tea is an extraction device that can be used over a teacup or cup, as shown in the photo.

Drip bags make it easy to brew delicious tea for those who do not have a teapot or teapot, or for those who brew tea outside the home, such as at the office or park.

You can even throw away the entire bag, so if you've ever found it a hassle to dispose of tea leaves in a kyusu, this is for you!

I usually experiment with various tools, but this is a very useful extraction device because it can easily brew tea of almost the same quality as that brewed in a kyusu.

What is the difference between a drip bag and a coffee bag?

When you hear the word "drip bag," you may think of that of coffee, but drip bags are very different for tea and coffee.

The biggest difference between a drip bag and a coffee drip bag is that the tea leaves are immersed in hot water.

Generally, when coffee is brewed by drip, hot water is poured over the beans and dropped down to the cup in a short time, called "permeation," whereas tea is brewed by "steeping," in which the entire tea leaves are left to soak in hot water for a period of time.

The "permeating" method, in which fresh hot water is continuously supplied, allows more of the ingredients to be extracted, but has the disadvantage of producing a strong bitterness and an imbalance of flavors.

However, when brewing tea by "soaking," the gradual diminishing of the extraction of the ingredients prevents over-extraction and makes it easier to brew tea with a balanced flavor.

This is why drip bags for tea are made deeper so that the tea leaves can soak up the hot water.

How to brew nice tea using drip bags

Depending on the brewing method, drip bags can brew tea that tastes better than tea bags and comparable to that of a teapot.

Here is how to brew a delicious cup of tea using a drip bag.

1) Put the drip bag over a cup and add 4g of tea leaves.

At this time, please be careful that the tea leaves are properly immersed in the hot water when you pour the hot water into the cup. If the cup is too deep, the water may not reach the tea leaves and the tea may not be extracted properly.

(2) Pour 120ml of water boiled at 60-80℃ slowly over the tea leaves.

(3) After about 2 minutes of extraction, leave the drip bag open and shake it in the hot water for 2 to 3 times.

The point is not to close the drip bag. Although the tea leaves touch each other to facilitate the extraction of the ingredients, it can also cause a tangy taste.

The drip bag should be shaken while the tea leaves are still open, so that the right amount of flavor can be extracted.

(4) Lift the drip bag and wait until the last drop falls out.

The remaining tea in the drip bag is full of the flavor of the tea leaves.

Hold the bag up and wait until the last drop of tea has fallen out.

Have you ever heard of “susuri-cha”? Few people have, we guess?

In this article, we are going to introduce such a sophisticated tea drinking method: “susuri-cha”.

What is “susuri-cha”’?

“Susuri” means “sipping” in Japanese.

Susuri-cha is the green tea brewed in a lidded yunomi teacup by pouring hot water directly on tea leaves in a yunomi teacup, instead of brewing with a kyusu teapot.

You tilt your teacup and slide the lid a little to let only the tea out as the lid holds the tea leaves back, then you sip the tea coming out from the gap.

This is how it’s called “susuri-cha (sipping tea)”.

Since it’s quite a unique method to drink tea, few people may have tried this way. But, it is a tasteful way to drink tea: When you can only have a little sip at a time, that gives you a few different flavors of the tea to enjoy while the tea temperature and extraction time change.

Also, you can directly enjoy the sweetness and umami of the tea as it gets extracted with a small amount of water

Drinkable without lid.

You can drink susuri-cha without a lid.

Just pour a small amount of hot water on green tea leaves in a teacup, then sip little by little as you pout your lips so the tea leaves don’t come into your mouth.

It would taste the same as susuri-cha with a lid. Those who are interested should try!

Suitable tea leaves for susuri-cha.

Green tea leaves with strong umami that are gyokuro, kabuse-cha and high-end sencha would be suitable for susuri-cha since susuri-cha is to fully enjoy the sweetness and umami of green tea.

It is said that susuri-cha is the supreme method to drink gyokuro.

Hope susuri-cha will give you an opportunity to enjoy the well-extracted high-end green tea till the last drop.

How to enjoy susuri-cha with ice-brew tea.

Now, we are going to share how to enjoy susuri-cha with ice brew green tea.

Put green tea leaves in teacup

Put 4-5g of green tea leaves like gyokuro in a teacup. The tea would get well-extracted if the tea leaves are spreaded on the bottom.

Put ice in.

Susuri-cha is to enjoy small sips: Put a small amount of ice, probably about 20cc.

Wait till the ice melts.

When the ice has melted, slide the lid a little, tilt the teacup, and sip little by little from the gap.

Enjoy till the last drop

Hold the lid upside down, then drip the last drops left in the teacup onto the lid and sip them up.

Eat the tea leaves afterwards

Many people would toss the green tea leaves after brewing, but we recommend you eat the used tea leaves that are soft after extracted.

They would taste good with the nice flavor of tea when seasoned with salt, soy sauce or soy-vinegar sauce.

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Today, I will describe the variety of the “Japanese Tea”. 

What’s “Japanese Tea”?

“Japanese Tea” means the tea produced in Japan as it literally means.

It has many varieties and types. I guess most of you remind Sencha(green tea), Hojicha(roasted green tea) or Matcha when you heard about “Japanese tea”, but surprisingly, black tea and oolong tea are also produced in Japan.

Did you know that these tea are all produced from same plant? The difference in these types of tea is caused only by cultivation methods and processing.

In this article, I will introduce the types and differences of Japanese tea, and makes you more familiar with it!

What makes difference in types of Japanese tea?

The answer to this question is fermentation(oxidation) of tea leaves.

Accurately, the “fermentation” here is not a chemical change by yeast or microorganisms, but an oxidation of the tea leaves. Only Pu’er tea and some types of tea are created by actual fermentation, and many others are created by oxidation. 

It is really confusing, but in the tea industry, the word “fermentation” has been used commonly for some reasons.)  To distinguish both of them, we will explain them as an “oxidation” in this article.

The oxidation of tea leaves starts soon after the harvest, and the changes of the color, taste and scent are all caused by this. Depends on how the tea leaves are oxdized, the types of the tea differs. 

Tea leaves with almost no oxidation become Sencha(green tea), and full oxidation become black tea. Oolong tea and some chinese tea are the middle of them.

Of course, there is an aptitude for types of tea depends on tea tree variety, but we can produce any types of tea from same tea tree.

Let’s look at the types of Japanese tea one by one.

Types of Green tea

As I talked before, green tea is produced without oxidation. Farmers steam the tea leaves soon after harvest to stop oxidation of the leaves. By preventing oxidation, tea leaves keep its beautiful color and umami ingredients.

Sencha

Sencha is the most popular and produced tea in Japan. 

The flavor of Sencha is usually expressed in terms of umami, sweetness, astringency(shibumi), and bitterness, just like food. Sencha has a good balance of astringency and sweetness and is characterized by a clear green color.

This is the most standard “Japanese Tea” to japanese people.

Fukamushi (Deep Steamed) Sencha

Fukamushi Sencha is one of the types of Sencha with 2~3 times longer steamed time compared to normal Sencha. Steaming process prevents tea leaves from oxidation and  softens the leaves and makes it easy to process. Currently, about 70% of sencha is produced as this type.

Longer steaming time makes the tea leaves softer and finer, it means the color and the taste can be come out easier than normal sencha.

That’s why Fukamushi Sencha is characterized by a deep green color and rich taste.

Gyokuro

Rich umami and refreshing aroma. Gyokuro is the finest tea in Japanese tea.

To create Gyokuro, farmers cover the tea leaves to block the sunlight off from about 20 days before the harvest. 

 “Theanine”, the umami ingredient of tea leaves, changes to “Catechin”, a bitter ingredient, due to sunlight. Avoiding the sunlight prevents Theanine from turning into Catechin, and a tea with a mild astringency and rich umami will be produced.

This covered culture also adds a laver-like scent to the tea leaves. It is also a characteristic scent of Gyokuro and Matcha

Light blue color, aroma, rich taste. It can be said that the best green tea is taken.

The photo above is the Gyokuro stem tea, the color is more bluish than normal stem tea.

Kabusecha

Gyokuro is created by covering the tea leaves for more than 20days, whereas only 3~10days for Kabusecha. Therefore, Kabusecha has a both characters of Gyokuro and Sencha in terms of taste and its ingredients. (To be accurate, the way of covering tea leaves are slightly different with Gyokuro and Kabusecha.)

You can feel the rich taste like Gyokuro when you make a tea with 50~60℃ water, and  nice balance of sweetness and bitterness when higher than 70℃.

It is a good choice when you want a fine tea with reasonable price. 

Matcha

Recently, Matcha is pretty popular in France, the US and many other country.

Matcha is made by grinding the raw tea (Teacha) with a stone mill, and same as Gyokuro, Matcha is made by covered culture for over 20days.

Matcha is usually used in the tea ceremony, and characterised by its ceremonial beauty.   Also, it has the advantage that it can incorporate all water-insoluble ingredients that do not dissolve in hot water.

It is also made in Shizuoka and Mie, starting with Uji in Kyoto.

Kukicha, Bocha(Stem tea)

Kukicha is the tea not using leaves but stems. In some areas, it is sometimes called Boucha.

In particular, stems of high-quality Sencha and Gyokuro are called “Shiraore”, and in Kyoto, Gyokuro stem is called “Karigane”.

Actually, tea stems contains more rich umami ingredients than leaves. Also stems don’t photosynthesize as much as leaves. It means Teanine doesn’t turn into Catechine, therefore stems can keep a large part of Theanine in it.

Rich umami and sweetness, and fresh scent. Tea stems are as nice as leaves. 

Kamairicha

Instead of steaming the leaves, Kamairicha is made by roasting in Kama(metal pot) to stop the oxidation of the tea leaves. The roasting aroma is called “Kamaka”, and it makes light and clear taste.

Unlike Sencha, there is no process of adjusting the shapes of the tea leaves, so the leaves are curled, this is also one of the characteristics of Kamairicha. 

In Japan, it is made around Saga Ureshino City in Kyushu. 

Bancha

After the 1st flash is  harvested in May, 2nd and 3rd flash is picked in June-July and autumn/winter tea picked in September, they are called Bancha. Not only tea leaves but also stems may be used.

Tea leaves grown under the strong sunlight in the summer time have a lot of Catechins, and conversely, low content of Theanine. Unlike Sencha or Gyokuro, it features a clear taste and easy-to-drink with nice balance of astringency and bitterness.

Recently, it is also used for plastic bottle tea because of its low price.

The photo above is a tea roasted bancha stem.

Houjicha

Houjicha is roasted tea, and characterised by the roasting aroma.

When roasted, Catechin turns into an insoluble ingredient and Caffeine also sublimes. That makes a Houjicha with less bitterness and astringency and less irritation to the body.

The price is cheaper because Bancha and Kukicha is usually used for Houjicha, 

In Japan, sometimes Houjicha is used in sweets like Matcha.

Genmaicha

Genmaicha is the tea made from the blend of tea and roasted rice. The biggest feature is the roasting aroma of the rice.

Same as Houjicha, because it is made with added scent, Bancha is usually used for Genmaicha

Black tea

Black tea is created with the highest degree of oxidation. While oxidation process, color and aroma of tea leaves change, and becomes a tea stand out with nice aroma, bitterness and astringency.

Koucha(Black Tea)

In contrast to Sencha which is made with no oxidation, Black tea is made after full oxidation.

Currently, 60% of the black tea is produced in Darjeeling(India), Keemun(China) and Uva(Sri Lankan).

We only deal in Japanese black tea. The production of the black tea in Japan is quite small, but the taste is enough competitive with world’s famous black tea. 

Types of Semi-Fermented tea

Semi-fermented tea is mainly produced in China and Taiwan, brings out a unique aroma by oxidation. Depending on the degree of oxidation, it can be White tea, Yellow tea, Oolong tea.

If the Sencha is assumed as the degree of oxidation of 0 and Black tea is 100, 30-70 will be classified as Semi-Fermented tea.

Oolong Tea

In the above example, Oolong tea is made with a degree of oxidation of about 70.

Mainly, Oolong tea is produced in China and Taiwan, and some are close to green tea and others close to black tea depending on the degree of oxidation.

Types of Fermented Tea

As I talked before, green tea, black tea and semi-fermented tea are created by oxidation of the tea leaves. The teas created by real “fermentation” are called fermented teas, these teas are created by the yeast or microorganism.

Pu’er tea is the most popular one, and there are some varieties in Japan such as Goishicha(Kouchi prefecture), Awa-bancha(Tokushima prefecture) and so on.

If you know the type of the Japanese tea, tea can be more enjoyable

Today, we have introduced only the tea with large volume of production in Japan, but there are many types of the tea exist other than them. The produced method differs, of course, the fun of tea is also different.

Even though fine tea leaves, the taste will be so bad with 100-degree hot water.

Gyokuro is not a tea that you can drink like beer even if you are thirsty.

Please come to know tea and find the best way to enjoy it.

Do you throw away the tea leaves after brewing green tea?

In fact, tea leaves are not only delicious to drink, but can also be eaten afterwards.

Here we introduce a recipe for "Ohitashi (boiled green tea)" that allows you to take in the rich nutrients that remain dissolved in the tea leaves.

Used green tea leaves are edible?

It may be surprising to know that used green tea leaves are edible, but it’s quite common in those famous tea producing areas such as Kyoto and Shizuoka as the local people often eat them.

It doesn’t mean that used green tea leaves have no flavors or aromas left: The flavor of tea would gently fill in your mouth with a little bit of seasoning.

Especially used high-end sencha tea leaves like gyokuro are easy to eat as they have rich umami left with no bitterness.

Benefits of eating ohitashi tea leaf salad

Green tea leaves contain rich nutrients that are said to be good for your health. The nutrients have two types: “water-soluble” that dissolves in water and “fat-soluble” that dissolves in fats and oils , and about 70% of tea nutrients are fat-soluble.

Not all of the water-soluble nutrients, such as catechin, caffeine, theanine, and vitamin C, dissolve out of the hot water as well, leaving more than 70% of green tea's rich nutrients in the tea leaves.

For your information, the fat-soluble nutrients contained in green tea are β-carotene, vitamin E, chlorophyll, fiber and so on. Especially the vitamin E that is said to improve the circulation is contained 25 times more than spinach.

Therefore, the whole rich nutrients left in used green tea leaves would be ingested when you eat them.

Recipe for ohitashi green tea leaf salad

There have been many recipes using used green tea leaves because of the recent people’s interest in health and wellness.

This time, we are going to introduce our simple and easy recipe for ohitashi tea-leaf salad.

Ingredients

• Used green tea leaves: moderate amount (as you like)
• Soy sauce: just a little (to taste)
• Bonito flakes: as you like (to garnish)

Directions

①Take the used green tea leaves out of the kyusu teapot and wrap them with paper towels to lightly dry.

②Place the used green tea leaves on a small plate then drip a couple of drops of soy sauce. Sprinkle bonito flakes on top to garnish if you like.

You can use ponzu or cold Japanese noodle dipping sauce instead of soy sauce. Also, you can add seasonings to change the taste such as sesame seeds, grated ginger, chili pepper and salt.

If you don’t like the bitterness of green tea leaves, use the used green tea leaves brewed a couple of times. They would taste light and less bitter.

As well as the ohitashi salad, there are more ways to eat used green tea leaves such as furikake rice seasoning, adding to fried rice and simmer to make tsukudani.

When the writer put used green tea leaves in chiffon cake batter to bake, the chiffon cake was like a Japanese dessert with mild green tea flavor.

Although English tea chiffon cakes are popular, we recommend trying green tea chiffon cakes as well if you can.