Japanese Food Culture 8 -Japanese Tea and Matcha

It is said that tea first appeared in Japan about 1200 years ago.

At that time, tea was not a soft drink, but was consumed as a "medicine”.

After that, the Japan-US Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed in 1858, and Japanese tea became a major export product along with raw silk. In this way, Japanese tea spread overseas.

(Reference: Japan Tea Action, Japan Tea Action Council )

Here are some typical ones.

Sencha

Fukamushicha

Gyokuro

Hojicha

Bancha

Kukicha

Genmaicha

Matcha

Details are also written in English on the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries website, so please see below.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Special Feature (1) Green Tea 

External Site　https://www.maff.go.jp/j/pr/aff/1704/spe1_01.html

Since about 10 years ago, Matcha has been a big boom not only in Japan but also overseas.

"Matcha-flavored products" containing matcha in various ingredients are now on sale.

In Japan, there are many coffee shops where you can drink matcha.

However, it is not the case that each Japanese household drinks matcha on a daily basis. Most households do not keep matcha in stock.

Matcha is often drunk at tea parties at ceremonies.

Matcha is only served to special guests who come to the home, and the person learning the tea ceremony uses a chasen to make matcha tea and serve it to them.

Compared to matcha, there are many types of Japanese tea, and it is thin and easy to drink. It's a drink that is indispensable to Japanese daily life.

We drink Japanese tea at breakfast. I drink Japanese tea at 10 am. I drink Japanese tea at noon. I have tea at 3 pm.

Japanese tea also appears when eating meals and sweets.

Each household has a large stock of Japanese tea.

However, it may differ depending on the age.

Broadly speaking, elderly people pour hot water into the leaves of Japanese tea to make and drink Japanese tea.

The younger generation buys and drinks Japanese tea in PET bottles from convenience stores and supermarkets. It seems that the younger generation rarely buys Japanese tea leaves.

For this reason, it is said that the younger generation does not drink tea, but in reality, the younger generation also drinks PET bottles of tea.

"Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Let's have tea!"

"Please have a cup of tea!"

The true meaning of these words is "I would like to communicate" or "I would like to talk slowly".

You will be able to relax and enjoy the aroma (fragrance) and taste that tea produces. 

In the case of work, if a business partner on the go asks, "Do you have time after this? Would you like to have a cup of tea?", Receive "I want to talk more with you." This means that you often want to hear more about your work and communicate.

Also, when you visit someone's company on business and they offer you "Please have some tea! ", take it as a sign of welcome.

Even if you don't want to drink tea, take a sip of it. And when you leave, say, "Thank you for the delicious tea.

It means, "I respect you and think favorably of you".

"Tea" can be said to be a "beverage for communication" that connects people with each other as well as human relationships at work.

* Coffee, tea, orange juice, etc. are sometimes referred to as "tea".

Introducing rare Japanese tea.

Introducing high-class Japanese tea in a wine bottle.

ROYAL BLUE TEA 

This tea uses only selected hand-picked tea leaves and does not use preservatives or additives.

This tea is served in a special wine bottle on all Japan Airlines International First Class flights, but you can also purchase it from the online shop on the website below.

External site: ROYAL BLUE TEA