Japanese Tea

Some information on Japanese Green Tea:

Types of Japanese Tea

Tea is grown throughout Japan and Japan ranks in the top ten in world tea production. The premier growing regions in Japan are Shizuoka, Kagoshima, Uji and Sayama. (Den's tea is grown in the Shizuoka Protectorate.) The first harvest of the year, usually in early May, produces the highest quality tea in Japan. This tea is called Shin-Cha or new tea. After a long period of dormancy during the winter, the first leafs of the season are rich with nutrients, including amino acids and catechins. These enhance the flavor and aroma of this first-harvest tea. This Shin-Cha has a bright, luminescent green color, strong aroma and pronounced sweetness. Japanese tea production starts with steaming which stops the oxidizing process of the enzymes in the tea leafs. This steaming process is unique only with Japanese style tea, though. This preserves the green color and aroma of the tea. After steaming, the tea is dried to reduce the moisture content. At this point, the tea is rolled or kneaded to breakdown the cell structure of the leafs. Subsequent processes dry the leafs further and roll them again producing the characteristic needle shape. Before describing some of the more common tea, one special tea, Aracha, is worth mentioning. Aracha, or rough tea, is not finished tea. It isn't sold to consumers because it contains stems, tea dust and the leafs are irregular shapes. Most of the teas described here are made using the same general process with the next manufacturing step defining it as one of the 20 types of Japanese Green Tea. The differences among them have to do with a character of Aarcha or the way each is sifted and blended. Variations of these conditions impart distinctive tastes, colors and aromas. The following describes a number of these teas.
· SenchaSencha is the most popular tea in Japan, accounting for almost 80% of the tea consumed. Usually top parts of the tea leaf and buds are used. It is grown in full sunlight and is processed in multiple stages - sifting, cutting, roasting and often blending. Sencha is noted for its delicate sweetness, mild astringency and flowery-green aroma. The quality of Sencha will vary depending on origin, time of harvest and leaf processing techniques.

· Fukamushi Sencha Fukamushi is a deeper steamed Sencha. Fukamushi leafs are steamed two or three times longer than standard Sencha. The extra steaming breaks down the fibers further and cause the leaf shape to be coarser than regular Sencha. This produces a tea with a darker color, deeper flavor and easy brewing.

· Gyokuro Gyokuro is grown in the shade. This is a premium and expensive tea and not found too often in Japanese tea cabinets. Gyokuro is produced by shading the tea bushes for about three weeks prior to picking. As a result, these leafs receive more nutrition from the soil. This shading process also protects the bushes from sunlight which increases the chlorophyll content of the tea leafs and prevents theanine, a factor of sweetness, from being changed to tannin, a factor of bitterness. Gyokuro has a rich green color and a sweet taste.

· BanchaBancha is made from a lower part of the tea leaf which is big and thick. Compared to Sencha, Bancha is slightly less aromatic and slightly more astringent. Nevertheless, Bancha is appreciated in Japan for its robust flavor. It is often used for Genmaicha and Houjicha.

· GenmaichaGenmaicha is a blend of Bancha with well-toasted brown rice (genmai) and popped rice. The rice adds a slightly nutty taste. It has a distinctive roasted aroma and a mild flavor, and is popular for everyday use. Genmaicha with matcha is also a very popular blend from children and adults in Japan.

· HoujichaHojicha is produced by roasting Bancha over high heat. The result is a savory tea with a refreshing, roasted taste and virtually no bitterness. Houjicha is brown in appearance, but it is still green tea. It contains the lowest level of caffeine of any Japanese tea. (In this connection, high quality teas like premium Sencha or Gyokuro tend to contain more caffeine than lower grades such as Bancha.)

· KukichaKukicha is a unique looking tea in that it contains stems and stalks from the production of Sencha. It has a light, transparent green color with a mildly sweet, bright taste. It is a great example of the diversity in Japanese Green Tea.

· GurichaGuricha is unique and different from Sencha both in appearance and taste. This tea benefits from a specific process that creates a tea similar in appearance to the pan-fired teas of China. Guricha is a high grade green tea that is steamed and fashioned into 'comma' shaped leafs by omitting the final kneading process. Guricha has attained fame and lore throughout Japanese tea history. Traditionally, much of this tea had been exported to the Mediterranean countries like Morocco. This tea brews a milder, less astringent cup than a typical Sencha.

· MatchaMatcha is the tea used in the Japanese Tea Ceremony. It is different than the teas mentioned so far in several ways. First, it is made from Tencha, not Sencha like most people think. The Tencha leafs are shaded from the sun for about one month before being picked, much like Gyokuro. This brings out an extraordinarily sweet taste with no bitterness. Second, the manufactured leafs are then ground like flour to produce a fine green powder. Finally, brewing a cup of Matcha is done using a bamboo whisk (Chasen) to produce a frothy green liquid. Compared to other teas, Matcha has a relatively short shelf life and should be consumed shortly after purchase. Matcha is also popular as a food seasoning just like an herb. There are numerous recipes using this flavorful powder, the simplest of which is sprinkling some over vanilla ice cream.

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