tea

Japan’s favorite pick-me-up

It is served in business meetings, comes hot or cold in bottles and cans in vending machines across the land, and is the perfect accompaniment to sweet treats or the comforting warmth of a kotatsu heated table. Full of goodness and caffeine, green tea is a Japanese institution.

Be More Japan Tea

D Tea is traditionally brewed and served in a handcrafted teapot.

It was first brought to Japan from China by Buddhist monks, and the earliest reference to tea drinking in Japan dates to the early 800s. Just over 1,200 years later, green tea is a firm feature in everyday life. It’s a healthy habit to acquire—green tea is not only packed with vitamin C, but also contains antioxidants. Research has linked regular consumption of green tea to numerous health benefits, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and strokes, lower levels of bad cholesterol, and potential anticancer effects.

Tea is sipped everywhere, from Tokyo’s cool cafés to elaborate tea ceremonies in temple gardens. While drinking green tea straight—either hot or cold—is by far the most common approach, you’ll also find it in chilled lattes and milkshakes. And green tea’s reach goes far beyond drinks. Kit-Kats, Pocky, Oreo, and many other sweet snack brands have green tea varieties, and you often can spot matcha ice cream in convenience store freezers. Visit a tea center like the town of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture—along with Shizuoka Prefecture one of the top tea-producing areas in Japan—and you’ll soon discover green tea noodles, cream desserts, sweet mochi (rice cake) dumplings, and liqueurs. Tea is simply everywhere.

Be More Japan Tea

MATCHA ICE CREAM

Be More Japan Tea

D Left ro right: Shizuoka is known as the green tea capital of Japan; matcha tea is made with powder.

Be More Japan tea

tea varieties to try
gyokuro	The highest grade of green tea, gyokuro is brewed at lower temperatures than normal. It’s very rich and highly savoury.
sencha	This archetypal green tea is made with whole, dried leaves. Sencha has a balanced bitterness and refreshing aroma.
houjicha	The leaves are roasted, producing a rich, nutty tea with a reddish-brown colour.
matcha	A finely ground powder that is whisked with hot water, this is the tea used in tea ceremonies. It’s rich, almost creamy, and full of flavour.
mugicha	Cold-brewed from roasted barley, toasty mugicha is especially popular in summer.
genmaicha	Dried green tea leaves are mixed with popped brown rice to give a nutty flavour.