Introduction[]
Tea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of various cultivars and sub-varieties of the Camellia sinensis plant, processed and cured using various methods. "Tea" also refers to the aromatic beverage prepared from the cured leaves by combination with hot or boiling water, and is the common name for the Camellia sinensis plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. It has a cooling, slightly bitter, astringent flavour which many enjoy.
Japanese Green Tea[]
Green tea (cha) (緑茶 Ryokucha) is ubiquitous in Japan and therefore is more commonly known simply as "tea" (お茶 ocha). It is even referred to as "Japanese tea" (日本茶 nihoncha) though it was first used in China during the Song Dynasty, and brought to Japan by Myōan Eisai, a Japanese Buddhist priest who also introduced the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism. Types of tea are commonly graded depending on the quality and the parts of the plant used as well as how they are processed. There are large variations in both price and quality within these broad categories, and there are many specialty green teas that fall outside this spectrum. The best Japanese green tea is said to be that from the Yame (八女) region of Fukuoka Prefecture and the Uji region of Kyoto. Shizuoka Prefecture produces 40% of raw tea leaf.
Types[]
- Gyokuro (玉露; Jade Dew)
- Kabusecha (冠茶; Covered Tea)
- Sencha (煎茶; Decocted Tea)
- Fukamushicha (深蒸し茶; Long-steamed Green Tea)
- Tamaryokucha (玉緑茶; Little Ball Green Tea)
- Bancha (番茶; Coarse Tea)
- Kamairicha (窯煎茶; Pan-fried Tea)
By-product of Sencha or Gyokuro
Other