Mt. Fuji watches over the delicate tea bushes
In Japan, the choice of what to serve for a meal, and how to present it, is closely linked to native folklore and natural phenomenon. Each month in the Seasonal Japanese Kitchen, and at table, has a distinct seasonal identity, complete with its own legends, festivals, motifs, and color schemes associated with it.
Trying to decipher Japan’s culinary code can be challenging. I know that when I first came to Japan, decades ago, I struggled to grasp the meaning of what everyone around me thought was obvious.
Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis)
The Camellia sinensis plant is the source of all true teas. Depending upon how the leaves are cultivated and processed, the character of the tea changes. Green tea is green because enzymes responsible for oxidization have been eliminated. The Japanese accomplish this by steaming the freshly picked leaves, while the Chinese typically pan-fire or roast tea leaves to achieve similar results. The steaming process tends to accentuate the vegetal, marine, and herbaceous tones in tea — qualities that are prized by the Japanese.
Steamed teas incline toward a delicate palate (more so than pan-roasted tea) and typically maintain their aroma and flavor better when stored at cool temperatures; they are best when infused with water that is well below the boiling point. In recent years a special processing method known as fukamushi or “deep-steaming” has been developed.
深蒸茶
Fukamushi cha
Deep-steamed tea can be successfully infused or brewed at higher (near boiling) temperatures without releasing unwanted bitter tannins. Deep-steamed tea leaves are therefore less exacting to brew and have become quite popular for daily use.
There are many grades and types of Japanese green tea; most are available in Asian grocery and specialty food stores in North America, and on the world wide web.
Gyokuro, literally “jewel dew,”is the highest quality leaf tea; sencha is also a high quality leaf tea. Both are served in better restaurants, and to guests in homes and in offices.
Bancha is the name given to lesser quality tea leaves and stems, often plucked at second or even later harvests. Bancha makes a pleasant beverage that is widely consumed on a daily basis.
Genmaicha, a confetti-like mixture of roasted whole rice grains (some are brown, others have puffed into white, popcorn-like kernels) and bancha leaves, has a distinctive toasty, wholegrain flavor and aroma. It goes well with osembei rice crackers and other salty snacks.
Hojicha, roasted green tea leaves, makes a slightly smoky flavored beverage that is often served with fried foods, such as tempura or tonkatsu.
Matcha is a jade-colored powder, pulverized from new buds. It is whisked (with a special bamboo whisk) to make ceremonial tea. It is also used in many traditional confections; it is what gives the distinctive color and flavor to modern green tea ice cream, for example.
Konacha is made by infusing/steeping powdered tea leaves. As with matcha, the tea leaf is actually consumed (as powder in a suspension). Konacha is a by-product of making other leaf teas that have been gathered, steamed, rolled, air dried naturally, then dried with heat.
八十八夜
hachiju hachi ya
Harvesting Tea…
The official beginning of spring on the ancient koyomi, a lunar-based calendar-cum-almanac, was risshun (this corresponds to early February on the Gregorian calendar). Counting 88 days from risshun brings us to the beginning of May and hachiju hachi ya (literally the 88th night) that marks the traditional start of the tea harvest.
From the first plucking, through subsequent harvests throughout the summer and early autumn, young buds, tender leaves and flavorful twigs are handpicked and processed into tea. Most of the commercial crop in Japan is grown in Shizuoka, southwest of Tokyo, though Uji (near Kyoto) and Ureshino (on the island of Kyushu) are also famous for their tea plantations.
Tea plantations are picturesque, especially those in Shizuoka with rows of verdant tea bushes dramatically set against a backdrop of snow-capped Mt. Fuji. And, when the tea leaves are hand-picked by cha musume (tea girls) the scene becomes an even greater photo-opportunity. Children enjoy dressing up, too!
Savoring Tea
The pleasure of green tea goes beyond savoring it as a beverage. Leaf tea (sencha), pulverized tea (kona cha), or ceremonial tea (matcha) can become a fine flavoring when cooking. Several recipes were included in the April edition of A Taste of Culture’s newsletter. If you are not yet on our mailing list and would like to join to receive future editions, please sign up on A Taste of Culture’s home page (scroll to the bottom of that page for the sign-up form). I am automatically alerted when someone signs up; I can forward the Cooking with Green Tea newsletter to you after you add your name and contact information to the list. You can unsubscribe at any time.
In addition to the culinary pleasure of green tea, health-providing benefits traditionally associated with the consumption of green tea include the reduction of blood cholesterol levels and incidents of hypertension. Further, green tea leaves have anti-oxidants (thought to slow the aging process) and anti-bacterial properties. Many studies indicate that green tea discourages the development of, and inhibits the growth of, carcinogens.
Other Web Sites of Interest
There are several web sites, in English, that provide more information on green tea as well as an opportunity to buy products imported from Japan.
ITO EN is a leading brand of tea in Japan that has a large international presence.
IPPODO, based in Kyoto, is another well-known tea purveyor. Their series of downloadable podcasts are highly informative.
Two other sites that provide excellent information on brewing green teas are O-CHA.COM and JAPANESEGREENTEAONLINE.COM
For those with access to Paris read about, and then visit CHAJIN, the teahouse run by Xavier and Carol Negiar.
My friends, and colleagues, BOB & MARY LOU HEISS are in New England, but you can view extraordinary photos of their tea treks to China at their web site.
