greentea

Found dust on the surface of green tea? That’s the evidence of high quality

One of my customer asked me 実は、これはたまーにあるお問い合わせなのです。3年に1回くらいでしょうか(汗) この写真を御覧ください。たしかに、何か浮いているように見えます。 実は、これは「茶葉の産毛」です お茶に産毛??と疑問に思われるかもしれませんが、4月~6月頃に収穫されるその年の「一番摘み」の茶葉には、うっすらと産毛があります。葉っぱに白くて小さい毛がついています。 これは、二番茶(7月以降に摘む、その年2回目の茶摘み)では量が少なくなり、わからなくなります。 一番茶の若くて柔らかい芽だからこそ、出て来るのです。 これを「ホコリが浮いてる?」と勘違いされるのも無理はないかもしれませんが、実は、一番茶の柔らかい葉である証拠なのです。 一番茶と二番茶の味の落差は激しい? 一番茶、二番茶、という言葉を使っていますが、「その年、はじめて摘む茶葉」を一番茶、「二番目に摘む茶葉」を二番茶といいます。そして、三番茶、秋摘み、へと続きます。 一番茶の収穫の準備というのは、実は10月頃から始まっています。 冬に入る前、秋整枝といって余計な枝を刈り込んで肥料をやります。気温が15度を下回ってくると、茶の木の成長はとまり、越冬します。その間、土から養分をしっかりと溜め込みます。 さらに、春の新茶の季節の前に肥料をやり、ようやく一番茶の収穫になります。 つまり、一番茶は秋、春と二回分の肥料を溜め込んでから息吹くのです。 そして、二番茶の季節になると、気温が急激に上がります。気温が上がると、葉は短時間ですぐに大きくなり、葉は厚く、固くなります。 そうした茶葉は、味がどうしても落ちます。 比べて飲むんだとき、人によって表現は様々ですが、一番茶に比べて、二番茶は「味の深さがない」とか「渋みがある」とか「野性味っぽいのを感じる」とかいいます。 実際、もちろん、二番茶でも優良なものも中にはありますが、総じて一番茶とくらべて飲むと、誰でも違いがわかります。 また、三番茶までいくと、独特の酸味が出てきてかなり味が落ちます。 購入する時に気をつけるポイントは? 当社では特に明記していない限り一番茶しか使っていませんが、二番茶や三番茶が入った茶葉を販売している店もたくさんあります。 ところが、難しいのは、「この商品には、二番茶がブレンドされてます」と言って販売しているお茶屋はないことです。 見極めの方法は、茶業者が仕入れの際に行う方法があります。 一つは、茶葉を直接手で触ってさわり心地をみます。二番茶は、養分が詰まってないので茶葉が軽く、香りもやや浅いです。 もう一つの方法は、実際に飲むことです。味が薄かったり、独特の香りや渋みがあれば二番茶の可能性が高いです。(または、旬を過ぎてから刈った一番茶、という場合もあります。) ただ、実際購入する際には、ここまではできません。。 ですので、一番は信頼できるお店を見つけることです。当社であれば、特に断りがない限りすべて一番茶です。 もちろん、他にも二番茶を明記するお店もあると思いますので、どうぞお気に入り店舗を見つけてくださいませ。

news

Hidden gem in southern flank of Kyoto, Ujitawara

Uji-tawara, located on the southern flank of Kyoto, is the birthplace of Japanese green tea and continues to flourish as a tea production area. On one hand the tea cannot be produced in mass quantities here because the Kyoto’s tea is cultivated on the valleys of mountains, where is not so vast. But the other hand this geographical future is suit for making fine-tasted tea. The mountains which block the direct sunlights from the tea tree contribute making smooth and beautiful green tea. In 2016, as well as in other years, our region won the prize of “the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries”. photos about Uji-tawara Tea field in…

news

Introduction of KITANI TEA

The 155-year history of KITANI TEA KITANI TEA was established over 150 years ago in Ujitawara, one of the oldest tea-growing regions in Kyoto. The Kitani family are the descendants of Soen Nagatani, the inventor of the manufacturing process used to make “sencha,” which is currently the most popular green tea in Japan. Ever since our founding, we have continued to manufacture a wide range of teas such as sencha and matcha, making us one of the oldest tea manufacturers in Japan. The characteristics of KITANI TEA’s tea The primary elements that make up the taste of green tea are aroma, umami, and astringency. Our tea is characterized by its…

history

Ujitawara, the history of Japanese green tea.

Ujitawara is the birthplace of Sencha Kitani green tea store has located in Ujitawara which has the birthplace of Sencha, the most common green tea around Japan. The fame of the Nagatani Family is attributable to Nagatani Soen, who developed the Uji method called the Blue method, which is now the standard method of producing sencha. This structure was built on where generations of Nagatani Family once lived. There still are traces of the days past, such as the remains of Hoiro (devece to heat and dry tea leaves) in the building and portions of stone walls outside. Soen’s house is still remaining in Yuyadani, Ujitawara. We have a ceremony…

greentea

Hand-Kneading Techniques for Producing Japanese Green Tea

Nagatani Soen’s Innovative Techniques Still Used Today I belong to the organization for preserving hand-kneading techniques for producing uji-cha. The skill is so difficult to learn and it’s an exhausting job, which takes almost 5 hours to be completed. But the tea made by this method is the most precious and delicious of all the methods because the machines we use for produce tea is just for imitating this hand-kneading techniques. So the machine can’t go above the delicate sense of hands. Tea production methods using hand-kneading were invented in 1738 by Nagatani Soen, who was a tea planter in Ujitawara. They were developed as they proved to result in…

matcha

Matcha Latte, easy and best way to enjoy matcha everyday

Matcha with milk, it’s easy to make delicious Are you drinking coffee with milk, latte? If you do, you can change coffee to tea at once and become healthier and more tasty. In the tea time, when you get tired in the afternoon and feel to need sugar to refresh yourself, Matcha latte is the best choice. Why don’t you drink matcha latte with easy recipes below. Before explanation of the recipes, let me show you the difference between “latte” and “cappuccino”. latte cappuccino with not forming milk with forming milk much milk less milk ordinal taste of matcha strong taste matcha You can distinguish the difference by the apperance…

health

10 Benefits of Japanese green tea

1. Green Tea Contains Bioactive Compounds That Improve Health Green tea is more than just green liquid. Many of the bioactive compounds in the tea leaves do make it into the final drink, which contains large amounts of important nutrients. It is loaded with polyphenols like flavonoids and catechins, which function as powerful antioxidants. These substances can reduce the formation of free radicals in the body, protecting cells and molecules from damage. These free radicals are known to play a role in aging and all sorts of diseases. One of the more powerful compounds in green tea is the antioxidant Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), which has been studied to treat various…

未分類

The difference between Japanese and Chinese Green Tea

Is Chinese green tea the same as Japanese green tea? This is probably the question you are asking yourself when you are at the store looking at the wide variety of green teas available. Well, if you are at the store, it’s not really a tough choice. All of the tea on the shelf most likely comes from China. Authentic Japanese green tea is more expensive and usually sold in specialty shops or online. Why? China produces over 80% of the world’s green tea and is the top exporter. They hold 78% of the export market. In comparison, Japan produces 7% of the world’s green tea and contributes less than…

greentea

What is Genmaicha and how to brew it?

Genmaicha is genmaich aessentially a mix of green tea and roasted rice. This blend balances the astringency of green tea with the nutty flavor of the roasted rice. The Japanese consider genmaicha as a type of Japanese green tea and not an ordinary blend, perhaps because they have been enjoying it for quite a long time. How is genmaicha made? Genmaicha is traditionally made with bancha. However, nowadays the market offers a lot of options, such as sencha genmaicha, houji genmaicha and gyokuro genmaicha. Sometimes matcha is also added to genmaicha, and its called matchairigenmaicha. Genmaicha with added matcha is easy to recognize because the roasted rice looks green! The…

greentea

What is Konacha tea?

Konacha (粉茶, powder tea) is made up of small bits of leaves, which are filtered out during the processing of gyokuro and sencha. Although it translates literally as “powder tea”, konacha isn’t really powdered like matcha or funmatsucha. Brewed konacha has an intense green color and a strong taste. Green tea’s components are quickly dissolved in water because of the tiny pieces, hence the brewing time should be short to avoid a taste that’s too strong. Also, the number of infusions is low, expect no more than two infusions with konacha. how to brew konacha Is konacha any good? This tea is economical because the leaves are all broken down…