2021年のアーカイブ

When did chanoyu, or the tea ceremony, begin? Tea was introduced to Japan from China around 800 AD. Today’s Japanese tea is non-fermented, but in those days, tea was semi-fermented and was not liked by the Japanese people.

Later, around the beginning of 1200 AD, the Zen monk Yozai introduced tea to Japan again, and non-fermented Japanese tea began to be produced.

At first, tea was a game for the nobility. After that, the tea ceremony as we know it today was perfected by Shuko Murata, Joou Takeno, and Rikyu Sen.

6 Benefits of Matcha①

Obesity Prevention with Matcha

The tea catkin contained in matcha are effective in preventing obesity and weight loss because they help to burn body fat efficiently.

Anti-Aging Effects of Matcha

Tea catkin are highly effective in removing active oxygen that causes aging, thus preventing skin spots, wrinkles, and sagging.

Relaxation Effects of Matcha

The theanine content in matcha is high, so it has mood-soothing and relaxing effects.

After that, Myoe found places suitable for tea cultivation, such as Uji and Daigo (names of places in the Kyoto region), sowed tea seeds, and taught farmers how to cultivate tea.

The history of tea production in Uji, which is said to be the most famous tea estate in Japan, began at this time.

Matcha is made by plucking tea leaves grown in a covered tea field, steaming them with steam, then drying them, which is called “tencha,” and then grinding them into a fine powder with a millstone.

The method of growing tea in covered tea fields became common in the 16th century.
By covering the tea fields, the color, taste, and aroma of the “tencha” tea were much better than those of the “tencha” tea that was not covered.

The umami component of tea is amino acids such as theanine, which changes to catkin, the astringent component, when exposed to sunlight.

Covered tea cultivation blocks 95 to 98 percent of sunlight, which inhibits the transformation of amino acids into catkin, resulting in a very tasty “tencha”.

Matcha was first introduced to Japan in the Kamakura period (1185-1333). Zen Master Eisai, who had traveled to China to study Buddhism, brought back tea seeds on his way back to Japan and taught people how to grow and drink tea.