Just as in China, Japan is best known for its green teas. Although both coun- tries have a long history of creating unique, tasteful green teas, the way in which they are grown and produced is worlds apart. |
Chinese teas are carefully handplucked, grown high in the mountains in isolated tea gardens and brought to rural tea fac- tories to be processed by hand using tradi- tional methods of manufacture, some of which are centuries old.Japan’s methods, however, lie at the other end of the spectrum, with their carefully groomed gardens located at lower elevations on softly undulating hills, their tea uniformly plucked by machine, then processed with high-tech machinery in bright and shiny state-of-the-art processing facilities. |
There is no artistic interpretation of the tea leaf, but it is rather made by a closely followed “recipe” of sorts using a set blend and process so as to achieve the same specific flavor profile each and every time, with the emphasis on the modern manufacturing pro– cess and exacting flavors they seek to achieve instead.The beginning of tea drinking in Japan goes back to around the For the next five years the monk carefully In 1911 another Japanese monk, Myoan The new method of tea production powdered tea into hot water, and included serving and drinking Kyoto, Kyushu, and Uji.Belief is that Eisai provided the tea seeds used to plant the old tea In the first Japanese book on tea written by Eisai, called Kissa It was during the Muromachi period, however, (1392-1573) that Some of the oldest and most famous tea gardens are Another important figure that helped to advance the tea |
It was under the general’s influence that tea was brought into the secular realm after having been introduced to the great tea master Murata Juko, who began tea’s elevation into an art form which eventually led to the ceremony known as Chanoyu.Even though today Japan is a fully industrialized country with large, fast-paced cities, it main- tains its strong culture based on ancient Shinto beliefs and quiet Zen moments of simplicity and beauty. Underneath the crazy hustle and bustle of Japan’s cities lies the simple beauty of the designed dishes, served according to the established rules of style, manner, and tradition. So, while Japan is very much in the present, you can still take a step back in time, where tradi- Enjoy. |