Japan Sencha

Description

    Japan was introduced to tea for the first time back in the 700s. Buddhist monks would make the long pilgrimage to the ancient capital city of Chang’an in Tang Dynasty China to engage in diplomacy and trade. At a time when Japan was greatly influenced by Chinese culture, the tea that these monks enjoyed on their mission was something that was surely to empress the elites in Japan. For a time, tea was reserved for only the top classes of nobles and priests, and was primarily used as medicine.

   Early in the 13th century, the Japanese Buddhist priest and Zen master Eisai wrote in a book a passage which seems to sum up Japanese thought on tea that in many ways still stands today:

“Tea is the ultimate mental and medical remedy and has the ability to make one’s life more full and complete”

    Around this time, tea was becoming more popular across all social classes in Japan. It’s important to note that the vast majority of tea consumed in Japan was powdered green tea, matcha. A popular social game was a tea drinking game where participants blind tasted different teas and guessed where they were grown, as different farms and regions and producers all had subtle differences in taste.

   In the 1600s, Japan began having policies of isolation- politically and culturally. This resulted in the advancement of Japanese culture, and turning things uniquely Japanese; Chinese tea was one of these things that turned Japanese. Japanese tea makers turned to new methods of making tea, sencha, gyokuro and matcha became popular. The famous Japanese method of steaming the leaves to stop the oxidation process was developed and is still used today. This uniquely Japanese process gives Japanese green teas their sweet, grassy, vegetal flavors. Looking at sencha, you will see the dark, even green color, also the “needle” uniform shape of the leaves. The brewed tea will be a pale, neon green color. The taste will be mellow, sweet, vegetal with notes of citrus, cooked spinach, and toast. Our sencha is sourced from small farms in Uji, Kyoto.

Steeping Instructions

Use one level teaspoon per 8 oz cup of water

Let steep 1-3 minutes in hot water 175° (under boiling, or boil and let it cool)

Ingredients

green tea