Tea Education

I’ve found the news, saying that 41 schools in Numazu city, Sizuoka serve “chameshi (tea rice)” for their school lunch. This special menu has been served since 2006 around this area.

What is it like? This is their chameshi.  -- Cook the rice with green tea, mix with a tiny fish, sprinkle some powdered tea on the rice, and serve it. -- The rice is served with shincha (lit; new tea) and some other dishes. 

A student who had this lunch said, “I usually drink mugicha (barely tea) at home, but this hot green tea is good too”. Another one said, “I enjoy chameshi. I smelled tea in the rice unlike the one I usually eat, which is good. I think I can eat more.” As you can see, they seem to enjoy it.

Shizuoka is one of the biggest tea-producing areas. Even so, the consumption has been decreasing. I'm sure that the students have learned more about their local product through this experience.

school lunch -image-

Hojicha - different taste-

I bought a bag of “kuki-hojicha” today. Soon after that, a topic about the tea was brought up by coincidence. In that case….. I should write about it again:-)

Hojicha, roasted tea, attracts many people thanks to its nice fragrance. Did you happen to know there are roughly two types of hojicha? One is mainly made from tea leaves, the other is from stems (known as “kuki-hojicha”).  

Generally, kuki-hojicha has slightly darker color and richer taste, while the other has lighter taste, but more aroma. Why? Nutrients are taken in from roots, then come through stems, and finally reach to leaves. Therefore, the stems absorb more nutrients first before they are reached to the leaves.

When they are not roasted, they are called "kuki-cha (steam tea)". Other than stem tea, there is "me-cha (buds tea)" produced from the buds too. 

Yes, even the stems and the buds, they can be a good tea! Very economical and eco-friendly, aren't they??

Kuki Hojicha (left) / Hojicha produced from the leaves (right)

Tea in Balcony

It is the tea-picking season around my area, but not at my balcony yet. 

I got some seedlings of tea tree, Camellia sinensis last May from a tea farm in Kyoto, and they've been at my balcony since then. Yes, I got “some”, but this is the only branch that I have now. Sorry, others are dead….

Will “the tea-picking season” come to my balcony someday?? Well…..we’ll see….:-)

Drink or Eat? - Matcha-

These days, it seems that Matcha is taken as flavor for sweets rather than as drink. This “Matcha crumble -Crunchy Crunch -” is one of them. It has just put on the market recently and supposed to be sold for a limited time. (by Haagen-Dazs, Japan Incorporated). 

It’s like a lump of the tea, isn't it? Usually, I don’t fancy buying ice cream that often, and I don’t snatch at something new either. But this density of the tea made me surrender, ha, ha. In addition to the good bitterness flavor, the crunchy stuff on the surface gives it to good texture. Yes, I'm the one who enjoy “eating” Matcha :-) 

Talking to Mother Natrure - Mr Iwata in Tsukigase -

I visited a tea field at Tsukigase in Nara where tea has long been grown. The total amount of tea produced in Tsukigase accounts for 2.5 % of that in Japan. Yes, not that much. In addition, since it is close to Uji, which is one of the famous Japanese tea areas, their tea has been blended and sold as Uji tea. So maybe it is not widely known as a tea area yet. 

The young tea farmer, Mr Iwata, has seven-hectare field in total there. But not only one. 33 fields are scattered at Tsukigase. Even in the same town, all the fields have their own characters. Soil is different, and the slope is different….He also grows wide varieties of tea, and uses different ways of taking care of. That’s amazing! 

Many are different, but his belief is one, “living with nature”. He sticks to “organic farming” and “natural farming” to grow tea, which is like gradually steeping in your body. He says that he wants to make good use of its "terroir" and grow tea only to be produced in Tsukigase . He learns the area’s history, and listens to weather, and talks to tea. And he lives now while looking to the future of the area and tea. 

His Wakocha (black tea). He produces green tea too.

Throbs of Pleasure

According to a research, black tea gives you more "throb" than green tea. Did you know that? Or have you felt that? It says that black tea, especially its aroma, brings more the sense of tokimeki, which means throbs of joy or heart pounding with happiness. That's interesting. Enjoy "black" tea together with the one you like, and  the bonds between you can grow much stronger. 

BTW…when you want to calm down, I think green tea might help you. Every tea has their own job, doesn't it?

"Hoga Sengen" in 2015

Sorry belated report, but......

On April 3rd, the Kyoto tea authority announced hoga sengen (budding announcement). 

It was 4 days earlier than that of the last year. The announcement is annually issued when about 70% of new buds of “Yabukita” variety (the most common variety to produce green tea) cultivated at a research institute are grown about twice as big as the size of leaves which are wrapped the buds. Usually, about one month after hoga sengen, tea is ready to be plucked. 

Actually, after this announcement, the temperature unseasonably went down for a couple of days. Let’s see……. Should be fine, I hope!!