Quick question: when you think of Japan, name the first thing that comes to mind?
(No peeking – hurry up as time is running out!)
OK. Time’s up. Did you come up with any of the following:
a) Raked pebble gardens occupied by meditating monks
b) Kimono-clad geishas clip-clapping through Kyoto back streets
c) Scenic panoramas of cherry-blossom covered landscapes
d) Fluorescent-garbed teens wandering around futurescapes
Well, while all of these answers are certainly correct, today’s posting is on something decidedly more humble in scale, namely a simple glass of green tea.
Perhaps more than any other culinary staple, green tea has a long and distinguished history as Japan’s national beverage.
In fact, entire cultural pursuits such as sad? (?????, literally the way of tea) have been dedicated to this appreciation of this humble but highly refined beverage.
Which of course brings us to the next question at hand: what is green tea?
Green tea or ryokucha ( ?????; literally true tea) refers to any beverage made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing.
(In layman’s terms, we’re talking about minimizing the natural process by which tea turns black, which quite simply would result in black tea, not green tea!)
Intrigued? Hope so as there is plenty more to learn about the preferred beverage of Zen monks everywhere!
Like most things Japanese, green tea first originated in China several millennia ago, though the product was later refined – some would argue perfected on the islands of Japan.
Just as corn or wheat has numerous strains, the tea plant is extremely susceptible to different growing conditions and harvesting times, which has resulted in several unique final products.
However, the important characteristic of all green teas is that they are not allowed to oxidize to the same extent as traditional English style teas.
So, while your morning cup of English Breakfast can sometimes be powerful enough to necessitate a few added scoops of sugar, green tea is nearly always light enough to be drunk in its pure form.
As a result, green tea has significantly less caffeine than black tea and coffee, though this is not to say that the drink isn’t chock full of vitamins and minerals.
Indeed, green tea is thought by both Eastern and Western doctors to have a number of purported health benefits.
In fact, there exists a whole body of medical evidence (not to discount millennia of Eastern traditional knowledge) to suggest that regular green tea drinkers are protected from a variety of health ailments.
From preventing cancer and heart disease to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, there may be a whole lot more in your morning cup of tea that just a quick shot of caffeine.
Love green tea as much as I do?
If so, tune in tomorrow for a handy and helpful green tea taster’s guide that will have you sipping and characterizing rare brews in no time at all!
** All images are courtesy of the Wikicommons media project **