What is useful for Japanese tea?

Green tea is considered an integral part of not only Chinese but also Japanese culture. Residents of Eastern countries in a special way refer to everything that is associated with this fragrant drink. Japanese tea ceremony can not be described by several gastronomic terms, because it is a whole art, allowing to achieve harmony with the surrounding world. After reading this article, you will learn about the main varieties of this drink.

A bit of history

The Japanese first learned about the existence of tea about fourteen centuries ago. This happened due to Buddhist monks, who used it for meditations and various rituals. As the culture of Zen Buddhism spread, the popularity of this drink also increased.

Gradually, the so-called tea tournaments entered the fashion, each of whose participants was to taste the grade and origin of the drink. A little later, it became available to ordinary Japanese, not belonging to the nobility.

In the fifteenth century, the first schools began to open in Japan, in which they taught the intricacies of a tea ceremony.

The most popular varieties

It should be noted that Japanese tea differs from Chinese counterparts in a darker shade and a way of processing the leaves. One of the best green varieties is "Hecur". To brew this drink is used not too hot water, the temperature of which is not more than sixty degrees. It is characterized by a soft, slightly sweetish flavor and a memorable aroma.

No less popular among residents of eastern countries is using such Japanese tea as "Sencha". Its production accounts for about 75% of the total. This variety is grown in well-lit plantations. The most valuable variety is considered shincha. Collected and pre-steamed leaves are curled into fairly thin strips and only then directed to dry. Interestingly, the first collection contains much less caffeine and tannins. Japanese tea of the second collection is called nibancha, and the third is senbancha.

How useful is this drink?

His special properties were well known to our distant ancestors. Unique technologies, which produce Japanese green tea, allow us to talk about it as one of the most useful drinks. First of all, it helps to strengthen immunity, concentration and memory improvement.

Regular use of this drink leads to strengthening the cardiovascular system and lowering the level of cholesterol in the blood. In addition, green tea has long been recognized as one of the strongest antioxidants, the effectiveness of which is much higher than that of blueberries, spinach or ginger. It has also been established that it is a good prevention against the formation of sand in the gallbladder and kidney stones.

Tea "Japanese linden"

This drink has a truly unique taste, due to the fact that it includes the best grades of green tea, natural aromatic oils, orange peel, chamomile and lime color. It is characterized by a fairly rich and memorable aroma with pronounced herbal notes. This Japanese tea has a unique taste with a slight bitterness and a tart aftertaste with barely perceptible mint notes.

The subtleties of brewing Japanese tea

Of course, much depends on the type of drink. But still there are several general recommendations applicable to all Japanese teas. First of all, it should be remembered that they are strictly prohibited from brewing steep boiling water. To do this, it is better to use water, cooled to 60-65 degrees, which is poured into a preheated small porcelain teapot. The Japanese are sure: the more expensive the grade of tea, the lower the temperature of the water used for its preparation should be. Failure to comply with this rule can ruin the most high-quality drink.

For greater clarity, you can disassemble this process using the example of sencha tea, considered one of the most popular varieties. For the correct preparation of this beverage, which has a mild taste, you need about 80 milliliters of water and two tablespoons of tea leaves. This number of ingredients is designed for three people. In the teapot, filled with tea leaves, pour the boiled water cooled to 60-70 degrees and mix the contents. After a half or two minutes, the finished beverage can be poured into cups.

Some interesting facts

Few of our compatriots know that Japanese cups for tea, Used for traditional ceremonies, do not have pens. Their volume is 50-150 ml.

The Japanese, unlike the Chinese, are sure that tea can be drunk not only in hot, but also in a cold form. In addition to classic green varieties, they often use tonic yellow tea, brewed according to the Chinese recipe.