O-MO-TE-NA-SHI
by Japanese Green Tea

"Omotenashi" is a Japanese word that embodies the concept of wholehearted hospitality and attentive service. It goes beyond simply providing good service and emphasizes anticipating the needs and desires of guests to create a welcoming and unforgettable experience. The term "Omotenashi" is often translated into English as "hospitality." It reflects the Japanese approach to providing exceptional service and ensuring the comfort and satisfaction of guests.

Japanese Green Tea is the optimal drink for "Omotenashi".

 
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Japanese tea is divided into many types based on differences in cultivation methods,
harvesting times, manufacturing processes, and processing techniques.

 
 

Types of Tea

When people think of Japanese tea, they generally think of "green tea." However, there are many other types of Japanese tea. I will introduce various types of Japanese tea, ranging from high-end varieties to everyday teas, as well as some unique and lesser-known varieties.

The kind of typical tea
SENCHA
sencha-leaf Sencha is the most common type of Japanese Green Tea and is brewed and served daily in most Japanese homes. The leaves are steamed and rolled soon after harvesting.
GYOKURO
gyokuro-leaf Gyokuro is a top-grade Japanese green tea. It is produced similarly to sencha, but the tea plants are shaded with straw mats for about 20 days before harvesting. This shading process results in a sweeter, more umami-rich flavor and a vibrant green color.
GENMAICHA
genmaicha-leaf Genmaicha is a blend of bancha or sencha leaves combined with roasted rice. This tea has a distinctive fragrance and is considered healthful. While not a roasted tea itself, it contains roasted rice.
HOJICHA
hojicha-leaf Hojicha is made by roasting sencha leaves after they have been dried. This roasting process turns the leaves brown, resulting in a tea with a strong flavor and distinctive fragrance. It is believed to aid digestion. Due to its low caffeine content, Hojicha is particularly suitable for drinking with meals or even after dinner.
KUKICHA
kukicha-leaf Kukicha, also called "stem tea," is made from the stems, stalks, and twigs that remain after sifting Gyokuro and Sencha leaves. It has a light, sweet taste and is very mild. Kukicha is often served with traditional Japanese snacks.
MATCHA
matcha-leaf Matcha is a fine powder made from specially grown and processed green tea leaves (Tencha). Unlike other teas, it is dissolved in hot water rather than steeped. Matcha is most widely recognized for its use in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, but it's also popular in modern culinary applications.
 

Sencha GOKUNO is made in a tea garden called "HARUNO-ITTKYUEN." "HARUNO-ITTKYUEN" was awarded the highest gold medal in the "World Green Tea Contest."

 
 

"HARUNO-IKKYU-EN": Home of Delicious Tea

"HARUNO-IKKYU-EN" is a cooperative tea factory operated by nine tea farms in Haruno-cho, Tenryu-ku, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.

 

Steeping is the process of making a cup of tea; it is also referred to as brewing. In general, use two grams of tea per 100ml of water, or about one teaspoon of green tea per five-ounce cup. With very high-quality teas like gyokuro, use more than this amount of leaf, and steep the leaves multiple times for short durations.
1. Boil water

Let the water temperature drop to around 70 degrees Celsius. To achieve this, pour the hot water into the teapot and then into the cups.

2. Put tea leaves into the teapot

Place two tablespoons of Sencha leaves into the pot. This demonstration uses two cups, but this amount of tea can serve up to 5 cups.

3. Pour the hot water into the teapot

The steeping time for Sencha is about 45-60 seconds. The tea leaves will start to unfold; the higher the water temperature, the faster they unfold.

4. Pour tea into teacups

Pour the tea into each cup little by little, alternating between the cups in the sequence of 1-2-2-1-1-2-2-1... This ensures that the strength of the tea in both cups is about the same.

Pour all of the tea into the cups to ensure that the leaves are as dry as possible for the next serving.

For this reason, it's best not to place the lid on the pot after you have served the tea.

5. Enjoy!

Savor your delicious tea.

 
 

Arita ware

Pottery produced in areas spanning Saga and Nagasaki prefectures, such as Arita, Imari, and Hasami. Each area has its own distinct style, and differences can be seen in the patterns used. It has developed as a historic production center, with exports reaching worldwide markets.

 
 

YUNOMI

Japanese tea cups are known as yunomi chawan or simply yunomi. They are for drinking loose leaf teas such as sencha or gyokuro.

justFemale
 
       
 

Nambu Tekki (Iron Cast)

Traditional ironware made in Morioka City and Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture. It is recognized as Japan's Traditional Craft Product No. 1.

 
 

KYUSU

A kyusu is a traditional Japanese teapot primarily used for brewing green tea. While there's a common misconception that a kyusu always has a side handle, the word "kyusu" simply means "teapot" in Japanese. However, in everyday usage, kyusu typically refers to a teapot with a side handle.

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Green tea has powerful antioxidant properties. This is due to its high content of catechins, which work to prevent the formation of free radicals (active oxygen) or neutralize existing ones.
 
 

Beneficial Effects of Green Tea

Green tea contains numerous beneficial ingredients that contribute to various health effects. These health benefits are not solely dependent on a single ingredient, but rather result from the synergistic action of multiple components.

For more detailed information, please refer to:

Article | PDF (336K)

US National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health


 
 
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