Japanese Tea Time

Japanese Tea Time ⽇ 本 茶 の 時 間

The tea master ZENJIRO 禅地朗 presents you the world of Japanese green tea.

JYXYER

At A Glance Value

Japanese Green Tea 78 Kt (3.9%)

Japanese tea is the second oldest in the world, with a history of more than 1200 years, and has been developed by Japanese unique culture based on a miracle terroir. Although its production is only 4% of the total tea leaves in the world, high quality products are produced based on the fine technology and fine-grained management of Japanese farmers and growers from soil to plucking and commercialization.

This book will introduce you to Japanese tea, the surrounding food culture, Japan style and our, ZENJIRO's, activity.

Facts: 1.Small production volume 2.Mid-latitude region 3.Soft water country 4.History of the second oldest 5.Japanese original tree species 6.Tea without fermentation 7.Expensive than other teas 8.Style without sugar

Source: statista.com / Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Japan

World Total

Chinese Tea 2609 Kt

Green Tea

2017 Kt (100%)

Tea total 5812 Kt

Black Tea 3794 Kt

Coffee 9212 Kt

Word Production

Differences

Manufactur Olives and tea, which bring health to humanity, require a completely different cultivation environment. Tea trees are limited to low-latitude to mid-latitude regions, required high temperature and humidity climate. Japan is the only mid-latitude region producing country with a latitude of 36 degrees north. Japanese tea varieties require an average annual temperature of 14-16 degrees Celsius and an annual precipitation of 1300 mm or more. The soil is required to be weakly acidic and have excellent drainage, ventilation and water retention.

1/ Location, Soil 2/ Pruning and S 3/ Tea leaves Plu

Japanese green tea (Unfermented) 4/ Steaming (stop fermenttion) 5/ Rolling 6/ Finishing firing

Japanese tea is unfermented tea and it is supported by several reasons as follows: 1 / Producing and consuming areas are close 2 / Japan is soft water country and cooking to extract ingredients was natural custom 3 / And its custom is inherited from the Jomon period 18000 years ago

ring process

l, Environment Skiffing ucking

Japanese tea is native to Chinese varieties, but after a long history and is currently cultivated in varieties unique to Japan. "Yabukita" is a major variety, but in Japan 54 types are registered as endemic to Japan.

Japanese tea plantations are mowed to a height of about 1m and are arranged as if drawn with a ruler.

This is not just meticulous, but based on rational reasons. Mechanization is progressing in the plains, but it is difficult in the mountain areas which can be produced high quality tea leaves.

Black tea, Chinese Oolong Tea (fermented) 4/ Withering 5/ Rolling 6/ Roll-breaking, Green-Sifting 7/ Fermentation 8/ Firing (stop fermentation) Chinese tea was naturally fermented because production and consumption area , that is, the ancient capital, was far away. However, it promoted the oxidative decomposition of amino acids and turned into an advantage of scent.

Value of Tea

Terroir co

In mountainous areas where there are high and low temperature diffrencials of an intraday, tea trees grow slowly, and many amino acids are produced and stored in tea leaves. Also, in an environment with fog, photosynthesis is moderately suppressed and the active ingredient theanine is produced more. In addition to these environments, a soil environment suitable for tea tree cultivation conditions is required. High-grade tea can be produced only in areas where these environmental conditions are met.

The same goes for Japanese green tea as well as black tea. The difference is that black tea is mainly produced in the low latitude region from the equator to 30 degrees latitude. The cultivation area of Japanese green tea tree is in the mid-latitude region of 30-60 degrees. Forest limits are lower in mid-latitudes than in lower latitudes. In the low latitude area, even if the forest limit is 3000m, in Japan it falls to 2000-2500m. Similarly, the altitude of tea tree cultivation is lower, and the limit in Japan the altitude is 800m. In other words, 800m above sea level in Japan is the same environment as 13001500m above sea level of the low latitude area.

1/ High al 2/ Fog 3/ Soil con

High amino

Japanese green tea (Unfermented)

Umami Flavor Gyokuro and Matcha are famous as Japanese highest quality tea with a good flavor. These two high-end products are produced at relative low-plane cultivation areas, but made by covering tea leaves by large cloth. This shading sunlight method pursues the same effect with tea leaves of mountain areas. Mountain teas are production at very small production volume, but precisely Natural Gyokuro tea leaves.

Ex. ZENJIRO Mino Shirakawa series, Uji Matcha

onditions

The world's best 3 black teas are said to be Uva in Sri Lanka, Darjeeling in India and Keemun in China.

ltitude

These areas are located at high altitude and foggy.

nditions

acid content

Uva is famous for the high grown tea above 1,300m above sea level, and the southwest monsoon blows from July to August, which causes fog.

Darjeeling is famous for its misty town with tea fields spread between 500-2000m above sea level.

In Keemun, the cultivation field is high at 1200m above sea level, and fog is generated in humid places.

In general, black tea is at an altitude of 1000-2000m and fog is a condition of high-quality black tea.

Black tea, Chinese Oolong Tea (fermented)

Scent Black tea is a price-forming mechanism similar to Japanese tea. However, there are more segmented graded benchmarks than Japanese tea.

Chinese tea (especially oolong tea) has a different price formation mechanism. The price of Japanese tea and black tea is almost determined by the quality of the raw tea leaves. However, oolong tea is characterized by a very high attribution to price determination of fermentation facter.

Kyoto

Regions & share

Japanese tea production accounts for 83% in the Kyushu region in th suitable soil for Japanese tea and is mechanized and benefited from region of India.

Mino Shirakawa tea in Gifu Prefecture is produced at the highest altit Uji tea in Kyoto prefecture and Asayama tea in Shiga prefecture near limited.

Mino Shirakawa 0.2%

Mie-Ise

Kyoto- Uji

7.4%

3.5%

Fukuoka

2.3%

Miyazaki

3.2%

Kagoshima

33.1%

Shizuoka

39.4%

he southwest and the Tokai region in the central south. This area is lowland and flat terrain. So, it is similar to the situation in the Assam

tude of 800m. Kawane tea and Honkawa tea in Shizuoka prefecture, rby are 300-500m above sea level. The production in these regions is

Northern limit of cultivation

Saitama - Sayama 1.0%

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Japan

Value of Japanese Green Tea The world's best 3 black teas are said to be Uva in Sri Lanka, Darjeeling in India and Keemun in China. These areas are located at high altitude and foggy. Uva is famous for the high grown tea above 1,300m above sea level, and the southwest monsoon blows from July to August, which causes fog. Darjeeling is famous for its misty town with tea fields spread between 500-2000m above sea level. In Keemun, the cultivation field is high at 1200m above sea level, and fog is generated in humid places. In general, black tea is at an altitude of 1000-2000m and fog is a condition of high-quality black tea.

The same goes for Japanese green tea. The one difference is that black tea is mainly produced in the low latitude region from the equator to 30 degrees latitude. Uva is 7 degrees, Darjeeling 27 degrees and Keemun 30 degrees. The cultivation area in Japan is in the mid-latitude region of 30-60 degrees. Forest limits are lower in mid-latitudes than in lower latitudes. In the low latitude area, even if the forest limit is 3000m, in Japan it falls to 2000-2500m. Similarly, the altitude of tea tree cultivation is lower, and the limit in Japan the altitude is 800m.

In other words, 800m above sea level in Japan is the same environment as Uva's 1300m above sea level. Another differential point is that Japanese green tea tree is Japan's original improved kind.

Among the five major well-known Japanese tea production areas, Kawane tea and Motoyama tea in Shizuoka are 500-600m above sea level. In Uji, the altitude is low, so the tea tree is covered with cloths to make Gyokuro which famous brand as the high-quality tea so that it is not exposed to the sun too much. This is the equivalent action and effect as artificially raising the altitude.

The altitudes of Shizuoka and Kagoshima, the two major producing areas of Japanese tea, are low and flat terrain and easy to mechanize. For these reasons, only these two major production areas produce 2/3 of tea leaves in Japan. Many are sold in supermarkets as popular products and are also used in PET tea beverages.

Altitude by tea production area of Japan elevation forest line

2500m Mino Shirakawa 600-800m

timber line

2000m Kawane 500-600m 1000m

West 0m the Sea of Japan

Urshino, Takachiho 300-350m

Asamiya, Uji 400m Shizuoka, Kagoshima(chiran) 200-300m

cultivation limit of the tea tree

East Pacific Ocean

ZENJIRO Mino Shirakawa We, ZENJIRO focus on providing high quality Japanese green tea to the world. In other words, it is a high-altitude production area, with low production, and may not be very famous. But our product is finest.

Mino Shirakawa tea is benefited as the northernmost, highest altitude and foggy environment. It is a a natural terroir where all necessary conditions filled for the finest tea leaves. The reason why Mino Shirakawa tea is not counted as one of Japan's five major production areas is that in winter it is a severe mountainous area with snow, which produces very little and only 0.1% of Japan's total. This production amount is merely 1/20 of Kawane tea and 1/35 of Uji tea, which are famous for high-grade green tea. You can know how rare it is.

In the same area, the tenryo (the shogunal demesne), Kiso Hinoki which is the finest building wood of Japan, was produced and used for such as courts, castles and shrines from way back. Therefore, this rare tea from same land had not been distributed to the private sector since ancient times, and has been offered to imperial families and generals as a presentation tea.

The Mino Shirakawa tea 1/100 series, representing ZENJIRO, is a high-end product that is at least as good as the Uji Gyokuro.

Tea leaves plucking at Mino Shirakawa

History

In ancient times, Japanese tea was considered a medicinal herb. The medic This act of boiling is called "Senjiru 煎じる." This is the origin of the word fo

It was mainly used by the Imperial court and aristocracy. In the Samurai era also good for meetings in closed rooms. During the Edo period, the last tim townspeople also enjoyed green tea. That was 360 years ago. The current m

AD 1908

AD 1835

Meiji era

Developed the current “Yabukita” variety

AD 1897

US banned imports of Chinese and Japa

AD 1838

Tea was first introduced to Ceylon

Edo era

Developed highest quality “Gyokuro” AD 1823 AD 1788 AD 1785

Tea tree of Assam variety was found Chinese tea was first introduced to Indi Chinese tea was first introduced to New

AD 1738

Edo era

Developed the current processing technolog

AD 1654

Edo era

Developed “Sencha”

AD 1596

Sengoku era

AD 1400

Holland introduced Japanese tea to Europe Tea spread to the samurai class Muromachi era Shogun encouraged tea plantations to Uji an

AD 1214

Kamakura era

A monk “Eisai” studied in China advised the

AD 805

Heian era

A monk “Kukai” studied in China brought b

BC16000

Jomon period

The diet of Jomon people was rich life with benefits of soft water

cine was administered by simmering herbs and oozing out the ingredients. or Sencha煎茶.

a, it quickly spread among the Samurai class. The tea ceremony style was me of the Samurai, the townspeople's culture flourished, and wealthy manufacturing methods and styles were created 280 years ago.

English Afternoon tea

anese tea

Gyokuro

ia w York

Townspeople

gies Sencha

e for the first time

Matcha

Samurai

nd Mino

e general to spread tea again Monk “Eisai”

back tea trees for the first time

unique pottery and

Jomon pottery

Kyoto

Health benefits Catechin (astringent ingredient of tea) 10-18% • Low blood cholesterol • Body fat lowering effect • Cancer prevention • Antioxidant effect • Prevention of caries, antibacterial action • Anti-influenza action • Antihypertensive effect • Anti-hyperglycemic effect • Bad breath prevention (deodorizing effect)

Theanine (umami ingredient of tea) 0.6-2% • Nerve cell protection • Relaxing action (alpha wave appearance)

Saponin

0.1%

• Blood pressure lowering effect • Anti-influenza action

Caffeine (tea bitter ingredient) 3-4% • Arousal effect (removal of fatigue and drowsiness) • Endurance increase • Hangover prevention • Diuretic effect

Black tea & Chinese tea In Chinese tea (oolong tea) and black tea, the ingredients in the tea leaf change due to the action of oxidase, creating a unique flavor and flavor. In addition, polymerization of catechins occurs, and catechins decrease.

When catechins are polymerized, they are converted to theaflavins and thearvidins, which are a type of polymerized polyphenol. Most of these polymerized polyphenols have not been elucidated due to the complex molecular structure.

Source: Japanese food standard ingredient list 2010

HOW TO

O ENJOY

Kyoto

How to enjoy 1 BASIC Ancient time, tea was considered a medicine, and its shape was called solidified Dancha. Therefore, the way of brewing was always decocted by boiled water to extract the active ingredient. This practice is still inherited by black tea and Chinese tea. Pour boiling water so that the tea leaves dance, and warm the tea cup sufficiently. This is a reasonable method because these teas are for the purpose of enjoying fermented aroma.

When Matcha came on the scene 450 years ago, the method of brewing was simply to pour 80 degrees water onto powdered tea and stir with a tea whisk, but a series of quiet behaviors were ritualized.

To brew sencha, infuse hot water on unconsolidated tea leaves and wait for the ingredients to be extracted. This style has been widespread to date.

What is important here is the temperature of the water and the infusion time.

Theanine, which is a flavor component and has a relaxing effect, is lost by heat of over 80 degrees. A high temperature water allows theanine to be extracted quickly, while theanine can be extracted with room temperature water, but requires a long time. You can enjoy the game making selections in the temperature range from room temperature to 80 degrees.

The size of the tea leaves also affects the infusion time. The easiest and quickest is powder. The next easy way is tea bag packaging, which is finely chopped tea leaves. As for tea bags, it is common to use low grade tea leaves to use chopped tea leaves. However, ZENJIRO thought that processing tea bags was a reasonable way to extract theanine and made tea bag products with the finest Mino Shirakawa tea. Old-fashioned industry people might say us as crazy. But ZENJIRO prefers small innovations.

Hojicha tea is roasted, so theanine is lost. However, theanine may remain depending on the roasting time and temperature. Generally, Hojicha does not need to worry about temperature.

TEMPERATURE AND TIME Since Japan is a country with four seasons, even in the vicinity of Tokyo where we live, the annual minimum temperature is minus and the maximum temperature reaches near 40 degrees Celsius. Therefore, Japanese drink warm green tea in winter and cool green tea in summer. Therefore, modern Japanese people do not have a fixed concept that green tea is hot. I, ZENJIRO, personally like to extract the umami of theanine with cold water spending for longer time. We recommend brewing Mino Shirakawa tea in 60-70 degree water, but this is only one guide. Dashi umami soup, which is indispensable to Japanese food, also uses two extraction methods, hot water and cool water. Soft water helps to extract the ingredients effectively, conversely hard water is effective for trapping the flavor of the meat inside.

Catechin, a typical health component of Japanese tea, has antioxidant, antiviral, and anticancer effects, as well as cholesterol reduction and blood sugar rise suppression. In addition, it is a very useful ingredient that has fungicidal and antibacterial effects, and prevents cavities and bad breath. However, the taste has astringency. Catechin is not lost in boiling water and is abundant in tea leaves grown in lowlands and tea leaves after the second picking. Therefore, if consider only this ingredient, you can brew with boiling water.

An Episode This is a habit that is now being lost, but here are some unusual habits of the Japanese. Until decades ago, Japanese prestigious companies stocked two types of tea. One is high quality tea like Gyokuro and the other is cheap green tea. A company is visited by various guests. Some are undesired or unimportant guests. The companies used to serve cheap green tea to such guests. The guests done their errands quickly having the astringent tea and left the office early. The companies served high quality tea to important guests. Relax and talk, the negotiations went well. Conversely, visitors could observe what kind of tea was served and learned the company's status and attitudes of the company. It is a habit that Japanese people do not say what they are thinking frankly, and that is also a Japanese culture. However, some signs and hints were suggested by the quality of the tea before.

Kyoto

How to enjoy 2 MOTTAINAI - Use multiple times It is said that Japanese tea can be used 4-5 times.

The first brewed cup is to extract theanine and enjoy the umami taste and relax.

The second and the third brew tea are for awake with the astringency of catechin and caffeine, refreshing the mouth.

The fourth is edible. "Ochazuke", a simple meal of tea on rice, can be used, but it can also be dried and sprinkled in a small amount, or used like chopped parsley. "Onigiri", a rice ball, using this is also delicious.

Finally, besides beverage, it is a method to utilize the bactericidal action of catechin. It is also used for deodorizing fish and deodorizing refrigerators. I gargle the last cold tea that is not suitable for this beverage. Gargle with this last tea before going to bed or after waking up can help keep your throat in good condition. • Even if the green tea is brewed in cool water and then heated in the microwave, theanine is almost retained if it does not exceed 80 degrees.

Suppose that water at room temperature 20 degrees is heated for 60 seconds in a 500 W microwave oven, the water temperature will be 80 degrees. In other words, it is possible to make warm tea by a microwave, even if it brews with cool water. This is one guide, but is convenient way to save time.

STORAGE & BEST BEFORE DATE An important storage method for Japanese tea is to prevent oxidation. Since Japanese tea is unfermented tea, it is steamed at an early stage to stop fermentation. However, it gradually deteriorates due to oxidation. Black tea and Chinese tea are teas intended for fermentation by oxidation, so people doesn't care much. When you go to a Chinese tea shop, you will see a number of square tea boxes lined up. However, if make a use of similar display boxes for Japanese tea, the quality will deteriorate immediately.

In modern times, Japanese tea is always enclosed in aluminum bags. Tea bags are not wrapped in paper envelopes like black tea, and use non-oxidizing material envelopes. As a result, the expiration date of Japanese tea has dramatically increased. The normal many cases are 360 days, but there is no quality problem even if longer. With only a small amount (less than a few percent) of water, ripening proceeds very slowly. There are not many, but some fans enjoy Japanese tea intentionally aged. Labeling of the best-before date is uniformly required by law, but unlike perishables and raw foods, the true bestbefore date of Japanese tea depends on cases, but mostly longer. If you are curious, it might be interesting to try Japanese tea aged at your own risk.

One day of ZENJIRO 1st brew: by water

4th leaves for Rice ball topping For Relax Break time

2nd-3rd brew: by

80 degree

5th brew : by

100 degree

Refreshing mouth

For gargle

With meals

Before bed & After bed

WITH S

SWEETS

Kyoto

Traditional sweets Many Japanese sweets were developed 300-400 years ago during the Edo period.

NERIKIRI "Nerikiri" is a fresh confectionery that is used for celebration and tea ceremonies by adding a color to white bean paste and applying delicate work to model seasonal plants and seasonal poems.

RAKUGAN "Rakugan" is a dried confectionery made by mixing starchy powder made from rice etc. with starch syrup or sugar, coloring it and pressing it into a mold to dry.

MOCHI GASHI Mochi confections such as sakura mochi are also popular in Japan as good luck sweets. Anko is packed in glutinous rice. Sakura mochi is colored with cherry blossoms that are representative of spring, and wrapped with cherry leaves.

DORAYAKI "Dorayaki" is a confectionery in which flour is sprinkled with eggs, sugar, etc. and baked in the form of a gong, with red bean paste sandwiched between the two pieces. Depending on the shape, there is a fish shape "Taiyaki".

DANGO "Dango" is made by rounding the grain powder with hot or cold water, steaming or boiled. There are kinako dusted, seasoned with soy sauce and red pepper, and skewered dango.

Red beans health benefits Azuki contains various nutrients such as dietary fiber, protein, B vitamins, minerals such as iron and potassium, saponin and polyphenols in a wellbalanced manner. In particular, the polyphenol content is extremely high and is attracting worldwide attention. Red beans contain 1.5-2 times the polyphenols of red wine.

Red beans are an essential ingredient in Japanese sweets. White sweet paste use other beans, but most Japanese sweets use black sweet paste of red beans.

Kyoto

Modern sweets There are so many kinds of modern sweets in Japan that it makes we difficult to count them. Here are just a few of them.

MATCHA CAKE Matcha sweets have become established as modern sweets.

MATTCHA ICE CREAM Matcha ice cream triggered the matcha boom.

SWEET POTATO Sweet potatoes made with Japanese "Satsumaimo" potatoes have been keeping as the position as the standard sweets for a long time.

CAKE WITH FRUITS Many foreigners are surprised at the sweetness of Japanese fruits. Many kinds of fruits such as strawberries and peaches are fascinating the world.

Yamanashi and Yamagata are famous for their fruits.

WESTRERN SWEETS The Japanese team has won twice in the pastry chef's world of European sweets. They do a marriage of the strengths of European confectionery and the strengths of Japanese ingredients.

Different uses of tea Many people prefer Hojicha when eating modern sweets.

It is a good combination that the traditional Japanese sweet is Sencha, and the modern sweet is Hojicha, which has a refreshing aftertaste. Hojicha is also suitable for latte with added sugar and milk, and Hojicha latte and modern sweets are a popular combination.

Kyoto

MISO Soup An essential part of the Japanese cuisine is soup made from soybean fermented "miso". There are five types of miso in Japan, and each region has different tastes. Many homes also make miso at their own home. Miso soup supports the Japanese diet and health.

TOMATO & BASIL

KINAKO Soy bean flour

MUSHROOM CHOWDER

SOY MILK

MIXED HURB

TRADITIONAL

TRADITIONAL

Health benefits of MISO In addition to soy protein, it contains soy isoflavones that regulate hormone balance and prevent osteoporosis, lecithin that keeps cells young and prevents arteriosclerosis and cerebral infarction, saponins that suppress lipid oxidation, melanoidins that have antioxidant effects, etc. .

Abo

JYX

out

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Brands ZENJIRO

ZENJIRO is our luxury brand of our green tea products. Price zone is almost equivalent to Gyokuro.

Green tea leaves such as green tea are from Mino Shirakawa, and matcha is from Uji, Kyoto. ZENJIRO products are sold to worldwide on the "zenjiro.online" web site.

tcha-tcha

"tcha-tcha" is a brand of green tea products. Price range is for fine tea category.

Green tea leaves such as sencha tea are from Mino Shirakawa. The tcha-tcha products are currently sold in the European region on the "tcha-tcha.com" website.

We also operate a tea room under the name "tcha-tcha".

Currently there is a shop in Lyon, France. In addition to green tea drinks, Japanese sweets and snacks are also offered here.

Media "Hakone, sans-faรงon" is a travel magazine that introduces the area between Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture with a focus on Hakone highland resort, a tourist destination representing Japan.

In contrast with aristocratic cultured Kyoto, this area let feel time pass of the Samurai culture representing Shogunates of each era. Modern Japan has begun sea trade exporting raw silk to European countries at this area one and half century ago.

This magazine introduces deep history and hot spots of this area and hints of your journey along with fabulous foods of Japan.

ZENJIRO Ha

ZENJIRO Hakone Lab is located area is suitable for green tea cu 800m with foggy sometimes , b because it is a resort area where we are working on small innova sweets.

akone Labo

d overlooking Lake Ashi. The ultivation at an altitude of but tea trees are not grown e agriculture is regulated. Here ations such as green tea and

A view from ZENJIRO TEA HAKONE LABO

Authentic Japanese

ZENJIRO & t

https://zenjiro.online

e green tea brands

tcha-tcha https://tcha-tcha.com

ZENJIRO & tcha-tcha are brands of JYXYER Group.

tcha-

salon de th

LYO

55 Rue Denuziè

-tcha

hé japonais

ON

ère 69002 Lyon

Japanese Tea Time

Publisher: JYXYER Co., Ltd. (Japan)