Preparing Green Tea Like the Japanese
  We
operate our business from the heart of Japan's beautiful Shizuoka prefecture, in
an area commonly regarded as the green tea capital of Japan. When Japanese
think of Shizuoka they invariably picture in their mind endless fields of green
tea with Mt. Fuji rising majestically in the background. My wife Yumiko
comes from a long line of tea farmers who have been working the tea fields in
our little valley community of Yada for many generations. In
fact, the family has continuously occupied the same little homestead for
over 400 years! The pulse of life here revolves around the cycles
of tea, with various activities and community events occurring in sync
with the pruning, growing and harvest seasons. The
most exciting
time of the year is early spring when the first crop of tea called
shin-cha (new tea) is harvested. The farmers in our community
operate their own cooperative tea processing facility located close to our home.
This building, which lies dormant most of the year, comes to life each spring
with a bustle and excitement which for me is an important sign that spring has at last arrived! The folks in our
community enjoy green tea greatly and always take special care to
prepare it properly. Below are the steps normally performed by
members of my wife's family when making tea.
How to prepare green tea like the Suzuki family:
-
Measure about 10 grams (1/2 ounce) of
green tea into your tea pot (small
Japanese style pot is best).
- Boil some water. After the water has begun to boil turn off
the heat and let the kettle sit for several seconds until the boiling
has stopped completely. This is an
important step as you should never pour boiling water into the tea pot
which can damage the leaves and spoil the taste of the tea. With the first
serving you should pour the hot water into your tea cup(s) first and
then pour from the cup(s) into the pot. In this way you will measure
exactly the right amount of water to use. This is also an important
step as you should never leave excess water sitting in the pot which
will continue to steep and ruin the taste of subsequent servings.
- Let the tea steep until it reaches a desired strength (you will need
to experiment with this as tastes differ). I like tea that has steeped
for only a short time (10 or 15 seconds) while my wife and her family prefer stronger tea that has steeped for
up to a half minute or more. If you are not in the habit of
drinking green tea then I recommend that you try the short steeping time
first and then increase the time until you find
your personal preference.
- Pour
the tea into your tea cup(s) and enjoy. Green tea from Japan is usually
stronger than that served in Japanese restaurants overseas, so be
prepared if the tea seems very strong or bitter at first. Consider
reducing the amount of tea added to the pot or the steeping time if a
weaker tea is desired. Another way to counter bitterness is to
nibble something sweet (hard candy or the like) before you sip.
This is a practice with a long history and popularity with practitioners
of the Japanese tea ceremony (sadou).
- Repeat steps 2 through 4 for subsequent servings of tea until the tea
leaves lose their potency or until you are done.
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