Tea Time

My day has been great. As you probably read earlier I took a day off from training and did some looking around the local tenjin area in Fukuoka. I just have to say that the Japanese are crazy for shopping centers. I have never seen so many shopping centers in one area and not only that but they are all connected with an underground passages that runs almost from my hotel to the Fukuoka Central Post office. For the people that does not know tenjin this is like 15 minutes on foot. All packed with stores selling clothes (or body dressing as one sign called it), food, tea and whatnot. This underground connects all the other shopping centers along the way and I would not be lying if I say that it's more than 10 of them. So in the millions of stores I suddenly crossed path with a nice little tea shop. I was lucky to still hang out with my language exchange friend and we checked out the different Japanese tea. During this stop I learned a lot about the variety of green tea in Japan. Here is a summary:

Gyokuro
This type of tea is regarded as one of the highest grade Japanese green tea's. Gyokuro has a sweeter, less bitter taste. This is because the bushes are shaded to avoid direct sunlight for a few weeks before being harvested. This is said to make the tea tastier. I am not even going to start describing the process of making this tea correctly in the tea pot. Use water on about 50C.

Kabusecha
To make the Kabusecha tastier, the tea bushes are shaded from direct sunlight for about one week before harvest. Kabusecha has both the rich taste of Gyokuro and the refreshing taste of Sencha. A subtle flavor is Kabusecha's typical feature.

Sencha
Sencha is the most popular green tea in Japan. Sencha can be classified into many grades in terms of quality. While average grade Sencha is enjoyed at home and served with meals at restaurants, high grade Sencha is often served on special occasions in Japan. Use water about 70C.

Fukamushicha (Deep steamed Sencha)
The steaming time for Fukamushicha is more than twice longer than that of regular Sencha. The liquid of Fukamshicha tea is deep green and rich in taste. As it contains small tea flakes and particles, the steeping time (in the pot) for this kind of tea can be shorter than for Sencha.

Kariganecha
Karigane or Kukicha is made of stems and leaves of Gyokuro and Sencha. Karigane has less caffein. The water for this kind of tea is to be hotter than for the Sencha (70C+)

Houjicha
Houjicha means roasted green tea. It is golden-brown, less astringent, and has a toasty flavor (burned?). This tea is often served after meals at restaurants, served before going to bed and given to infants instead of water (?!).

Genmaicha
This tea is a mixture of green tea leaves and roasted rice. It is popular among tea lovers because of the combination of its grassy flavor of green tea and nutty flavor of roasted rice.

Matcha
Macha is powdered green tea mainly used in tea ceremonies. It is made by grinding fine green tea leaves on a stone mill. Recently, Matcha is also used as a key ingredient for making cakes, ice cream, cappuccino and other food and drinks. (?!)