日本茶 Japanese Tea
History of Japanese tea
Tea drinking in China began long ago and was well established before the Christian era, after which it
was further developed and refined during the Tang (618 – 907) and Sung (960 – 1279) periods.
Tea was first introduced to Japan in the Nara period (710 – 793) from China. However, it was not
before the introducer of Zen Buddhism, the monk Yosai (Eisai), in 1191 brought tea seeds andknowledge about how to grow, produce and prepare tea, that the drinking of powdered green tea
became widespread in Japan.
While the drinking of powdered green tea gradually fell out of fashion in China and replaced withinfusion of tea leaves during the Mongol invasions, in Japan, it was continued and further refined

The book "Kissa Yojoki"(Drinking Tea for Health)by Yosai (Eisai)

under the influence of Zen and a new aesthetic culminating in the development of the all-encompassing culture known as Chanoyu or Chado, theJapanese tea ceremony, which was perfected by Sen no Rikyu (1522 – 1591).
In the middle of the 17th century, leaf tea was introduced by a Chinese Zen monk who built a temple near the tea gardens in Uji. Furthermore, aspecial Japanese way called Senchado which based on the Ming-style way of preparing leaf tea was soon developed. Thus in time, many varietiesof original Japanese teas were produced and perfected.

Varieties of Japanese tea
There are three main categories of tea: completely oxidized and fermented teas such as black teas,
half-oxidized teas known as oolong teas and non-oxidized teas that are green. Most Japanese teas aregreen, and much is done to retain the beautiful green color of the fresh leaf together with all the healthpreserving properties and other important constituents of the tea leaf.
In Japan, there are two different methods of tea cultivation which give quite different results. One is tolet the tea bushes grow and bud without any shade from the sun. This method was originally introduced

Leaf harvest in Sencha tea estatefrom China for the growing of leaf tea and gives the most common tea in Japan known as Sencha.
Another method is to shade the budding bushes completely. This method was originally developed inJapan for the production of fine powdered tea known as Matcha, but later extended to the production of
the high-quality Japanese leaf tea known as Gyokuro.

Leaf picking in Matcha tea garden

Benefits of powdered green tea （抹茶 Matcha）
To obtain all the health properties and other beneficial effects of tea, it is best to ingest the entire soft leaf
tissue in the form of powdered green tea, Matcha. Some of the constituents in tea are not water soluble at all
and only a third of the important catechins may be obtained in an infusion. The ancient Chinese notion oftea as a health improving and maintaining preventive medicine, that also may cure certain diseases, is also
well founded according to modern scientific research. Besides, tea is known for its various anti-oxidative
effects and also helps control of high blood pressure, counteracting senility and is preventive against
diabetes and cancer, etc.

A bowl of delicious well-whisked Matcha

MARUKYU KOYAMAEN CO., LTD.
Terauchi 86 Ogura-cho, Uji-shi, Kyoto, JAPAN, 611-0042

www.marukyu-koyamaen.co.jp

Headquarters

Makishima Matcha Factory