Mystery to enjoying Japanese Green Tea.

Many Americans don’t like Japanese Green tea. I believe this is due to lack of knowledge about the tea. They are so accustom to black tea or herbal teas that they just over cook the delicate leaves of the Japanese tea. The process by which Japanese tea is made is unique, it is steamed immediately after the harvesting so as to maintain the integrity of the leaf. It is dried and rolled and cut to maintain the true nature of the leaf. When steeped, the leaf cannot withstand the boiling temperature of most teas consumed in America. It requires water temperature around 160 degrees. You don’t need to cook the leaves.

Another thing that most Americans don’t realize is that like wine, if you don’t like the take of a Chardonnay from the central valley, try one from the northern coast. I’m not fond of houji cha from Shizuoka but I love it from Kagoshima. Experiment a little. It’s a lot cheaper than wine.

After watching this video, you should be able to enjoy a great cup of Japanese Green Tea.

If you want to sample good Japanese tea, click here.

This video was created by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture to share its love of tea with the world.