Green tea for long life

Let’s drink to that

By HANNAH L. TORREGOZA

July 26, 2010, 4:37pm

My hands were shaking a little when our tea instructor from the Shizuoka O-Cha Plaza in Japan, instructed us to pour a small amount of hot water into our tea cup. There were seven of us from various Asian countries, and all were excited to experience learning how to make delicious tea and participate in a tea ceremony as it was our first time in this country.

As I was waiting for the hot water to cool a little bit, our tea instructor, Ms. Jitsuko Abe, a nice lady who provided us each with a tea party set, told us that what we would prepare was Gyokoru, a variety of Japanese green tea cultivated at the Shizuoka prefecture.

Welcome to Shizuoka—regarded as No. 1 in Japanese green tea leaf production. Its natural environment has made it famous for growing green tea leaf fields. And it is strategically located near the big markets like Tokyo and adjacent to big international airports, thus boosting its position in the area of green tea cultivation.

No wonder it is going to be the site of the World O-CHA (Tea) Festival on Oct. 28-31, 2010. Tea lovers from all over the world are expected to converge at the Shizuoka Convention and Arts Centre to discuss the latest trends in global green tea consumption and participate in unique regional ways of drinking and enjoying tea.

Because it was unlikely for me to go there during those dates, I decided to pay attention to our lecturer on the basics of Japanese tea ceremony. I placed one teaspoonful of the green tea leaves onto the tea pot and poured the cooled water into the pot and allowed the tea to steep for about one minute.

You see, Japanese like to enjoy drinking high-quality tea not too hot and not too lukewarm either but just on an average temperature, maybe around 70 degrees. Afterwards, I poured the liquid into my tea cup, pouring to the last drop. This is to prevent a difference in flavor, our instructor said.

I took a sip. Then smiled—it was just how I imagined it would taste like. Bitter but sweet and refreshing, minus the sugar. (In fact, green tea or any other tea is best without sugar). And though I arrived here on a month of June, I still knew I had tasted quality green tea even if April is the best season to get premium leaves.

Actually, all the tea in the world originate from Yunan province in China but the difference depends on the climate and characteristic of a region or country where it is produced. The diversity of cultures gave birth to variations of tea parties such as the English tea party, Chinese tea party, Moroccan tea party, Korean tea party, Japanese tea ceremony and drinking edible tea from Myanmar.

After knowing the basics of serving hot tea, our gracious hosts served us iced green tea. Green tea is more popularly called “o-cha.” The procedure is just the same, but this time there was a block of ice on each tea cup.

Abe-san said that if one wants to drink quality tea, we should not use “used tea.” Once tea is used, even one that is in a teabag, it gets oxidized thus losing flavor and essence. So we need to use it only once.

But the revelations regarding the health benefits of drinking green tea made me sit upright. Though recent scientific studies have substantiated what people have known, advanced research has expanded the link between the intake of green tea and diseases in modern society.

The real benefits of green tea have been watered down these days when people are able to buy bottled ice tea or the powdered ones from the local market or grocery. Because, some of these products have lots of sugar, one wonders if a tea lover would really get any health benefits at all.

However, based on research, green tea taken in its simplest form could help modern society people battle dementia, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, hepatitis C, and obesity.

Green tea has catechins a component that functions as an anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, anti-hypercholesterolemic, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-ulcer, anti-bacterial, fat-reducing, and bowel modulator, among others. It is also high in Vitamin C which is responsible in removing stress and preventing colds; Vitamin B, amino acids, flavonoids, polysaccharide, fluoride, and Vitamin E (anti-aging and anti-oxidant). The theanine in green tea acts as an anti-hypertensive but also contributes to that “umami” taste.

Health benefits aside, my interest in green tea was further piqued when our guides gave us a tour of the World Tea Museum “Ocha no Sato” in Kanaya, Shimada-Shi which is at least an hour and half drive away from the Shizuoka O-CHA Plaza in Suruga-ku. It was built 12 years ago and its façade is typical of a Japanese interior design.

A cute girl wearing the traditional Kanaya green tea picker or harvester costume came to meet us and showed us around the building.

Because tea has become part of everyday lives, its true value has been forgotten and lost. The Tea Museum was built, according to our Kanaya guide, to enable visitors to “reconsider the original meaning of tea.”

In ancient times, serving and drinking a cup of tea is an exchange of hospitality in Asia. It is in fact, one of the foundations of Japanese and Chinese culture. It is widely accepted that China and Japan developed the tea culture and this later spread all over the world. Differences in culture and people had given rise to remarkable distinctions in the way tea is being served.

A Buddhist monk from China first introduced green tea by bringing seedlings to Japan during the Heian period. Since then, drinking tea has become deeply rooted in the lives of the Japanese people. It was also during this time the “tea game” was a popular past time. In this game, a person is asked to tell which tea is authentic and non-authentic by just smelling and tasting it.

After the museum tour, we proceeded to the Shoumokurou, the tea ceremony house located just below the building. The house itself is surrounded by a beautiful garden making it a perfect idyllic spot. Over the horizon, one could see the panoramic view of the magnificent Mt. Fuji, Japan’s highest peak. A part of the house, Kouhoukyo, was once used by a legendary nobleman as a place to hold poetry-reading sessions.

Inside the house, we were asked to sit on the floor lined with tatami mats in front of an elder woman wearing a traditional kimono who was busy brewing tea. While watching her, we were served a Japanese sweet delicacy they called “river stream.” I liked it very much and wondered where we could buy that kind of dessert. When we finally drank the green tea, the refreshing taste of it coupled with the tranquility of the place was just utterly amazing.

Our lessons on tea did not end here, we were then given the opportunity to experience picking tea leaves at one of the plantations near the museum.

We wrapped up our three-hour tour and lesson on green tea snapping pictures of the place. Japan is not just a place where you could take pictures of its powerful landscapes and beautiful scenery. When in Japan, a cup of tea would open up your heart to new experiences. Engaging in a tea ceremony is a great occasion to reflect and enjoy life’s simple pleasures.

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