Tag Archives: Green tea

Chagusaba: Sustainable Tea Production

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Tea Garden in Chagusaba Region of Shizuoka Japan

Tea in Shizuoka, by Jose Comessu – CC-BY-3.0

Like many in the tea industry we are always interested in environmental trends or practices which impact the production of the camellia sinensis (tea) plant. While there is significant concern about global warming in many parts of the tea growing world, Japan included, the Japanese have become known for the practice of Chagusaba. This sustainable farming method protects the topsoil  and even enhances it while protecting tea plants from cold weather extremes. It also improves the overall taste and quality of Japanese green tea. This method, native to the Kakegawa region of the Shizuoka Prefecture, about 90 minutes by train from Tokyo has been in existence since the 1600’s and provides balance between the land and the farmers who produce some of the finest green tea in the world.

The Broad Strokes of Chagusaba Tea Production

Chagusaba is a farming method which originated in Shizuoka Prefecture nearby Mt. Fuji, whereby farmers grow native grasses for use in mulching between tea bushes. Specifically, these tall grasses, like the silver pampas grass, are grown alongside tea gardens. During the late fall and winter the grass is cut, dried, and spread between the rows of the tea bushes. The addition of this dried grass provides insulation for the root systems of the plants allowing protection and earlier growth in spring. As the season progresses the grass keeps the weeds down and slowly decomposes, adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil, improving its quality over time. Where fertilizer is used, the grass helps keep fertilizer in place and lessons the ability of rains to erode the topsoil. For all the added work work, tea farmers believe that the Chagusaba practice produces better color, taste, and aroma for their tea.

Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)

Chagusaba farming practices make use of cut and dried pampas grass.

Silver Pampas Grass used in Chagusaba Farming, By 松岡明芳 – CC-BY-3.0

Japan has seen a significant reduction in its native grasslands over the past 100+ years. It’s estimated that today’s grasslands are 1/30th of what they once were. While the chagusaba practice enhances the soil and helps produce superior green tea for the Shizuoka region, the practice provides substantial added value to the environment. It encourages biodiversity by providing nourishment to the soil and supports growth of many other smaller plants. If not for chagusaba these smaller plants would be crowded out by larger plants that would otherwise take over if not for the annual harvesting of grasses. The environment created in chagusaba supports a significant number of rare plants including the “7 herbs of autumn” and numerous animals that live and find food from among the grasslands. Many of these plants are also important to Buddhist traditions and ceremonies. When the Shizuoka region proposed being designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System it stressed the impact of the farming practice on the environment, the economy, and the cultural practices of the region (Kawakatsu). In May 2013 The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization officially designated the Chagusaba farming practice of Kakegawa in Shizuoka Prefecture as a GIAHS site.

As sustainable farming practices become increasingly desired both by farmers and by consumers we are interested in seeing where this practice, and those like it, may be copied and adapted in other parts of world. Closer to home the Chesapeake Bay has struggled for years with excessive nitrogen runoff from poor fertilization practices, excessive or inappropriate use of fertilizer on lawns, and overflow from waste water treatment facilities. Many great organizations are working to improve the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay starting hundreds of miles away in the headwaters which lead to the bay. Upstream the emphasis is on forest restoration with native trees and plants. Closer to the bay work is also being done to create buffers to absorb runoff and change destructive human behaviors. We would love to see increased sustainable farming practices take hold along with homeowner education and improved infrastructure to speed this restoration along. We would love to see increased forest buffers and native plants along the edge of the Chesapeake but we also we wonder if there may also be room for adapted chagusaba practices to aid in improved soil fertility and acting as both a buffer to the Chesapeake.

Sources Cited
Traditional Tea-Grass Integrated System: Shizuoka’s Chagusaba, A globally significant agricultural system and landscape, by Dr. Heita Kawakatsu, May 29, 2013, http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/giahs_assets/Information_Resources_Annexes/Japan_Forum/Traditional_tea_Chagusaba_of_Shizuoka.pdf

GIAHS Propsal, Traditional Tea-Grass Integrated System in Shizuoka, http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/giahs_assets/Sites_annexes/GIAHS-Shizuoka_proposal.pdf

Your Caffeine Assumptions About Tea Are Wrong! (Sorry)

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Two leaves and a bud of camellia sinensis (tea) plant contain the most caffeine of any part of the plant.

Bud and Two Leaf – Desired Pluck and Highest in Caffeine – By Mandeep Singh, CC-BY-SA-3.0

We recently wrote about the caffeine in tea, specifically looking into claims that caffeine in tea was somehow different than caffeine found in coffee, soda, or other products. We found that the jury was still out on the topic, with some studies showing that the combination of L-theanine and caffeine was less jolting. However, these studies used much greater quantities of L-theanine than is normally found in tea. This brings us to the next topic around how much caffeine is in tea. A search of web pages reveals a wide variety of information with many charts showing black tea as having the most caffeine followed by oolong, green, and white in descending order. We went searching to learn more about what things impact the amount of caffeine in tea and what ends up in your cup.

The Role of Caffeine in Tea

First lets set the stage a bit. Caffeine is found in true tea from the camellia sinensis plant. It is not found in herbals and tisanes like products featuring rooibos, honeybush, or other herbs. Many plants including both coffee and tea naturally produce caffeine as a way to protect themselves. Caffeine, like other compounds including nicotine and morphine, is a bitter tasting alkeloid, a feature which helps ward off many insects that would otherwise feast on plant leaves. It also tends to inhibit the growth of fungus thereby further protecting the plant. (Freeman and Beattie)

Recent research also suggests that there may also be another reason for caffeine in plants; to attract honeybees. Specifically, researchers have suggested that in low doses, having caffeine in pollen helps honeybees better identify the scent of a given flower providing a bit of reproductive advantage. (Wright, Baker, et all).

Caffeine and Types of Tea

Understanding that the presence of caffeine in tea is a self defense mechanism and that new growth is most vulnerable to insect attack, it should come as no surprise that the most desired part of the tea plant also has the highest caffeine. Specifically the bud and newest leaves, which are highly regarded for many types of tea, provide more caffeine than older growth. However, this isn’t the end of the story. The tea plant, c. Sinensis has evolved naturally over time into many varieties to suit the area in which they are grown. The sinensis and assamica varieties are the most notable but not the only varieties. Additionally, many countries including Japan, China, India, and Kenya actively work on producing specialized clones more suited to specific growing conditions, desired tastes, and leaf appearance. Each variety of plant differs in the amount of caffeine it produces and even the specific season of growth and available nutrients all impact caffeine production.

All types of tea, including green, black, white, and oolong, come from the same plant. The drying, rolling, and oxidization to achieve finished product does vary from type to type but the varieties still come from the same basic plant. Nothing in the standard production process extracts or otherwise removes caffeine from the leaves.

So what does this mean? Unless producers and retailers are sampling large volumes of leaf, for each and every product they offer, its really impossible to make specific claims about the amount of caffeine in any type of tea. It will fluctuate wildly within a very wide range; white, black, green, or otherwise. One might be able to avoid high amounts of caffeine by avoiding teas that are all tips but even this is no guarantee.

Decaffeinated Tea

An alternative for many is to look for decaffeinated tea which theoretically allows enjoyment of tea without the caffeine. There are two general methods used in the decaffeination process of tea today; ethyl acetate (also known as “naturally decaffeinated”) and CO2. In the first case, ethyl acetate, which occurs naturally in the tea plant, is used to wash the tea leaves removing caffeine (as well as many other beneficial substances and flavor compounds) from the product. The washed tea leaves are then dried and repackaged. In the case of CO2, the leaves are also washed. This is done under more than 60 lbs of pressure per square inch (psi) at which point CO2 becomes a liquid. After washing the tea in liquid CO2 the leaves return to normal pressure at which point the remaining liquid CO2 simply evaporates. Both decaffeination processes are expensive, time consuming, and remove more than just the caffeine resulting in some compromise in taste and other compunds found in tea.

Aside from the impact on taste and other compounds, the process of decaffeination does remove most of the caffeine found in tea. If you live in the European Union and you buy decaf tea then you are in great shape. To meet EU standards a decaf product must have 99.9% of the caffeine removed. In the United States we aren’t quite as exacting, requiring only 97% removal. So if we assume that the amount of caffeine in any given tea sample may vary widely then so too might the amount of caffeine in your decaf tea.

Rooibos, Honeybush, and Tisanes naturally are caffeine free.

Adirondack Berries – A Rooibos Based Tisane

Its worth noting that there is a myth floating about that you can eliminate most of the caffeine in tea by doing a quick initial steep, tossing the liquor, and re-steeping. Unfortunately the data under controlled conditions doesn’t support this myth at all. To eliminate the caffeine you would need to steep for 10-15 minutes, toss the liquor, and then steep again but who would want to drink that? For a much more in-depth look at caffeine and tea have a look at Caffeine and Tea:  Myth and Reality by Nigel Melican which is one of the best reviews we have seen to date on the subject.

In summary, while the amount of caffeine in any given sample can be measured by a lab, as far as we can tell its really impossible to make sweeping claims about the amount of caffeine in any specific type of tea, much less one specific tea product. When we want to skip the caffeine we’ll have a a tisane or herbal tea.

Sources Cited

Freeman, B.C. and G.A. Beattie. 2008. An Overview of Plant Defenses against Pathogens and Herbivores. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI: 10.1094/PHI-I-2008-0226-01, http://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/intropp/topics/Pages/OverviewOfPlantDiseases.aspx

G.A. Wright, D.D. Baker, M.J.Palmer, J.A. Mustard, E. F. Power, A. M Borland, P.C. Stevenson. Caffeine in floral nectar enhances a pollinator’s memory of reward. Science. Doi 10.1126. Science., http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press.release/item/bees-get-a-buzz-from-caffeine

Gyokuro – Japanese Shade Tea

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Gyokuro Loose Leaf Tea and Liquor

Gyokuro – Japanese Shade Grown Tea

Gyokuro is considered the best of the best of Japanese green teas, due to its sweet full-mouth feel.   The name Gyokuro translates into English as “precious dew”.  A rather fitting name for this special tea.

Flavor aside, what really makes this tea unique is how man intervenes in the tea’s growing process to assist in amplifying the flavor.  As written about in an earlier blog, Japan has been breeding specific tea cultivars for decades and the cultivar most used in Gyokuro is the Yutakamidori.  The cultivars used to produce Gyokuro do have a generally sweeter taste, but they also react better to shade.

Gyokuro – An Accidental Discovery

Gyokuro was supposedly created in 1835 in Uji province Japan, by a farmer that put hay on his tea plants to protect them from a late spring frost and did not remove the hay until harvest time.  The farmer discovered that the tea, when harvested and dried, had a much sweeter flavor than the usual Sencha.  By shading the tea plant, the farmer caused the plant to increase its theanine production, which makes it taste sweeter.  Today, most tea farms use shade cloth instead of hay, but some still use the hay.  The tea stays under shade around 21 days.  There may be some variation on the length because the farmers are waiting for the tea buds to get to ¾ inch in length before harvesting, and depending on the weather it could take the plants longer to get to the desired length (Kevin Gascoyne, 2011).  Unlike the rest of the teas in Japan, Gyokuro is harvested by hand.  Gyokuro is also only produced in one harvest each year.  The tea plant then goes on to grow leaves for Sencha or Bancha, in a later harvest.

Finished Gyokuro and Steeping Instructions

Once the tea leaves are plucked, the leaves are separated from the stem and then steamed in much the same fashion as Sencha.  The steaming processes will cause the leaf to fall apart, so the finished product has lots of different leaf sizes.

In making a cup of Gyokuro, the water should be well below boiling, somewhere between 149-170 degrees Farenhait.  To get this, pour boiling water into a ceramic cup and wait about 5 minutes before putting in the tea leaves.  Gyokuro being juried in a tea competitions in Japan are brewed even cooler, at 104 degrees Farenhait.  When steeping at this temperature the tea pot and cup are preheated and the water does not get to boil.  The tea is typically steeped for 90 seconds.

If you are even remotely interested in green tea, Gyokuro is a wonderful tea to try and nice change to typical vegetal and seaweed flavors of Sencha.

Gyokuro Japanese Tea

Works Cited
Kevin Gascoyne, F. M. (2011). Tea: History Terroirs Varieties. In K. Gascoyne, F. Marchand, J. Desharnais, & H. Americi, Tea: History Terroirs Varieties (pp. 98-99). Firefly Books Ltd.

Matcha: Drink Your Tea and Eat it Too

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Matcha is considered to be the first powdered tea. Created in China sometime between 960-1139 CE, it traveled to Japan with the Zen Buddists. It is actually de-stemmed gyokuro. Matcha starts like gyokuro in Japan, by spending a few weeks in the shade before plucking, withering in the sun, and then steaming. At this point in the manufacturing process, the leaf is typically folded or rolled for gyokuro. With matcha, the leaf is dried flat and the stem is removed from the leaf and the remaining parts are sent through a granite grinding stone to make the finished matcha powder.

Whisking matcha ice cream.

Whisking matcha powder into an ice cream base.

There are a few different grades of matcha. The two most commonly found in the U.S. are ceremonial matcha and cooking matcha. Ceremonial matcha is usually made of 1st pluck of gyokuro and has a much more subtle grass and seaweed flavor. As its name implies, it is drunk during the Japanese Tea Ceremony. This type of matcha really should be drunk in the traditional way and not used for cooking. Cooking grade matcha is made of older leaves and carries a much stronger grassy taste. It holds on to its flavor even when added to recipes. It can also be drunk and its name in Japanese actually translates into daily matcha. However, in the U.S. cooking matcha is rarely marketed as a daily drinking matcha.

While, matcha as a drink for me is still an acquired taste. Cooking with it is super easy and it adds some really interesting flavor and color to everyday items, like ice cream. We recently tried two different matcha green tea ice cream; one more traditional and one vegan friendly.

Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream (With or Without Mint and Chocolate Chips)

Running ice cream blender mixing in chocolate chips.

Blending Chocolate Chips into Matcha Mint Ice Cream

2 cups half-and half
1 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup brown rice syrup
2 tbsps. matcha powder

Heat the half-and-half and heavy cream to 175 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from heat and stir in the brown rice syrup. Pour through strainer into a bowl and whisk in the matcha. Cooking matcha clumps a lot like corn starch, so send it through a sifter first to make your life easier in whisking in the matcha to the milk base. Cool in the refrigerator until 40 degrees Fahrenheit (about 6 hours). The matcha will float to the top, whisk again and pour into your ice cream machine based on the instructions for the machine. If you want, add in ½ tbsps. vanilla extract and 1-2 tbsps. mint extract based on your preference, just before pouring into the machine. About 10-15 minutes into churning you can add ½ cup of your favorite chocolate chips.  Finish churning the ice cream based on the instructions for your ice cream maker.

Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream (With or Without Mint and Chocolate Chips) – Vegan

Blended matcha ice cream base.

Matcha Ice Cream Base

¾ cup cream of coconut milk (see below on how to get this)
½ cup soymilk (plain or vanilla)
½ package of silken tofu – 6 to 7 ounces
½ cup agave nectar or brown rice syrup
2 tbsps. matcha powder
Put a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for at least 10 hours, but it hardens better overnight. The cream rises to the top of the can, so do not shake the can when you take it out. Open the can with a standard can opener and spoon out the cream into a measuring cup. The remaining items freeze nicely and can be saved to use in other recipes. Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until everything is incorporate and smooth (usually about 3-5 minutes). Put back in the refrigerator until the temperature is 40 degrees Fahrenheit (assuming everything you use came out of the freezer this only takes about 3 hours). The matcha may separate if you leave this overnight in the refrigerator, just lightly whisk by hand before pouring into your ice cream maker. If you want, add by hand ½ tbsps. vanilla extract and 1-2 tbsps. mint extract based on your preference, just before pouring into the machine. About 10-15 minutes into churning you can add ½ cup of your favorite chocolate chips.

This is just one of several ways to add matcha into your routine, even if the drink is not your thing. What do you like to add matcha too?

Matcha Ice Cream is Served

Matcha Ice Cream (With and Without Mint and Chocolate Chips)

Scented Tea – Creating Exquisite Tea Aromas

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Pearl shaped tea is often found scented.

Jasmine Scented Tea (Jasmine Dragon Tears)

Scented teas are certainly very popular. They have been around for hundreds of years and continue to be favored by many today. This isn’t really too surprising. We scent everything from moisturizers to dryer sheets and even pine scented air fresheners for our cars. In the case of specialty, loose leaf, teas, the most popular scent is jasmine though others may be used. Scenting is used to enhance the aroma and taste of many different types of teas including silver needle, oolongs, white teas, and of course pearl shaped green teas.

Most of the time loose teas are scented as a way to add value to the finished product. In other words, take an already good tea and make it a bit better through additional floral aromas. At the same time there certainly are producers who seek to scent teas as a way to hide defects or salvage teas that might otherwise not be sold. Attempts to cover up bad tea or hide defects have been occurring for hundreds of years and likely as long as scenting has been occurring. More than 120 years ago, Joseph M. Walsh noted in Tea, Its History and Mystery, “though scenting in general is supposed to be confined to the choicer grades of tea it is as often applied to the inferior sorts, with the object of disguising or concealing their defective or damaged condition, and imparting a pleasant odor, a much larger quantity being used in the latter.”

Scenting of teas is possible since tea is hygroscopic, meaning it readily absorbs both moisture and flavor. It is the same property that causes tea stored at home to readily absorb flavors and aromas from the mint or garlic stored nearby that enables tea to be scented.

Scented Tea from Jasmine

Jasmine flower for producing scented tea.

Scented tea is often produced using jasmine petals.

The production of scented tea, or huāchá, originated in China as early as the Song Dynasty (960 CE to 1279 CE) and quickly gained popularity.  During the Ming and on into the Qing Dyanasties, scented tea production continued to gain in popularity to be a large commercial endeavor with scenting of tea practiced throughout much of China.

The actual production of loose leaf scented tea begins with the tea maker selecting the type of aroma for scenting and acquiring the flowers.  In much the same way that specialized tea cultivars have been developed, so too have various cultivars of flowers used in scenting. Most notably in creating jasmine scented teas, several key cultivars have been developed for their aroma and flower style.  Similarly cultivars have been developed even to fine tune the time of day when the flowers will open after plucking with some opening earlier in the evening and others opening later.

Workers pluck jasmine blossoms early in the day looking for just the right size such that they will open that evening.  If the blossoms have already opened then they do not impart as much aroma and oils.  Blossoms that aren’t quite ready at the time of pluck will never open and thus don’t help with the scenting process.

Tea to be scented is heated to further reduce its moisture and cooled in preparation for scenting.  Jasmine flowers are selected for optimum size.  Tea is spread out in a layer and jasmine flowers spread on top.  Another layer of tea is added and so on to create multiple layers of tea and jasmine.  The mixture is left for several hours before the jasmine leaves are separated out and the tea is dried again.  Depending on the tea being made this may be repeated multiple times to create the finished product.  Great care is taken to ensure jasmine isn’t left too long with the tea and the tea is adequately dried for final shipping.

The result, of course, is a great jasmine scented tea, be it a simple green tea, jasmine scented pearls, or other types of tea.

Photo of a rose bud which can be used to create scented teas.

Scented tea can use other flowers or ingredients besides jasmine.

Scented Tea Using Alternative Ingredients

Jasmine may be the most well known flower used in the scenting process but it is by no means alone.  Since tea readily absorbs aromas from flowers, any number of things can be used in the scenting process.  After jasmine, scented teas one of the next popular teas today are rose scented teas.  Typically, black teas are scented with rose although increasingly some producers are scenting green and puerh teas.  In the case of scenting with roses some petals are often added back for aesthetic purposes. Other popular flowers for use in scented teas over the past 100 years include osmanthus, chlorantus, gardenia, and iris. Throughout history other things including seeds, roots, and dried fruits have also been used in scenting teas.

Last but not least, smoke can also be used in scenting teas, notably with Lapsang Souchong, a smoked black tea from China. Production of Lapsang Souchong occurs through the drying of tea in smoke produced from pinewood fires. It is a very distinct tea that has strong flavor and aroma and is certainly an acquired taste for some.  This tea is rumored to be one of the oldest teas still available today.

Scented teas are loved by many, though certainly isn’t for everyone. There are a great many options in scented teas and serves to add yet more avenues for exploration.  For many, scented teas may even be the first exposure to a broader world of specialty, loose leaf, teas, just as white zinfandel can be a first step toward fine wines.  If you are new to specialty teas, you may find that jasmine scented teas serving as an excellent gateway to a broader world of green and oolong teas.