Tag Archives: Japan

Green Tea and the Japanese Kyusu

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Green tea is often made with a kyusu in Japan.

Japanese Yokode Kyusu

Just as we love to explore the history, culture, and various types of tea, we also are fascinated by the variety available in tea accessories. There are of course many different shapes and sizes of teapots available in western cultures but these are so, well… familiar. We love exploring tea and stories of tea from all sides. If you enjoy green tea then an experience not to be missed is that of the Japanese Kyusu. This small, by Western standards, teapot is excellent for steeping your favorite green tea. It provides an experience of multiple rapid steepings and is ideal for sharing green tea with several friends or guests at once. Correctly steeping green tea in a kyusu will yield a fresh umami (subtle savory taste) flavor without the overwhelming grassy flavor or bitterness often associated with green tea.

About the Japanese Kyusu

Teapots themselves are believed to have originated in China out of necessity for brewing the camellia sinensis (tea) leaf and evolved from there. As tea was brought to Japan by monks, teapots naturally followed. Over time the Japanese experimented and developed their own teapots, producing them from kilns that have been in operation since approximately 1100 CE. In Japan, the sencha style of tea has developed over hundreds of years. Unlike Chinese green tea which is pan fired to stop oxidation, sencha is a steamed product, with some varieties being light steamed (asamushi sencha) and some deep steamed (fukamushi sencha). Sencha is normally steeped at cooler temperatures and has less uniformity in leaf size with many smaller particles coming from the slight leaf breakdown that comes with steaming.In any case, Japanese teapots have evolved over time to support brewing this style of green tea.

Green Tea in a Yokode Kyusu

Geen Tea in a Yokode Kyusu

The term kyusu literally means teapot in Japanese and generally refers to a small clay teapot used for brewing green tea. While the kyusu is generally considered to be a teapot with a large conical handle attached to the side it turns out this is actually a yokode kuysu. There are also ushirode kyusu that looks like a traditional western teapot with the handle attached to the back, uwade kyusu which has a handle on the top, and houhin kyusu which doesn’t feature a handle at all. The yokode kyusu is the most distinctive to westerners though all can be considered works of art. Indeed, if you appreciate the artistry of the kyusu you will find any number of colors and styles available from skilled craftsmen.

 

Green Tea Steeped with a Yokode Kyusu

Holding the Japanese yokode kyusu.

Hold the yokode kyusu with your thumb on top of the lid.

Preparing Japanese green tea with a kyusu is simple though it is a bit different than brewing with single use teabags or hard infusers.  To get started it is best to have some kind of cooling pitcher since we want the water to be around 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit. Pouring hot water from a teapot or kettle into a cooling vessel will quickly allow the water to cool to the desired range after only a couple minutes or so.

Add 6-8 grams or about a tablespoon and a half of Japanese green tea.  Although this style teapot is normally associated with Japanese sencha green tea it can be used with most other varieties including bancha and gyokuro. For what should be obvious reasons this teapot isn’t a good choice for matcha.

Steeping with a kyusu is intended for multiple rapid steepings, so add the water to your kyusu and steep for 25 to 30 seconds.  When pouring a little gentle rocking of the pot will ensure the contents are well mixed and balanced throughout. Pour a little into each cup and then return to add a bit more so that each cup ultimately gets an even balance of flavor and umami.

Green tea poured from a Japanese yokode kyusu.

Pouring green tea from a yokode kyusu.

Be sure to pour out all the liquid so the leaves don’t sit in hot water.  When ready, infuse a second and even third time.

Finally, be sure to remove all the tea leaves and rinse out your kyusu with cold water.  Do not use soap to wash your kyusu or use it to make other kinds of tea as the clay absorbs and retains a little bit of the green tea with each steeping, flavoring the teapot as its used.

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

History of Tea in Taiwan

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Map of Taiwan relative to China

Taiwan is home to many of the best world’s best oolong teas.

Being an island 90 miles off of the Chinese southern coast, Taiwan was destined to grow tea and be a strategic trading and military port for several different countries. The tea trade in this country reflects centuries of constant change in rulers and customs. It is believed that there were Camilla sinensis plants growing natively on Taiwan, but they produced very thin leaves that were brittle and bitter (Kevin Gascoyne, 2011). Tea plants where brought onto the island in the mid-1600s from the Fujian province of China when Taiwan was controlled by the Chinese Qing Dynasty. As more Chinese immigrants came to Taiwan, the plants where moved to several locations throughout the island. It wasn’t until the end of the 1800’s, with European intervention, that a commercial tea trade was developed.

European Influence on Taiwan Tea Trade

The Europeans were looking for other ports to trade tea given the Opium Wars with mainland China in the mid-1800’s. The need to diversify tea ports away from mainland China, led John Dodd to start offering financing to Taiwanese peasants. This enabled local Taiwanese start tea plantations as well as build factories in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, to process the tea. Prior to those factories, all the tea leaves in Taiwan where sent to Anxi or Fuzhou China for the final processing. By bringing the final processing to the island, Mr. Dodd put Taiwan on the US and European tea maps with Taiwan producing mostly black teas for those markets. The name “Formosa” was put on most of these teas, as Portugal was the first European country to stumble across Taiwan and that is the name they gave the island. It means beautiful, so it worked well for a marketing name at the time (Kevin Gascoyne, 2011).

Taiwan Tea Industry From 1895 to Present

Close up of Fanciest Formosa Oolong

Fanciest Formosa Oolong from Taiwan

Japan took control of Taiwan in 1895 and proceeded to invest heavily in tea production in the country, introducing new tea cultivars, fertilizer and mechanization of the processing of the tea. Very skillfully, the Japanese kept the focus on black tea so the island would not compete with the Japanese green teas. The Chinese took back control from Japan at the end of the Second World War. This shifted tea production from black to green as trade with Europe and the US was dramatically cut. Competition with Japan and China forced Taiwan to shift again in the 1970’s to the oolong production they are well known for now. Even today, most of the tea in Taiwan is consumed locally even though they are considered among the finest of available teas worldwide (Richardson, 2008). The tea industry in Taiwan is still dominated by small family owned farmers giving them control over both the growth and the manufacturing of the tea. This is a unique arrangement and is credited with creating the proper atmosphere for the creation of their diverse and superior oolongs. Below is a quick chart describing some of the better known oolongs which are exported from Taiwan. If you get your hands on one of these, drink them over multiple infusions to enjoy the full complexity of these wonderful teas.

Dong Ding (Tong Ting) Produced in the Dong Ding region (while most people refer to Dong Ding Mountain, most of the tea is not grown on the mountain side). This is a tightly balled oolong that should be brewed with boiling water. It produces a greenish golden liquor with heavy floral notes with a buttery cream finish.
Bao Zhong (Jade Pouchong) This 18-20% oxidized green tea – almost an oolong  but mostly a green tea (called Pouchong) is a full twisted leaf green that produces an amber green liquid that is delicate floral and sweet.
Oriental Beauty This open twist oolong is famous for the green-leaf hoppers that munch on the leaves just before harvesting. Their biting causes the plants to release L-Theanine producing a complex flavor in this tea. It makes an orange-brown liquor with woody, floral notes followed by a creamy finish. This oolong is traditionally enjoyed with a Gong Fu set that allows for multiple small steepings of this tea to enjoy all the different flavors.
Fanciest Formosa This higher oxidized oolong is produced in the traditional Chinese method with twisted leaves instead of balled. It produces an amber to dark brown liquor with honey and peach flavors. It is the typical “first” oolong for someone wanting to experience oolong for the first time.
Ali Shan This high altitude oolong  is a tightly balled oolong that produces a yellow liquor with a sweet intense creamy flavor with some toasted nut notes. It is less oxidized oolong, so brew more like a green than black tea (not at boiling).

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.

Japanese Tea Culture

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A number of years ago I had the opportunity to travel to Japan on business.  It was only for two weeks but I dare say it changed me, far more than any other foreign travel had to date.  Perhaps it was the right time in my life or perhaps it was being a bit overwhelmed traveling solo throughout Tokyo and Kyoto.  Either way, by the end of the trip I found myself a full on tea convert who loved sushi; very big changes in my life, which set the stage for me to look at Japanese tea culture a bit more closely.

Very old painting of Emperor Saga of Japan.

Emperor Saga of Japan (9th Century)

Tea made its way to Japan via cultural exchange back in the 9th century through religious interactions with China.  According to legend, tea was brought to Japan by a Buddhist monk who traveled to China and on returning home served it to Emperor Saga.  For his part Emperor Saga enjoyed tea enough that he supported the initial cultivation of tea plants in Japan even though it didn’t spread widely at the time.

Japanese tea culture really started to take shape in the 12th century.  At this time China had developed a new process which was better suited to the storage and transport of tea without it rotting.  This new process involved steaming, grinding and forming cakes of powdered tea.  One would then break a bit off the cake to make tea.  Another visiting Buddhist monk, Eisai, traveled to China and brought back the powdered tea, seeds, and knowledge to support the preparation of the powered tea.  Eisai is credited with the introduction of the tencha style of tea preparation, where hot water was added to the powdered tea, or matcha, and whipped into a thick froth.  Integration with religious ritual and adoption by ruling classes drove the import of more tea plants from China and cultivation expanded further.

Photo of frothy green tea made by whisking powdered tea and water.

Green Tea Matcha and Whisk by Kefisreal

Over time, the Japanese Tea Ceremony, also known as The Way of Tea, chanoyu, chadō, or sadō, developed as a distinct ritual.  Initially developed and performed by Buddhist monks, the ceremony has historically been performed by men.  According to Etsuko Kato, author of The Tea Ceremony and Women’s Empowerment in Modern Japan, starting in the 20th century, wealthy women and doctors began learning about tea and practicing the ritual, and today about half of those practicing chadō are middle class women and housewives  (Spinks, 2012)

It was around the 13th century that the game of tōcha developed, in which participants would taste teas and try to guess the region from which it came.  Held in a kissa-no-tei and hosted by a teishu, or tea gathering host, it was a betting game with the winners receiving luxurious prizes.  While tōcha started out as a game for elites, it ultimately helped spread tea gatherings across Japan.  (Greater Victoria Gallery of Art, 2014)

Photograph of Japanese Coffee House

Kissaten or Japanese Coffee House by Flickr user Melanie M

Finally, beginning in the late 1800’s, coffee began making inroads into Japan.  (Kuniko, 2002)  Today, there is much less observation of ritual as many in Japan, as in other countries, seem to have shifted toward a faster pace with more coffee.  Where tea and the associated ritual that comes with it used to sit one now finds the kissaten, or coffee houses, favored for the relaxed atmosphere and light fare, and more recently chains like Starbucks throughout.

Despite the increase in coffee however, tea continues to have immense popularity in Japan.  Almost all domestic production is consumed within Japan as loose leaf, matcha, bottled ready-to-drink teas, or other tea products.  In fact, a recent resurgence in popularity for matcha has even resulted in its importation from China.

What’s your take?  Have you been to Japan or are you from there?  Have you noticed any particularly interesting changes in the culture and ritual of modern Japanese Tea Culture?

Works Cited

Greater Victoria Gallery of Art. (2014, March 20). Tocha: A Game of Tea. Retrieved from Tea: A Journey: http://tea.aggv.ca/teachers-activities-tocha.asp

Kuniko, S. (2002, March 15). Coffee Shop Culture. Retrieved from Nipponia: http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia20/en/topic/index.html

Spinks, R. (2012, April 28). Steeped in Tradition: Japanese Women and the Modern Tea Ceremony. Retrieved from ecosalon: http://ecosalon.com/steeped-in-tradition-japanese-women-and-the-modern-tea-ceremony/