Japan’s Exotic Teas

/ / Published in Ceremony, Green Tea, Lessons on Tea, Production, Tea, Tea Growing Regions

Japan has a very old and established history of tea. However almost all tea produced in Japan is consumed domestically.

Tea is grown mainly in the Southern prefectures (regions) such as Kagoshima, Shizuku and Kyoto.

Sencha teas where the harvested leaves are steamed to enhance flavour and appearance, make up almost 80 per cent of teas produced in Japan.

Matcha tea, a bright green powdered tea used in the famous Japanese Tea Ceremony (Chanoyu) is also sought after. Bancha is another style of Japanese tea.

The highest quality of Japanese tea is Gyokuru tea, where the plants are shaded for weeks before picking and processing. Gyokuru is a rare tea which produces a pale green infusion.

Genmaicha, a green Sencha tea with the interesting addition of roasted rice (popcorn) has a distinctive and nutty flavour.

Among the flavoured teas, Sakura (Cherry Blossom) is a popular blend due to its refreshing and crisp taste.

Almost 40 years ago I realised that the quality of teas being imported into Australia were of poor quality. The proliferation of teabags and a pricing regime enforced by the major supermarket chains had led to a noticeable drop in quality. Elmstock Tea Company was born out of this background in 1979. I had started my working life at 17 in the Tea Plantation/Accounts Department of a large company in Colombo. My family had connections to the tea trade and prior to that coffee and sugar plantations in Ceylon since the 1840s – an unbroken and direct link of over six generations. Many of the plantations started by or managed by my great grandparents still produce some of the teas we buy today! After migrating to Australia in 1972 I graduated from Curtin University and qualified as an accountant (CPA). I worked and managed large public companies involved in the wool trade for many years and was also involved with the listing of public companies on the ASX. Elmstock have been wholesaling premium quality teas and herbal infusions sourced from the best plantations for almost 40 years. We decided over twenty five years ago not to deal with the major supermarket chains as we did not want to compromise tea quality and revert to the ‘mediocrity of the pack’ which is entirely price driven.

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