Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A HISTORY OF TEA IN JAPAN
Tea came to Japan from China as part of a cultural package that included kanji and
Buddhism, but the beverage did not become popular until the medieval period. Buddhist
monks drank tea for its medicinal and stimulatory properties, a practice that gradually
spread to warrior society and then on to commoners. By the 16th century, elite urban com-
moners such as the merchant and tea master Sen no Rikyū (1522-91) had elevated the pre-
paration, serving and consumption of
matcha
(powdered green tea) to an elaborate ritual. In
the 17th century, tea masters established their own schools of tea, and these institutions co-
dified, spread and protected the practice over subsequent centuries.
MATCHA
The tea used in the tea ceremony is called
matcha
.
Matcha
is powdered green tea made from the best parts of the
tea leaf. The tea is hand-picked, steamed, then dried and ground into powder. Most teas are infusions; that is, you
put the leaves in the hot water and then take them out before drinking. When you drink
matcha,
however, you ac-
tually drink the ground tea. This is one reason it contains so many nutrients and is thought by many to be anti-car-
cinogenic.
