Japanese Green Tea
Japan is a country known for its exquisite culture, cuisine and most of all for its Japanese green tea. Although it originated in China, it was brought over to Japan by a monk known as Myoan Eisai who was the founder of the Rinzai Zen Buddhism School. There are variations of green tea from this region.
Gyokuro or Jade Jew is a light tea which is the largest produced among Japanese green tea. The leaves are usually grown in a shade in order to change the taste a little.
Kabusecha is considered a variation of Gyokuro but it is not kept in the shade as long and it is sometimes marketed as the latter.
Sencha is known as decocted tea that is the most common in Japan. The first and second flush of these tea leaves is exposed to sunlight to give it its unique flavor and color. Bancha is a lower grade of Sencha tea in that Sencha is flushed a third and fourth time to produce this tea.
Other kinds include Tamaryokucha, Kamairicha, Matcha, Geinmacha and a host of others that give Japanese green tea a sense of diversity.
This green tea is prepared by steeping which involves about 2 grams of tea for every 100 milliliters of water and is heated at temperatures as high as 87 degrees C or 190 degrees F for no more than 3 minutes. Higher qualities of Japanese green tea are steeped in lower temperatures for a shorter time and vice versa. Doing it for too long or in high temperatures can cause the tea to become bitter.
There is a number of health benefits tied to Japanese green tea like preventing food poisoning and this is thanks to a bacteria killing properties known as catechins. These properties also help to prevent cancer, tooth decay, cholesterol, high blood pressure and any kind of bacterial attacks to the body.
Catechins combined with polysaccharides can help to slow the aging process and lowering blood sugar. Green tea is rich in vitamin E and this can help the body in a number of ways. It is said that many Japanese people take green tea after each meal and this definitely helps the body when it comes to health. It is advised that one takes natural tea that is not fermented or least processed so as to gain all the benefits that come with drinking Japanese green tea. Always insist on high grade green tea for the best results.
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