Botebotecha-tea from Izumo area

Let me introduce another local tea that I tried in the tea workshop. It is from Izumo area called botebotecha, which is bancha with foam on its surface and is enjoyed with some toppings such as rice, beans and pickles. The foam is made by whisking bancha with a whisk. There are various stories regarding the origins of botebotecha. One of the stories is that matcha was the tea for high society in the old days, and people imitated matcha and came up with botebotecha.

You pour brewed bancha in a tea bowl.


The whisk is coarser and longer than the whisk for matcha.


You put a little bit of salt on the tip of the whisk. It will help to make the foam.


You whisk the bancha by moving the whisk back and forth until it gets foamy.


You put some toppings in the tea. I added rice, beans and some pickles but they are under the foam so you can’t see them in the picture.

You move the tea bowl in circular motion to mix and pour down the toppings with tea into your mouth. I tasted a little salty flavor in the rice with tea. I thought it was more like a light meal rather than tea. I like that the sweetness of beans added a nice accentt in the taste. I quite like botebotecha.


Video from the tea workshop 106sec (Japanese)
Sorry, the sound is not clear.