What is the difference between brewed tea and bottled tea?

At the previous post, I said that bottled teas are real tea. But, are they really the same as brewed tea at home?

We even have a very small bottle of green tea.

Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ Today, I’d like to talk about what is the similarity and difference between bottled tea and brewed tea.


One thing they have in common is that they are both extracted from tea leaves, which is the most important element for tea drink. Since the bottled tea is made in that way, I consider them real tea.


On the other hand, the difference is that bottled tea is made with all kinds of efforts for a long preservation. The followings are the ingenuities.

Filtering
Naturally brewed tea has floating substances. Manufacturers filter the brewed tea in order to take them out for a long preservation. Also, those substances have natural tendencies to group together and subside at the bottom of the bottle. The grounds don’t look good and can be a cause of complaints from customers.

Adding vitamin C
Oxidization is an enemy for a long preservation. Adding vitamin C can prevent oxidization. The instructor said that vitamin C looks like whitish granule and it tastes sour. I haven’t tasted the sourness in bottled tea, so I guess the added amount is extremely little. (Or manufacturers may have some special techniques to hide the sourness??)

Sterilization
The bottled-tea manufacturer where the instructor works uses heat-sterilization method. Each manufacturer has slightly different method for sterilization.

I think these processes may take out or change some flavor of original tea. So, some people think bottled tea doesn’t taste as good as brewed tea. If you think that the disadvantage of bottled tea is that they don't taste as good as brewed tea; well, they also have a huge advantage as compared to the latter. You can easily enjoy green tea anytime and anywhere. I think the convenience is a significant advantage of them. It's no exaggeration to say that bottled teas have changed tea lifestyle in Japan. As a matter of fact, some young households don’t have a teapot.



I've learned that the fundamental similarity is that both brewed and bottled tea are extracted from tea leaves. The difference is that bottled tea applied some ingenuities for a long preservation. Another thing I learned is that manufacturers in Japan always keep on improving those preservation techniques to achieve making the same flavor as brewed tea. I’m very delightful for the future of bottled green tea^^  Jah!