Shizuoka prefecture decided to do the test

There is some progress on the controversy about the tea regulation. Opposed to their previous standing, Shizuoka prefecture has announced that they are going to do the radioactive test on their dried leaves. They’ve reached the decision to prevent harmful rumors.


Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ According Shizuoka, most of aracha has been processed to the end products and it is difficult to do the test on aracha from every region in Shizuoka. However, they can do the tests on the end products from every region. That means they have accepted the test on the dried leaves more or less. Shizuoka prefecture is going to refrain from selling the tea from the regions which go beyond the regulation criterion (500becquerel per 1kg).


I have not heard any news about the other prefecture, Kanagawa granting the government request. However, I found another news that 16 cities and towns, and some agricultural associations in Kanagawa submitted a request to redress the criteria of the regulation to the government. I’m not worry about the tea from Kanagawa, because the amount of tea produced in Kanagawa is little. It is only about 0.3% of entire tea production in Japan. I do not usually have a chance to buy the tea from Kanagawa.


I as a consumer am very happy with Shizuoka's decision. Shizuoka is the biggest tea producing prefecture in Japan. If Shizuoka did not change their stance, it would have a certain impact on their sales as well as to the tea industry. Now most tea in Japan is safe and I don’t have to change my habit for buying tea. I’m grad about it. Jah!


Source from Yomiuri Online (Japanese) 08 June 2011 >>>
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/shizuoka/news/20110607-OYT8T00103.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/shizuoka/news/20110607-OYT8T01135.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/eq2011/issue/20110609-OYT8T00495.htm

Controversy over the radioactive test on tea2

Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ Yesterday, I wrote about a negative opinion about the radioactive test on aracha (dried leaves). Today I’m writing about …



The Other Opinions in favor of the Government:

Even though it is still safe for drinking, there will be cases that people consume the leaves by eating the residue after brewing. Also, the consumers will feel threatened knowing that the there are somewhat contaminated leaves that has leveled with the regulation specification that are distributed in the market.



I basically agree with today’s opinion. I think those uncertainties will generate more anxiety among the consumers making them hesitant in buying these teas. Shizuoka and Kanagawa should grant the government’s request; I think it would eventually be beneficial for them as well. That being said, I still cannot tell how reasonable the criteria are. They could be too strict. A professor from Gakusuhin University says that even the aracha goes beyond the regulation specification level and will be diluted once it is brewed, so it means that it won’t be harmful to your health when you drink it. I really wish the government indicates an intelligible explanation with scientific evidences regarding the regulation. Jah!



Source from Yomiuri Online (Japanese) 07 June 2011 >>>
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/eq2011/issue/20110601-OYT8T00800.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/20110316-866921/news/20110602-OYT1T00887.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/20110316-866921/news/20110602-OYT1T00910.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/20110316-866921/news/20110603-OYT1T00919.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/eq2011/issue/20110604-OYT8T00452.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/kanagawa/news/20110604-OYT8T00280.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/gourmet/news/business/20110604-OYT8T00182.htm

Edit on Oct 31 2011

Other entries about the radiation and tea

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/05/is-tea-from-japan-safe.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/05/restriction-of-tea-leaves.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/06/do-you-know-of-aracha.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/06/controversy-over-radioactive-test-on.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/10/tea-and-radiation-in-japan.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/10/tea-and-radiation-in-japan-2.html

 

Edited on Nov 4

New entry about tea and radiation

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/11/tea-production-regions-far-from.html

Controversy over the radioactive test on tea

I do not want to talk about politics in this blog. However, since the radioactive-contaminated tea is a disturbing issue against our safety, then I’ll be writing about a recent the news I’ve just seen.



Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ The radiation test on tea that I have introduced on the previous entry (Restriction of tea leaves) was a test on raw leaves before processing, which is like raw vegetable. This time, the government decided to test on aracha (dried leaves) and restrict it. The areas where those tea were found are the entire Ibaraki prefecture and some parts of Kanagawa, Chiba and Tochigi prefectures. Sizuoka and Kanagawa prefectures said that they have already done the tests on fresh leaves. These two prefectures are not going to follow the government’s request and are not going to test on aracha. Basically, a controversy has arose over the adequacy of the regulation.



Negative Opinion about the Regulation:

The criteria of the regulation are not reasonable. By drying, the weight of aracha is reduced to 1/5th of the actual weight of fresh leaves. That means the substances are condensed five times, including the radioactive substances. Thus, to apply the same regulation for raw vegetables (500becquerel per 1kg) to aracha is not appropriate and it is not based on scientific evidences. And also, in brewed tea the substance extracted is only 1/50th - 1/60th of aracha, so it’s not harmful. Therefore, the regulation on aracha is not practical.


Tomorrow, I’ll write about the other opinions in favor of the government. Jah!

Edit on Oct 31 2011

Other entries about the radiation and tea

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/05/is-tea-from-japan-safe.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/05/restriction-of-tea-leaves.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/06/do-you-know-of-aracha.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/06/controversy-over-radioactive-test-on_08.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/10/tea-and-radiation-in-japan.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/10/tea-and-radiation-in-japan-2.html

Edited on Nov 4

New entry about tea and radiation

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/11/tea-production-regions-far-from.html

Do you know of aracha?

Today, I saw a news about radioactive tests on tea. In the news, a term “aracha” is used. Have you heard of it? I believe that ordinary people in Japan don’t know that term and it is used only in the industry. Today I would like to introduce aracha.


Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ Aracha is not usually sold in tea shops. It is incompletely processed tea and distributed in the industry. Harvested tea leaves are taken to tea factories. They are steamed, knead and dried. This product is aracha. You could call it crude tea in English. Wholesalers or distributors buy aracha and they complete the process by heating, screening and blending. It becomes the end product which you find in stores. It is called shiagecha in contrast to aracha which is also an industrial term.


You could drink aracha like ordinary tea. But, aracha is non-uniformed which includes twigs, hard or broken leaves. It is not as dry as shiagecha so it is not good for long storage. Blending different aracha makes stable quality teas and deferent brands to fit customers’ preference. Now, do you know what aracha is? Jah!



I found this tea at a tea shop labeled as aracha. But I guess this is not real aracha, more like farmer’s homemade bancha according to the description on its package.

Is the tea brewed with a porcelain teapot healthier?

I had an inquiry from a reader of this blog. He said that “You wrote on your blog that Tokoname teapots absorb catechin and make tea less bitter. On the other hand cathechin is considered as a substance that affects on health in a very good way. So does it mean that making green tea in a porcelain teapot is potentially more healthy?”. What do you think of that? If you are not familiar with what he is talking about, please refer to the following three entries.

Tokoname teapot can brew more delicious tea than teapots made of other materials

Does green tea prevent cancer?

Green tea for metabolic syndrome?




Konnnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ My answer to his question is “No”. The tea in Tokoname teapots contains more bitterness (catechin) than the ones in porcelain teapots. So, the tea brewed with Tokoname pots could be regarded as healthier. Please let me explain it in the following three topics.

1. Amount of substance extracted

2. What people taste

3. A discrepancy in my article



1. Amount of substance extracted

Tokoname teapots extract more substances in both umami and bitterness than the teapots made of other materials. The chart from the survey shows that the tea brewed by Tokoname teapot has the most bitterness among the four materials.

This chart is from Saron No.37 by Nihoncha instructor association

2. What people taste

Many people thought the tea brewed with Tokoname-pot is richer and mellower. Even though it actually contains the most bitterness, they taste milder in it. I’m not sure about the reason but my assumption is that the flavors along with the other substances surpass the bitterness.



3. A discrepancy in my article

On my previous entry, I introduced an idea as a general understanding that Tokoname teapot absorbs catechin of tea and makes less-bitter tea. But I realized that this idea does not support the result of the scientific analysis by a taste-sensor machine at all. I apologize for the discrepancy of my article. The general understanding for Tokoname teapot absorbing catechin may not be correct or there might be some other explanation regarding this issue. I don’t know and cannot explain the cause why Tokoname teapot extracts more substance and why people find it less bitter.



To conclude, I’m not really sure how effective it is but you could say that the tea brewed with a Tokoname teapot is healthier than the tea brewed with a porcelain teapot on the matter of catechin. Jah!



Preparation for tea-storing tests

A rainy day would not be probably a good day to open new packages of tea. It may be good to open them on a dry day. But well, I did opened ones on the last rainy Friday, hehehe (^^;; Do you care about the weather when you open a new package?



Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ I packed tea into different small containers to store them in different conditions last Friday. I have 28 samples of each, sencha and matcha.

For the samples of long term storage, I used a triple packing.  I put the tea into a small plastic bag with zipper and I put it into a small double-lid tea caddy. Then I put the tea caddy into another plastic bag with zipper.

For the samples of daily-use tea storing, I put them in the double-lid tea caddies. You could consider this as single packing. I used plastic bags for convenience but I didn’t keep it open just like the way you keep daily tea in a tea caddy.

For the most of the tests, I will get the results in about one month or so. I’m planning 6 months for some long term storing tests. I’m really looking forward to seeing the results! Jah!

Confection named suiren, water lily

Last Friday, we have entered into the rainy season which usually lasts for about one and a half months. It started about two weeks earlier than usual. In Japan, the Meteorological Agency officially announces when the rainy season start. We Japanese seem conscious of the seasons.


Konnichiwa, It’s meヽ(^。^)ノ We do have a lot of seasonal things in our cultures. Japanese traditional confectionary is one of them. You can find many confections with seasonal designs.


What I got last Friday was a confection named suiren, water lily. Suiren is the flower that blooms on water in this season.

Google search result for 睡蓮 suiren >>>
http://www.google.co.jp/search?tbm=isch&hl=ja&source=hp&biw=1419&bih=683&q=%E7%9D%A1%E8%93%AE&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=

Doesn’t this depict the water and the flower very well? You can find scenery in a confection. I love this type of character in Japanese sweets.


It’s usually served at natural temperature. The dark part looks like a stone basin for me. The clear jelly part looks like water. Green leaf and the blooms are floating on it. The stone basin is made of been past which is pretty sweet. I enjoyed the comparison of two different textures when I put it in my mouth. Just having a confection, my tea time has been three times fascinating^^ Jah!

My curiosities on the tea storage methods

The other day, I found a Japanese webpage recommending the slow-thawing method in keeping the tea inside the freezer. I usually leave it at room temperature about a few hours to defrost before I open the package, but this webpage tells us to leave it in a refrigerator for one day and for another day at room temperature and then you can open it. Wow! you need two days to open the package from the freezer. This webpage says that slow thawing is very important but it doesn’t explain why.


Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ The slow-thawing method must be good for the tea but I thought that I don’t want to take that time and effort. It is very unrealistic and not practical for casual tea. But, what if those steps make a tremendous difference on the taste of stored tea …


I have started to wonder if my storing method is the best. I came up with some questions regarding storage on the following topics.

1. Thawing time

Is the slow thawing really worth it?


2. Storage place

Some people say that you do not have to store teas in the refrigerator and a relatively cool room temperature is just okay. Some others say that freezer is a better place for storage. Where is really the best place to store tea at home, at the room temperature, refrigerator or freezer?


3. Times of thawing and exposure to the air

I thought that the frequent freezing-thawing and refreshing the air in the package would not be good for tea. If you pack it separately into small different containers when you store it inside the freezer, you could actually minimize those risks in theory. I wonder how effective it is and if it’s worth it.


I want to keep my tea in its best condition but at the same time I don’t want to spend too much effort or time just for storing it. I want to find out the crossover point in these two needs, and my own storing method. I’m planning to do some tests for the three above-mentioned topics. I got some materials for the tests, such as teas (sencha and matcha), small tea caddies and air-tight plastic bags (plastic bags with zipper). I’ll report them to you when I get the results. It may take one to six months. We’ll see! Jah!

Do you store Japanese tea correctly at home?

How long does it take to consume a package of tea after you open it? How do you store your tea at home? Are you really sure that your storage method is correct?


Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ Actually, it depends on the types of tea but 100g (3.5oz) package is the most common size that I buy. I’ll consume it in about two weeks if it is my favorite kind. Perhaps, it might take more than a half year for some disliked or more valuable kinds.


I store them in a standard way. Japanese green teas are more perishable than Oolong or English teas. To keep them fresh, it is important to avoid oxidation, high temperature, humidity, light, and capturing other odors.

Tea caddies that I use at home

1. Keep a small amount of tea leaves for daily use in the tea caddy

When I purchase a fresh tea, I leave only an amount for one to two week’s use in my daily tea caddy. It is a double lid and lightproof tea caddy. I keep it in my kitchen (room temperature).


2. Keep the rest of the tea leaves in a cool place inside airtight containers

You do not have to store teas in the refrigerator. However, storing in low temperature can slow down the process of oxidation. So, for the teas that will be consumed in a short period, in one month or so, I’ll keep them in room temperature where it is relatively cooler. It is in the pantry which is located in the north part of my house. For those teas which are meant for a long period of consumption, I’ll keep them in the inside the refrigerator or freezer. There are two things to consider about refrigerator storage. First, you need extra care in order to prevent the capturing other odors when storing it in the refrigerator or freezer. I wrap them twice, like putting the airtight tea caddy inside an airtight plastic bag. The other thing is that the tea will gather frost and moisture when opening a cold tea package from the refrigerator. It is not good for the tea. Therefore, I leave the package at room temperature for a while, and then open it later.



This is one of the standard ways to store Japanese tea at home which many books or tea shops recommend. But, I started to wonder if this is the best way to store my tea at home. I’ll talk more about storing on the next entry. Jah!

A long way for a bowl of matcha 3

We were talking while viewing the garden from the waiting bench. In time, I caught a glimpse of a lady over the fences coming into the garden with a wooden pail. She walked to the stone basin and poured water from the pail. You would know by the sound of pouring water that your ceremony is about to start.

At the center of the picture above, do you find a medium-height simple gate made of bamboo? On the other side of the gate, there are the tea house and garden with the stone basin. The place in this picture is where the bench is located. The lady came to the gate signaling that we may enter. Before we did, we greeted each other first by squatting and bowing silently. We headed to the stone basin one by one and purified our hands and mouth with the water from it. Now it is the time to go to the tea room. We headed there by following the pass with stepping stones on it.



The entrance of the tea room is nijiriguchi, a crawl-through doorway. It is a very small opening that you have to crouch and crawl to get into the tea room. So I did. The tea room is very compact. It had some small windows and mild lights came through the paper screen on them. The first thing that attracted my eyes in the darkened room was the flowers and hanging scroll in the tokonoma (an alcove in a traditional Japanese room where art or flowers are displayed). The primitive and subdued material of walls and pillars seemed to enhance the flowers. Again, we sat on tatami-mats close to each other. The ceremony started with everyone taking a bow. The ceremony went along as almost the same as what we learned in our usual tea lessons. The only difference was that the host doesn’t have an assistant in our lesson. Here, the assistant took the role of talking with guests and managed the ceremony to go smoothly while the host was preparing the tea.



Finally, my tea was brought in front of me. It was a long way to reach this moment. It is different from just getting a cafe late in a paper cup at a casual coffee shop. In Sado, The Way of Tea, the facilities, utensils and hospitality are all involved to serve just a bowl of enchanting matcha. After I went through all the moment, I savored the tea in a superb tea bowl.



When we were leaving the house, we talked of how good the ceremony was. I especially liked the classy design of the tea house and garden.



We wanted to have lunch after the ceremony with our master. My wife and I had talked about the good places where we can take our master. She is an elderly lady so we thought she may not like greasy food. She probably likes traditional Japanese food. We had researched and picked some Japanese restaurants around the area. Before we got in our car, we actually asked her what she wanted to eat. She said “pizza”. “So, pizza it is!” So we went to a pizza restaurant in kimono (((o(*゜▽゜*)o))) Jah!



Photos of ...   (my past entries)

Waiting bench in tearoom garden

A stone basin in tea-house garden

Crawl-through doorway

A long way for a bowl of matcha 2

Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ I want to write about what I experienced at the tea house. But it was kind of a formal situation so I could not take many pictures. It is considered rude to do something else while the ceremony is ongoing so I haven’t taken any photos in the tea room.


We waited in three different places in the tea house before getting into the tea room.


The first place was at a bench outside, under the eaves of the house. We sat and waited at the bench facing the garden. What we couldn’t see was anything but the greens. The garden was covered with moss and the passageway was signified by the stepping stones. The randomly placed trees create natural scenery. I think the bench is the best place for a good view of the garden. This is the picture from the bench.

While we were enjoying the view, a lady came and collected the admission fee. A little while later, three of us and another party of two were led to the next place. These five people were led as a group all throughout the ceremony.



The second place was a waiting room in the tea house. The five of us took our shoes off and got into the small tatami room which had just enough space for 5-6 people. We sat close to each other on tatami-mats. An assistant for host of the day was waiting there. We greeted each other and did some chit chat. I basically listened to what the experienced ones were talking about. The assistant explained about the tea bowls and utensils in today’s ceremony and they also served sweets there. In our tea lesson, sweets are served in the same room where we have tea. But here it was served at a different room. Our master told us later that sweets were sometimes served in different room at formal ceremonies. After we had the sweets, the assistant told us to move to the next place.



The third place was the waiting bench which is isolated from the tea house and is at the other side of the garden. They had some Japanese sandals for guests. We stepped into them and walked through the garden. We had to walk on the stepping stones so we don’t damage the mosses. It was the same garden but it looked different and showed various sceneries from different angles as we walked through it. We sat on the bench and waited for another moment while viewing the garden. The climate on that day was pretty mild and comfortable. As I felt the air of spring, I appreciated the different angle of the garden.



This is the view from the waiting bench in the garden.

I believe the waiting time on each stage were about 15 minutes. These waiting moments were not tiring nor boring for me. I enjoyed each setting. Jah!

Restriction of tea leaves

I wrote that most of tea in Japan is safe in the previous entry. Today I saw an unfortunate news. This might not be a big news overseas so I decided to write about it.

Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ The news that I saw today is as follows.

Cesium which is one of the radioactive substances has been found in the tea leaves cultivated in Kanuma-shi and Otawara-shi in Tochigi prefecture. The tea are restricted to be sold. This year’s harvest is about to start in this area, and those leaves have not been distributed to the market yet.
Source: Yomiuri Online (Japanese) >>>
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/tochigi/news/20110519-OYT8T01160.htm


I searched for other news regarding the radioactive contamination of tea on the internet. There were two other major areas where radiation were detected from the leaves, Ibaraki and Kanagawa prefectures. In Ibaraki it includes the towns of Daigomachi and Sakaimachi and in Kanagawa it includes 6 cities and towns such as Minamiashigara-shi, Odawara-shi, Aikawamachi, Manazurumachi, Yougawaramachi, and Kiyokawamura.
Source: Yomiuri Online (Japanese) >>>
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20110516-OYT1T01072.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/gourmet/news/business/20110514-OYT8T00287.htm

Tochigi and Ibaraki are the next-door prefectures of Fukushima. But Kanagawa prefecture is located on the next and western side of Tokyo. On the previous entry, I said that “The restricted food-producing regions are basically located on the eastern part from Tokyo.” I’m sorry for my statement was not quite accurate.


I really feel sorry for the farmers and tea manufacturers in those areas. You can harvest the best quality tea in this season. The farmers have taken great care of their tea plants for this season. All their effort in the past year has been ruined; well it may not be just the past one year. They have put tremendous efforts to establish their brands through their long history.


Those tea leaves from Tochigi, Ibaraki and Kanagawa are now restricted and not sold. So, I still think it is okay to buy tea on the market and I’ll actually keep buying tea for myself. The amount of tea produced from these three prefectures is less than 3% of the total Japanese tea production (data of 2009). So, I think this restriction won’t have a big impact on Japanese tea market. I’m sorry to say that with sympathy to the sufferers. I’m more worry about the harmful rumors to other regions which are not affected by the contamination. Jah!

 My previous entry  >>> "Is tea from Japan safe?"



Statements from Japanese Government about food restrictions (English)

Shipment Restriction resulting from Detected Radiation in Food Items (Mar 21)
>>> http://www.caa.go.jp/jisin/pdf/110321Eonegai.pdf
Intake Restriction resulting from Detected Radiation in Food Items (Mar 23)
>>> http://www.caa.go.jp/jisin/pdf/110323Eonegai.pdf
Partial Lifting of Shipment Restrictions resulting from Detected Radiation in Food Items (Apr 8)
>>> http://www.caa.go.jp/jisin/pdf/110408Eonegai.pdf

Edit on Oct 31 2011

Other entries about the radiation and tea

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/05/is-tea-from-japan-safe.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/06/do-you-know-of-aracha.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/06/controversy-over-radioactive-test-on.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/06/controversy-over-radioactive-test-on_08.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/10/tea-and-radiation-in-japan.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/10/tea-and-radiation-in-japan-2.html

Edited on Nov 4

New entry about tea and radiation

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/11/tea-production-regions-far-from.html