How Powdered Tea Came to Japan
The practice arrived in the early Kamakura period. The monk Eisai, back from Song China, brought the method for producing tencha and the practice of…
July 1, 2025
Culture & History of Green Tea
歴史・文化
15 articles
Why Sweetened Matcha Caught On
Matcha with sugar entered Japanese households in the twentieth century. The idea was to make matcha accessible without its usual equipment and procedure.…
July 1, 2025
Where Sweetened Matcha Sits in Japanese Tea Culture
Japanese tea operates on several distinct levels. Matcha whisked in the tea ceremony. Procedure, utensils, seasonal arrangement of the space. The point…
July 8, 2025
Regional Differences in What "Green Tea" Means
In Kansai, the term usually indicates a cold sweetened matcha drink. Elsewhere in Japan, not necessarily. From the mid-1950s through the 1970s, sweet…
July 15, 2025
Matcha as a Summer Drink
Having spread as a cold sweet drink, matcha carries a summer association in Japan. Adoption ran from the mid-1950s, coinciding with household…
July 23, 2025
Sweetened Matcha in Showa-Era Households
Powdered sweetened matcha entered Japanese homes from the mid-1950s, tied to how people were living. Household refrigerators spread from the late 1950s.…
August 4, 2025
Cafés and the Spread of Sweetened Matcha
Sweetened matcha reached the public through foodservice before it reached households. A green tea stand opened in the basement of the Hankyu department…
August 19, 2025
How Japanese Green Tea Reads from Abroad
English green tea covers all unoxidized tea. Sweetness has nothing to do with it. Which produces surprise when someone abroad picks up a Japanese product…
August 3, 2025
What Powder and Packaging Technology Made Possible
The wish to make matcha convenient is old. Whether it could be done was a technical question. Uji matcha combined with granulated sugar, vacuum-canned and…
September 16, 2025
Tea Retailers and Sweetened Matcha
For a business selling tea, sweetened matcha occupies a particular position. Plain matcha has barriers. A chasen is needed, it is bitter, and the…
September 24, 2025
Tea as a Gift
Tea has served as a gift for a long time. Several properties support that. Eaten or drunk, it leaves nothing. No demand on the recipient's storage or…
October 6, 2025
Matcha in Confectionery
Matcha is not only a drink. Its history as a confectionery ingredient is long. Pairing matcha with wagashi in the tea ceremony works on that opposition —…
November 24, 2025
How Japanese Tea Drinking Has Changed
The teapot habit has shifted form over time. Buying leaf and brewing it in a teapot was standard. Tea for guests, tea after meals. A caddy, a teapot, cups…
November 25, 2025
The Uji Shichimeien and How Uji Became the Center
Uji did not become a tea region by accident. Political patronage was involved. After Eisai brought tea from China, Myoe Shonin of Kozanji at Toganoo began…
November 26, 2025
Matcha Abroad and the Drift in Meaning
Matcha now travels internationally. What it refers to has been shifting. Order a matcha latte abroad and sugar is standard. Unsweetened requires asking.…
November 27, 2025
