My Japan Tea Blog

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James Edward
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Location: Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
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Mon May 04, 2020 1:34 am

Hi all, I have been thinking of sharing my experiences in the forum of a blog on this forum for a while now, but have been rather busy.

I'd like to go ahead and give it a try now. Moderators, my apologies if this is in the wrong place.

I am James living in Shizuoka, Japan. I have a unique position working in the tea industry which I am grateful for.

I will go ahead and share here, the same pictures and passages I usually share on other SNS boards for my friends and family to see (essentially a copy and paste).

***Note I tried uploading pictures but only a few would upload...

Thank you

お茶って良いね❗️
Into the Future With Green Tea🍵
時間の都合で英語のみにします。

Drink green tea everyday for:
-Relaxed concentration
-anti-oxidant effect
-increased immunity
-bacteria and virus protection
-reduced risk of obesity and diabetes
-reverse hardening of arteries
-maintained blood pressure levels

***not to get lost in the health aspect of tea but to recognize the drink’s high functionality as a supplement for nutrient intake and prevention against life-style diseases.
In addition to its ever-growing presence as a 嗜好品 luxury good along with coffee and chocolate,
tea has its roots as a medicine and to this day provides a foundation of well-being for human health and longevity.

What the heck is in tea?

Theanine- relaxing effect, think entering into the parasympathetic circuit of the nervous system, or 副交感神経系

Catechin- This is the compound of tea the Japanese love to tout about- and for good reason. You hear all this talk on EC, ECg, EGC, and EGCg, right? Say hello to prevention against cancer, anti-oxidant boost, maintaining blood sugar and cholesterol levels, anti-mutagens, the list goes on.

caffeine,
polyphenols,
vitamin C and E,
chlorophyll,
β-carotene,
minerals:
zinc for stable immunity and preventing dermatitis,
fluorine for cavity prevention
manganese / selenium as antioxidants
potassium for ion equilibrium

***If I were to write a book I’d research into each of these but as it is Sunday is my only day off from work right now!

Truly a green treasure from Mother Nature
緑茶は人生を豊かにしてくれる宝物です

I always joke drinking Fukamushi-cha is getting my green sludge intake for the day but in reality the longer steaming process done by the 網胴回転攪拌形蒸気 deep steams the leaves which are apt to break down in subsequent rolling and drying processes.
The tea contains more fine “dust” than regular Sencha which is why Japanese 急須 tea pots have a specific mesh for this tea.
The net catches the finer particles but the liquor comes out a deep emerald green, close to the luster of matcha. You get more potassium, catechin, and vitamin C per cup.

https://sasaki-seicha.net/tea/health/

Fukamushi-cha deserves to have its own name in English like matcha. We don’t call matcha “cover cultivated and grounded tencha 碾茶” in English which is what it is.

So calling Fukamushi-cha “2-3 times longer deep steamed green tea” seems equally redundant. Overseas there is not enough public recognition yet to give it a name like matcha but that will change in good time.

About Fukamushi-cha: tea leaves grown and processed in Makinohara were found to be bitter and unpleasant compared with mountain grown (naturally shaded) teas higher in amino acids.
So to make the tea more producible in alignment with market favorability in Showa 30 (around 1955) the trick of deep steaming was taken advantage of and the name 深蒸し茶 “Deep steamed tea” was given.
Now mainly produced in Shizuoka but also in Mie and other prefectures, the tea sells best in the Tokyo area.

Fukamushi-cha comprises 60-70 percent of all Sencha produced in Shizuoka, or so it is said since no one is exactly tallying the figure and due to the steaming process itself being flexible with different “grades” of steaming ( 若蒸し、中蒸し、and 深蒸し茶). The steaming machine is nicknamed 丸胴 “Maru-do”) and based on the angle level and speed assigned to the exterior “cylindrical dome” 網胴and “stirring shaft” 攪拌軸 inside the outer 網胴, the level of steaming is adjusted.
Generally the dome points up and shaft speed increases for deep steaming and the dome points down with slower shaft action for lighter steaming.

Fukamushi-cha and it is my daily drink of choice.
However, I’ll be honest:
drinking matcha will allow you to get all the nutrients of tea and enjoy its profound effects at the same time. Doesn’t get much better than that.

If you have a tea pot with a fine mesh, I recommend Fukamushi-cha as the next best thing.
Unlike matcha you can’t “eat the leaves” as it were due to it not being ground however it is IMO the next best thing to matcha (unless you are into eating raw used leaves...😎)

Grade Fukamushi-cha can be brewed up to 4 times using the same leaves making it a real money saver.

What happens after you pluck a tea leaf before processing it?

The leaves undergo internal chemical reactions between the time of plucking and being steamed as the leaves are alive and continue to engage in respiration.
If the leaves are piled too high onto each other or there is poor ventilation the rate of perspiration will double and they will potentially moulder.

After plucking:

Carbohydrates (starch and sugar): about 4-5% of the raw leaf, found less in younger leaves. Most starches are expenses in the perspiration, becoming free sugars

Caffeine: after harvest gradually increases. Reports of first flush tea caffeine content increasing 20-50% in 24 hours at 25 degrees Celsius

Protein and amino acids: As carbohydrates are consumed the decomposition of proteins take off, and a part of the amino acids produced as a result become used in respiration.
The amino acid Theanine decreases however arginine and asparagine acids increase. Generation of ammonia nitrogen in leaves is quicker when storage temp of leaves increases. From this the change of quality of leaves can be made apparent.

Catechin: after plucking polyphenol oxidase takes off. If leaves are damaged or withered the cells of such areas will undergo catechin oxidation leading to a “reddish” water color when brewed and lowered fragrance and flavor.

Vitamin C: after plucking VC undergoes oxidization and quickly decreases. Low storage temps halt this decrease. Vitamin C content is not only an indicator of nutrient in tea, but a great measure for freshness of the raw leaf after harvested and processed.

Chlorophyll: decreases with decomposition of proteins

Aroma constituent 香気成分: to be continued, gotta run!

I’m learning so much about tea lately through my studies and hands-on experience that I almost want to write a book once the timing and opportunity for collaboration is right.
最近体験してるところと、勉強で学んでいることを合わせて、本を書けるくらいの情報を吸収している感じがするので、いつかタイミングが良ければ何らかな形でコラボレーションができたら良いと思います。

#八十八夜
#japanesetea
#greentea
#shizuoka
#tea
#kakegawa
#掛川
#深蒸し茶
#spring
#sencha
#healthandlongevity
#wellness
#japaneseculture
#日本茶
#日本精神文化
#カテキン
#catechin
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Victoria
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Mon May 04, 2020 6:53 pm

Great post @James Edward, thank you for sharing with us here. I’m so glad we have you as a TeaForum member, that you are in one of the highest producing areas of Japan and in the industry (?) makes it extra special. Also, cool that you love Fukamushi so much, somehow I was under the impression that most deep steamed comes from the south, especially Kagoshima, and that light steamed, Asamushi, was more popular in Shizuoka. But that impression is mostly based on purchases I’ve made. Looking forward to your future blog posts.

p.s. where you able to resolve your image attachment issue? Our Guide: Forum Tips & Tricks is useful. The most favored method is direct image attachment.

Is the Fukamushi you are enjoying from Shizuoka, or further south in Kyushu?
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OCTO
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Location: Penang, Malaysia

Mon May 04, 2020 9:36 pm

@James Edward

Great sharing. It's an eye opener for a beginner like me. Please do share more... 🙏🏻
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pedant
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Mon May 04, 2020 10:55 pm

thanks for sharing, @James Edward. looking forward to more updates.

also, you could try editing your post and adding more pictures. if that doesn't work and you want to troubleshoot, send me a private message.
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James Edward
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Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2020 7:13 pm
Location: Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
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Tue May 05, 2020 11:42 pm

Thank you all for your kind responses.

I did try and edit the post to add more photos but it didn't work.

I'll try doing another share and see if I can get more than only 3 pictures up.

Thanks!
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James Edward
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Posts: 27
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2020 7:13 pm
Location: Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
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Tue May 05, 2020 11:44 pm

Victoria wrote:
Mon May 04, 2020 6:53 pm
Great post James Edward, thank you for sharing with us here. I’m so glad we have you as a TeaForum member, that you are in one of the highest producing areas of Japan and in the industry (?) makes it extra special. Also, cool that you love Fukamushi so much, somehow I was under the impression that most deep steamed comes from the south, especially Kagoshima, and that light steamed, Asamushi, was more popular in Shizuoka. But that impression is mostly based on purchases I’ve made. Looking forward to your future blog posts.

p.s. where you able to resolve your image attachment issue? Our Guide: Forum Tips & Tricks is useful. The most favored method is direct image attachment.

Is the Fukamushi you are enjoying from Shizuoka, or further south in Kyushu?
Thanks Victoria, you could be correct in your assumption but as far as I can see deep steamed Fukamushi cha, and Asa-mushi and chu-mushi are all made as well in Shizuoka, not exactly sure the figures or what is most popular. The company I work with specializes in "Fukamushi-cha" although they produce Asa-mushi also.

Kakegawa tea is generally some variant of this steep steamed type.
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