Coffee Addict Discovers Japanese Green Teas - a Tasting Experience

Despite growing up in a tea-drinking culture and being aware of its health benefits, I had never really found the stuff appealing, preferring to ingest my daily dose of caffeine through a four-cups-a-day coffee habit. On the rare occasion that I drink tea, I usually opt for mint tea with heaps and heaps of sugar - picked up from my vacation in Morocco, minus the fragrant tea leaves of course. Fortunately, the opportunity to expand my knowledge of this beverage arose when the group Tea Tour NY organized a Japanese green tea tasting event held recently in New York City. The venue was one of the city's most authentic and best Japanese tea houses, Cha-An, situated unobstrusively between a parking garage and an Irish pub in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan.

Spotting Cha-An's sign, I climbed up the narrow staircase into the bamboo-accented, cozy main room. The establishment's dimly-lit interiors gave out a low-key ambiance, a place perfect for chilling out with friends over cups of tea (or sake). Fifteen tea enthusiasts (make that fourteen fanatics and one newbie) were gathered to sample six different varieties of Japanese green teas. As an introduction, Tea Tour NY's founder, Kristen "Kiki" Nweeia, expounded on the tradition of tea-drinking in Japan which dated back to the 9th century, and has now been elevated to a meditative art from through their traditional tea ceremonies. In addition, she explained and demonstrated to the group how Matcha, the powdered Japanese green tea served in said ceremonies, was prepared from another type of Japanese tea, Tencha.

Things started off with two varieties of Sencha tea, from the Uji and Fuji growing regions of Japan. Sencha is the most refined, sophisticated, and mildest of Japanese green teas. Harvested multiple times in a year from tea leaves of high uniformity and rich color, Sencha is steam treated before further processing with hot-air drying, pan-frying, and finally rolling into needles. The first harvest takes place between late April and the middle of May and once again every six weeks with the quality and grades diminishing with each picking. Both indeed tasted mild and a bit sweet, though I would have preferred a stronger flavor. The food accompaniments included light tea-time fare, like green tea biscuits and truffles, both delicious and perfect for those with a sweet tooth, yours truly included. Sadly, only one piece of each was allotted per person - maybe next time I can devour an entire order of the truffles.

Next in line was Genmaicha, a distinct Japanese green tea composed of Sencha leaves combined with roasted brown rice. Sometimes referred to as "popcorn tea" because a few grains of the rice pop during the roasting process and resemble popcorn. Originally a tea drank primarily by the lower classes but now a mainstream Japanese favorite, Genmaicha tea didn't go down well in our table, with most of the participants disliking the somewhat stronger and slightly burnt flavor, but I liked the stronger roasted flavor. Genmaicha is also lower in caffeine compared to other Japanese green teas, making it an ideal drink anytime in the day. In between tastings, the group feasted on flaky sweet potato samosas that were simply divine and which I strongly recommend. Before we knew it, the Cha-an staff had placed pots of the next tea, Hojicha, on the tables. Made from a lower grade of tea leaves called Bancha, the unique characteristic of Hojicha is that it is roasted over charcoals and turns brown. The advantage of this process is that the caffeine content is lowered, so if you're looking for a low-caffeine Japanese green tea to drink before bedtime, Hojicha is the perfect option.

The Japanese green tea used for tea ceremonies, Matcha, was served next, followed by Tencha, the base tea used for making Matcha. The food pairing with these two teas was sweet glutinous rice cakes with a light soybean powder coating. These yummy and chewy rice cakes proved popular, since they counter-balanced the somewhat sharper and bitter flavors of the two teas, especially Tencha. Personally, I found the Matcha quite tasty and appealing to my palate, but had not-so-enthusiastic sentiments towards the Tencha.

Before we knew it, amidst the fine teas, delicious snacks, and great conversation, three hours had flown by and the event was drawing to a close. To cap off the fun, interesting, and educational Japanese green tea tasting event, Kiki gave each of us as a parting gift an assortment of sachets from Harney and Sons, a fine brewer of specialty teas. Everyone of the participants had a great time, and full credit goes to Kiki's efforts and passion in sharing her love of tea. As for me, while it is doubtful that I will be giving up my cups of Joe anytime soon, further experimentation beyond my tired mint tea routine is in order - a cup of Japanese Sencha tea does sound enticing in the morning.