Green Tea - Blog - Chá Camélia

Publicado em 19 Março, 201619 Dezembro, 2016 por Nina Gruntkowski

Matcha Detox

Spring is coming – prepare yourself for a Matcha Detox

The powdered tea (Matcha) from the tea ceremony is not just delicious, but also has a high concentration of chlorophyll and catechins, which is a highly antioxidant poliphenol. These substances help the different organs to liberate themselves from toxic substances. Spring is the perfect time to help your body to get rid of the toxins, which have accumulated over the time.

PREPARATION

Put one or two spoons of Matcha in a Chawan (ceramic bowl, Muesli size)
Pour water at 50-60°C onto Matcha and fill the Chawan one third full
Beat with a Chasen (bamboo wisk) in circles until it foams on top
Enjoy your Matcha

Did you know that Matcha is 10 times more antioxidant than green tea? For the same effect of one Matcha you have to drink 10 cups of tea, which already is rich in antioxidants and lots of vitamins and minerals.

Drinking green everyday, keeps the doctor away

Whilst tea is not a replacement for fruit and vegetables, studies have shown that drinking two to four cups of tea a day has approximately the same antioxidant “potency” as eating 6 apples! As well as contributing to fluid and antioxidant intake, drinking four cups of tea a day can provide certain vitamins and minerals, which are proven to promote health and well being. The most common vitamins and minerals found in tea are Vitamin C, B, E, calcium, zinc, potassium and manganese.

See our Matcha Accessories

Publicado em 19 Março, 201623 Novembro, 2016 por Nina Gruntkowski

Morimotos visit of Portugal

A dream became true: together with our main Japanese tea producer, Haruyo and Shigeru Morimoto, we conducted a tea tasting in the Casa de Chá (Teahouse) in Leça da Palmeira/Porto. This emblematic building of the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira is build right on top of the rocky beach and makes you feel being part of the wild sea outside. As the architecture reminds very much of traditional Japanese tea houses, it is the perfect place to enjoy Japanese teas.

We served a nice selection of the organic teas from Morimotos, starting with the comforting Bancha Yangicha (a tea with a natural low caffeine content). The extremely green colour and fresh tast of the Sencha with Matcha was a surprise for most of the guests, which have never seen such a really green tea. Than we prepared a surprise tea from a neighbor of the Morimoto: Kamairicha Kadocha limited edition. When last year we visited the Morimotos we went together to the neighbor to learn how to produce not steamed teas (Kamairicha). Contrasting to this complex tea with a full body the next tea Shiraore represents the lightness of Japanese green teas. Shiraore is shaded tea (Kabuse) from the very first harvest. The very delicate and green little stems are selected together with the very fine leaves for this exceptional fresh tea.

The preparation of the GO EN in traditional ceramic teapots (Kyusu) was definitely on of the highlights of the tea tasting. These very simple, but at the same time very artistic, Kyusus do not to have stainless steel strainers and therefore do not alter the delicate flavours of the sensitive high quality teas like the GO EN. The GO EN is a type of Tamaryokucha (slightly curled tea produced the traditional, “old style” way), which was shaded for a long period and therefore has deep flavours with a lot of Umami. On top of such a high quality tea you can just serve a Matcha to complete a Japanese tea tasting. For the very first time we served the new Morimoto Matcha Gyokujou – a very fine Matcha quality with creamy texture. The base for this Matcha are the shaded leaves form the Okumidori tea plants, which give this Matcha a nice sweetness.

Morimoto Matcha was also used by the team of the restaurante Boa Nova of Chef Rui Paula, which after the tea tasting treated us with beautiful and tasty delicacies. Of course at this time we had to include some wines to accompany the dishes, but in the end we went back to have a refreshing Mizudashi (cold green tea).

A great honor for all of us was the participation of the Japanese Ambassador in Portugal, Hiroshi Azuma, and his secretary, Manabu Kanaya. It seems that both enjoyed the teas of the Morimotos, which made us all very happy.

The next morning we visited our little tea plantation together. We were lucky as the rain stopped right when we arrived at the farm. We had a good walk around and Haruyo and Shigeru Morimoto had a closer look at the older plants, which they had already seen one and a half years ago. Both had a good impression on the development and gave us some advices also for the plants we have just planted recently.

With us all stays the dream of one day making good tea together here in Portugal… still we need some patience as the plants have to grow…. good things take their time

Publicado em 10 Novembro, 201521 Junho, 2016 por imhugo

Kamairicha – Japanese not steemed tea

Kamairicha is a japanese tea whose leaves are heated dry and not steamed. The name refers to ” Kama “, which is an iron pan. So Kamairicha means ” the tea of the pan”. Nowadays, it is very rare to prepare the Kamairicha by hand in the pan. Sometimes it is done, but only for teaching purposes or championships. Over time machines were used in the production process but even that is rare nowadays. The amount of Kamairicha is only 1 % of the total Japanese green tea production.

In 2015, on our trip to Japan, we visited Haruyo and Shigeru Morimoto. To learn more about the production of tea, they suggested to visit a neighbour, who produces green tea without vaporization (Kamairicha), as it was done before. With great curiosity we went together to visit his small tea plantation. We were surprised to see how it is possible to produce such delicate and unique green tea with simple means and without vaporization. Enthusiastic, we bought a small amount to share this experience with our tea friends back in Portugal. Right now, we only have a limited amount of 90 packs of 100g but we hope to continue this cooperation in the future.

Later we did meet another producer of very good quality Kamairicha and decided to include his tea also on our list to be able to show the differenced in Japanese not steemed teas.

Publicado em 10 Novembro, 201524 Outubro, 2016 por imhugo

Tea and caffeine

Many people refuse green or black tea because of its caffeine content. While it is true that tea contains caffeine, the caffeine in tea is not harmful. In tea, the caffeine is present with catechins (tannins), which diminish the effect of the caffeine Also, there are several qualities of tea with different amounts of caffeine, which can stimulate, but do not cause nervousness. By contrast, in coffee, caffeine appears linked to chlorogenic acid, which can cause stomach discomfort and effect the nervous system.

There are two three types of Japanese green tea with low caffeine:

– Bancha is produced from the most mature leaves and therefore contains very little caffeine but does contain a high concentration of iron, zinc and other minerals. It is strongly recommended during pregnancy and can be drunk by the whole family during the day. Also, Bancha has a slightly sweet and refreshing taste which makes it a very suitable evening drink.

– Houjicha is made from the larger leaves of the summer crop and some stems, which are gently roasted . The roasting process eliminates the already low caffeine level from this tea. Due to the warm flavours it’s considered an excellent tea in cold weather.

– Kukicha is made of stems that have practically no caffeine, which are mixed with some fine leaves. Therefore Kukicha is naturally low on caffeine.

For those looking for energy, the best tea is Sencha – it is the most balanced tea in terms of caffeine, minerals and vitamins. Sencha comes in various qualities depending on the time of harvest, the selection of the leaves and the production method.

For a tea with stronger stimulating properties, the best tea is Gyokuru; it is produced from the youngest leaves of the first harvest, grown in the shade and has a high amount of caffeine. Matcha, the powdered tea from the Japanese tea ceremony has also a high amount of caffeine, as it is produced from the youngest leaves, which grow in the shade and are then ground until they reach an extremely fine texture.

For those who wish to avoid caffeine altogether: when preparing the tea, pour the water over the leaves and then immediately discard the water and replace with fresh hot water. This way 80% of caffeine is removed but none of the essential substances.

There is nothing better than to experiment!

Publicado em 10 Novembro, 201525 Maio, 2016 por imhugo

Paris not just the city of love…. but also of tea

Mariage Frères

Who enters the main shop with museum of Mariage Frères, rue du Bourg-Tibourg, should be prepared to travel back in time… since over 160 years this teahouse stands for a wide variety of teas selected all over the world. An old map on the wall of the small wooden staircase shows where from Mariage Frères brings tea to France. Upstairs in the dusty museum with the even older looking tea samples makes you feel going back in time at least some decades.

Back downstairs you find yourself in front of the wooden shelves with the black iconic tins, which show long tradition. There is a very big selection of pure teas and you see almost nothing of our days fashioned flavoured tea blends. We decide for the following teas:

– Darjeeling 1st Flush Ambootia 2015, flowery complex nose as we like Darjeelings, no bitterness and just a very delicate black tea flavour with a very long sweet and flowery aftertaste.

– Tamaryokucha which for Japanese tea is intense, but still very well balanced. The second brewing shows even better than the first, which is uncommon for Japanese teas.

– Jade Himalaya from Nepal, which has curly leaves with a lot of silver tips, a vey delicate black tea remembering of Darjeeling, but still having its own character. Some say, that Nepal is becoming the new Darjeeling, and this tea shows some of the potential.

Les Palais des Thés

Next we go to Le Palais des Thés, Rue vieille-du-temple 64, the other institution in Paris. Le Palais des Thés started out when François-Xavier Delmas, at the head of a group of forty-five tea enthusiasts, decided to create their own business in 1986 with the goal to democratize tea and help the Occident to learn more about its cultural and gastronomical aspects. In 1990 François-Xavier Delmas acquired his partners’ shares in order to work full-time on its project.

Entering the shop is like calming down, leaving the hectic of the city outside. The wooden shelves and the wooden floor make you feel comfortable. In the first showroom you find colourful tins with the flavoured blends, than passing through a small room with some nice tea ceramics you enter the main room, where you find exclusively pure teas. Over 300 references are stored in the big green tea tins, which make it difficult to select. We are surprised to find several Shinchas 2015 (first Japanese tea of the year) and so we start comparing the different Shinchas from different regions and different tea bush varieties. Finally we decide for:

Kirishima Shincha Ichiban 2015: Very nice dark green needle shape tea leaves with the fresh nose just shown by Japanese steamed teas. The brewing is delicate as it is typical for the Shinchas and shows light green in the cup.

Jukro Vert from Corea: Not steamed Korean tea with a wonderful green deep flavour, delicate and at the same time intense. Korean teas in general are starting to show more and more personality.

Wen Shan Bao Zhong Premium from Taiwan: Oolong in whole curly leaves, extremely nicely worked. A very good example of an Oolong not being green nor black tea, but a category of its own.

Neo.T

The next teashop to go is the relatively new Neo.T close to the Sacre Coeur. The former journalist Valerie Stalport opened it 8 years ago to start a new life. We already now Valerie who is a big green tea lover and has also a deep fascination for Japanese teas. She welcomes us with the tea I was looking for the whole day: A very delicate and fruity Premium Mao Feng with small curled leaves. She makes one brewing after the other and surprisingly the tea does not get week.

Valerie’s focus is definitely green tea, but she is also getting more and more interested in the complex category of fermented Pu Erh teas. She also shares a big interest in tea ceramics and recently started to cooperate with a French ceramist, who is also doing Raku (Japanese pottery burned in open fire designated for the tea ceremony).

Finally we decide to take the following teas:

– Jing Shan Premium Mao Feng from China: very delicate hand picked small leaves, which are curled. Fruity nose and flavour with delicate, not a little bit bitter, green tea notes, which stay and stay in the mouth.

– Pu Erh ancient 1970 from China: as we just bought a 5g package for one use, we didn’t taste it yet… we have to wait for a special occasion to celebrate this special tea with time to make several brewings.

– Tie Guan Yin from China: Rolled, very green rolled whole leaves, fresh green smell, flowery slightly sweet flavours. A really good Tie Guan Yin quality for every day.

Maison des trois Thés

Last but not least we arrive at the famous Maison des trois Thés, a teahouse founded in the mid 1980s by Madame Tseng. Here you can prepare and drink a proper tea in a very Asian ambience. On every table you find a big dark teapot with boiling water on a stove. Then you get a tea menu, which is almost a book. Over 1.000 teas are stored in the cellar of Maison des trois Thés, mainly Oolongs and Pu Erhs, which are the most appropriate qualities for aging.

We chose Ali Shan Mountain Oolong, which comes in the typical little orange clay teapots and is prepared with hot water you have to pour until it overflows. After a minute you pour it in another porcelain teapot to cool the tea down before serving in small cups. The nose is very elegant, flowery with some deeper notes of wood and fruits. We do five brewings, one better than the other.

The other tea of our choice is a fresh green Chinese 2015 Taiping Hou Kui. We have never seen leaves like that… each leave, after firing, is hand-rolled lengthwise and placed on a cloth. Than they are pressed with a small roller, leaving them flattened and larger. It is prepared by first pouring a bit cold water in the gaiwan (white porcelain cup with lid), than filling it up with hot water. For our taste the first brewing is a bit smokey, but from brewing to brewing it is getting finer and finer.

Choosing tea at this teahouse is like going into a treasure chamber… not easy to choose:

– Ba Ling Fu Yan, biodynamic Taiwanese Oolong: Whole open leaves, showing brown to green at the same leave. Fine cinnamon and earthy nose, very delicate tannins and a sweet long aftertaste.

– An Ji Bai Cha 2015 from China: flat needle shape leaves, light shining green. Hand picked tea of the very small buds, not steamed… but the nose is extremely fresh and green, remembering of steamed fresh tealeaves. On the palate it is extremely light and green, having a delicate touch of sweetness remembering of the very best white teas.

– Pu Erh 1984 from China: loose leave Pu Erh aged to elegant earthy perfection.

Publicado em 10 Novembro, 20153 Agosto, 2016 por imhugo

It’s summer time… it’s Mizudashi time

No summer without a proper cold tea… Mizudashi is a very common tea in Japan, prepared with cold water. The mixture of a high quality Sencha and tea powder – Matcha – makes it a perfect isotonic drink. Due to its fresh and mild flavor it’s perfect for hot days and very easy to prepare.

All you need is a jar with good quality water, some ice cubes and a spoon. Put one Mizudashi tea bag in 700ml max. 1 litre and leave it for approx. 10 minutes. The best way is to take natural or slightly cool water (in very cold water the process takes much longer). Than take the spoon and squeeze the teabag (don’t worry, it won’t tear) to get out flavor and colour. You can add ice cubes before serving, if you wish . Leave the tea bag in the water. The longer the tea stays in contact with the water, the more flavor will be extracted from the leaves… depending on your taste, you can add more water. Enjoy 😉

Publicado em 2 Maio, 20158 Setembro, 2016 por Nina Gruntkowski

Visiting Shutaro Hayashi in Kirishima and having a wonderful tea tasting

We have to get up early in the morning. Saying good bye to the Morimotos is not easy, but they will stay in our hearts as they are.

Together with Tobias we drive the two hours to Kirishima, where we meet Shutaro Hayashi, the producer of our new Tennen Gyokuro. He receives us at the little tasting room in his families tea shop. He is the fifth generation of the family tea business and the first, who studied tea making. With great concentration he starts preparing teas for us.

We taste several Senchas, he produces of the different tea bush varieties. His family does not make blends, but sells the different qualities separately. They send the teas for the final heating to a specialized company. In contrast to almost all other tea producers they leave out this last production process for the very first tea of the year (Shincha). It has a wonderful fresh taste and vibrant smell of the freshly picked tealeaves, but is not as stable as other teas. Therefore the Hayashis just sell it just for one month.

After several very elegant and complex green teas, Shutaro san prepares a very delicious and creamy Matcha from a friend with a teagarden nearby and in the end surprises us with a black tea (Koucha) produced by him from the Benifuki tea bushes, which has a wonderful flowery nose.

After having lunch together we visit the teagarden, which has a big field with 100 year old Zairaishu plants, which in contrast to modern plants where grown out of seeds. These tea bushes are more robust and therefore get much older. As all the plants are a bit different they grow not homogeneously. It is not so easy to decide when to pick the leaves, as some plants are more and others less developed. The great diversity of different leave than is processed together to tea, which has a very own character.

On our way through the tea fields we meet a goat, which Shutaro san has bought with the idea to defend the weeds. As the goat also like the young tea leaves, he next wants to see if sheep could do the job. He is a smart guy, continuing the tradition of his family, but also trying to find his own new way.

Than we drive to Miyazaki, where we have to say good bye to Tobias, who will stay some more days with the Morimotos to help finish the first picking and to prepare the shipment of the teas. Dirk and me have a simple, but very delicious dinner. Tomorrow we will leave to Jeju Island in Korea. We are a bit sad to leave Japan, but we keep so many good memories of inspiring moments, which fore sure will stay with us for a long time.

Publicado em 1 Maio, 20158 Setembro, 2016 por Nina Gruntkowski

Rainy day with preparations for shipment and saying good bye to the Morimoto Family

The Morimotos managed to pick some tea in the morning, than it starts raining again. I quickly visit the now 4 years old Minami Sayaka plantation, which I already saw two years ago. The plants are looking not too much different from how we expect our little plants to develop… that gives us hope, that one day our still little tea plants will look like a real plantation.

Than have a look around in the tea fabric, where Shigeru san is the master of the machines, while Haruyo san is taking care of the plants and the picking. In the tea fabric Shigeru san is regulating every fine tuning of the several machines. The whole production process starts with the steaming to keep the green colour and fresh taste of the leaves. Than the very humid tea passes several machines, which are drying and rolling the tea leaves step by step, until it enters the Sencha machines, which make the tea needle shape.

Tobias is tasting the teas again and again to make decisions, how long the teas are finally heated before they get packed and shipped to Germay, from where they come to Portugal.

The day just flies away and in the evening we have already to say good by to the Morimoto Family, what is not so easy as they all are so lovely people. We enjoy a last delicious dinner cooked by Dirk. Luckily we all know, that we will see each other again.

Publicado em 1 Maio, 20158 Setembro, 2016 por Nina Gruntkowski

Sakura jima volcano island and Sushi dinner with Morimotos

Finally we stayed the night on the little volcanic island Sakura jima close to Kagoshima. In the morning we wake up from the noise of rain. The still active volcano is hiding in the clouds and it’s not easy to distinguish between clouds and smoke. We decide to drive around the island and enjoy beautiful views on the Sakura volcano.

The islands vegetation in the far South of Japan is subtropical and after the rain the air is crystal clear… we see really beautiful details of Japanese daily life.

Already back on the mainland we see trees along the road with something that at first sight seem to be white flowers. The closer look reveals that it is white plastic bags. Wondering what this could be, we stop to see that the women are selling. It is medlar, which we know very well from Portugal (nespras), but we never have seen them that beautiful as in Portugal they have almost always black spots and are a bit rotten. Here they are almost looking like apricots as the plastic bags protect them from rain and getting damaged. On top of that, they are really tasty. I am touched, of how carefully Japanese handle food.

Slowly we drive back to the Morimotos, which are welcoming us very warm. We are so happy to see them again. As today it was raining, they didn’t pick tea and therefore have time to go out with us for a sushi dinner. There is coming a lot of Sashimi, even more Nigiri and Maki Rolls and steamed fish. It is delicious and the whole Morimoto family and some of Haruyos Karaoke friends, which help at the teapicking, enjoys the delicious food in this relaxed atmosphere.

Publicado em 30 Abril, 20158 Setembro, 2016 por Nina Gruntkowski

Visiting the tea fields of Mr. Matsumoto, the producer of our favourite Sencha

We have to get up very early, as it is a three hours drive to the tea fields of Mr. Matsumoto. I am very nervous, asking myself if my Japanese is sufficient to keep up a conversation with Mr. Matsumoto. On the way I am preparing a vocabulary list on the topics I want to talk about. As our GPS doesn’t recognize his telephone number, we have to ask for the way as we arrive in Minamata. People are very helpful, and finally we make it to the really nice tea plantation area, which is surrounded by mountains and woods. Mr. Matsumoto welcomes us very warm. It is a busy time, especially because tomorrow it is his production day in the fabric, which he is sharing with five other tea producers. He shows us the schedule, which seems well organized. We drive to the first tea field, where he has planted a little plot of Fuji Yutaka and on the other side much more Yabukita, which is the main part of his Sakura-no Sencha. Than we pass by a plot of Zaraishu plants (tea plants grown from seeds). Proudly he explains that this tea plants have been planted by his grandfather and are now 86 years old.

Mr. Matsumoto has 1,5 hectares Zairaishu plants, almost 2 hectares of Yabukita and some Fuji Midori and Benifuki. Asking him for his favourite specie of tea plant, he refers to the Zaraishu plants. As they are grown out of seed, every tea plant is a little bit different. You can see that the colour of the leaves as well as the shape is different. Also they have deeper roots and therefore the plants are getting older. But for Mr. Matsumoto this tea plants are even more special as his ancestor planted them, which bring luck to young Mr. Matsumoto.

On the small curvy roads we drive to a little village, where we have a quick lunch. Proudly Mr. Matsumoto shows us the display of his teas and his logotype of a little tea plant grown out of a seed. Of course I have to show him some pictures of our little tea plants. He seems to like what he sees, which makes us happy. Than we drive to another tea field, where this year for the first time he wants to try to produce Matcha (powdered tea). He already has put the shading construction on top of the plants, which will stay for two weeks. The shading (kabuse) results in smaller, finer and greener leaves with a delicate sweetness.

He is very excited about this new experiment. The difficult part is to dry the leaves in a way that they stay flat, so that in the next step the veins of the leaves can be taken out. As he has not yet an own stone mill for grinding the tea leaves into fine Matcha powder, he will send the tea leaves to a friend in Shizuoka for this last step of production.

The next tea field is situated in a very nice valley surrounded by forest. Half of the Yabukita plants are shaded. Tomorrow here he will pick the leaves for the production of Sakura-no Sencha, which mainly contains a mix of Yabukita unshaded and 50% Yabukita kabuse.

Downhill we see family members of Mr. Matsumoto working. He explains that they clean the tea bushes from the ashes of a nearby volcano, which yesterday had a bigger eruption.

At his house Mr. Matsumoto offers us the first tea, he has produced this year: Shincha Mo. It is 100% Yabukita not shaded. It has a very light green colour and a very delicate Umami. It really tastes like spring. It is the only tea he can offer us from this year, as just tomorrow he starts producing our favourite Sakura-no Sencha. Therefore we taste the Sakura-no Sencha from last year, which he prepares with great care. It has a deeper green colour and we find the more intense seaweed flavour, we like so much.

Than he explains to us, that from his first picking he produces almost just green tea (Shincha and Sencha), from the second picking black tea and Kamairicha (not steamed green tea) and the third picking he uses for Houjicha production (roasted tea). His black tea is a real surprise as it is has a very expressive fruity nose, remembering of plums, and almost no astringency on the palate, but a lot of texture and vibrancy. It is full-bodied, yet smooth. Black Japanese tea is very rare and nowadays also Kamairicha is hard to find. That’s why Mr. Matsumoto started to produce these types of teas, when he took over the tea production from his father. Again and again he proudly refers to his family history in tea making, showing us photographs from the past. It was a wonderful and instructive day. Happily we continue driving further South to Kagoshima.

Publicado em 26 Abril, 20158 Setembro, 2016 por Nina Gruntkowski

Shading of tea plants and first tea made by Dirk

In the morning the rest of the Okumidori tea plants get covered with a shading net. Okumidori is a tea plant variety, which has a natural sweetness and is very appropriate to produce high quality teas. In our case the tea plants will be shaded for approximately one week until they will be harvested for the GO EN production. GO EN is a tea produced the old way without the last production step, which make the leaves needle shape. The longer drying in a rotating bamboo cylinder creates especially elegant flavors.

As it is Sunday and Haruyo san got a package with special sweets from her sister in Miyazaki, in the afternoon she prepares a pick nick for everybody under the trees close by the house. Of course the cold Matcha is part of the moment… during the ochatsumi (tea picking) Haruyo and Shigeru san drink it all day long.

In the evening Haruyo san brings along freshly picked Okumidori and Saki Mirdori tealeaves. In the morning I had asked here to prepare tea leaf tempura with me. We had it two years ago and since then I am dreaming of it. It is not so difficult, but the clue is to use really fresh tea leaves. We also do some tempura with sweet potato grown by Morimotos. Everything is just delicious!

At the end of the really nice dinner, Dirk surprises us with a little bit of tea, made by him today. With some tealeaves he just had picked around the house he made and improvised hand made tea in the kitchen of Morimotos. We all are very much surprised by the nice dark green colour of the leaves. Than Dirk prepares the tea for us and we are impressed by the shiny green colour and elegant nose… even the third brewing tastes nice. Haruyo and Shigeru san seem very happy as they always believed in our dream of making a high quality tea in Portugal… today we came a little step closer.

Publicado em 22 Abril, 20158 Setembro, 2016 por Nina Gruntkowski

Visit of Uji – most famous tea prefecture – and surprising sushi dinner

Today we visited Uji, which is very close by Kyoto. Almost everybody in Japan refers to the famous teas of Uji, which is a relatively small tea plantation area and most famous for it’s high quality Matcha. We are lucky that we go there accompanied by Toshi san, who is importing Niepoort wines to Japan. He is a tea lover and his wife’s family are tea producers. So we go straight to Namakura Tokichi Honten, which he considers the best tea producer and shop in Uji. After trying their house blend, we take some of it and a very nice looking Kabuse Sencha as well as Premium Kukicha Karigane Quality.

As we go more to the centre of Uji, we are getting overwhelmed by the lots and lots of teashops. There many Japanese students around and even more tourists. The only thing that helps us, not getting lost, was to look at the distance, where we see the beautiful Uji mountains, knowing that on the other side there is the tea plantations.

After visiting the temple we have lunch in a teahouse. Green Matcha Soba Noodles with vegetables and for desert a very delicate Matcha with a perfect foam and the traditional Matcha sweet, which is not too sweet (cha dango).

In the evening we have a very surprising sushi dinner at an almost private house with sushi chef Masashi Ohtani, who also is a sommelier and big burgundy fan. We are more than lucky, as nobody else is there and he spends a lot of time with us explaining every single of the very delicate sushis.

Besides the excellent quality of the sushi he is able to make the most perfect matches of wine and sushi. The white burgundy (Meursault Genevriere 1995, Francois Jobard) is matching perfectly with the noble white fishes. Also are very happy to see that Ohtani san really likes the Turis 2012 we brought from Douro… even so much that he is opening a wonderful red burgundy for us from his private cellar (G. Roumier Chambolle Musigny 2001). Both are going very well along with the tuna nigiri. At the end we have a Japanese friend more we hope to see again in Portugal.

Categoria: Green Tea