Tea Culture

 We headed out early this morning since we had a couple of stops before arriving in Kyoto today.  Our focus would be tea, both the cultivating and the drinking.

Our first stop was at an organic tea farm.  We first learned about tea and what distinguishes one from another.  I always assumed that there were different varieties of tea plants but this is not the case.  A combination of which leaves are harvested and how fast the tea is roasted leads to the varieties that we see.  The top three leaves of new growth are the imperial pluck and is used for green, matcha and oolong.  Tea begins to oxidize as soon as it is picked so the length of time between picking and roasting takes the tea from green (processed soon after picking) to black.  



After our education session we went out into the fields to pick tea.  Today we were picking the light green leaves just below the top three leaves to make bancha tea.  We spent about 20 minutes gathering leaves before taking them back inside to start massaging it to break down the leaves and make them more pliable.  The next step was to do a first roast to start drying the leaves out.  We each took turns gathering and fluffing the leaves while they roasted over the high heat in a large wok like pan over a wood fire.  The temperature was lowered by removing some of the wood and this time all we were doing was fluffing until the leaves became almost crisp.  At this point the leaves were steeped in hot water and we were given a taste along with our bento box lunch.  We got to take some of our roasted tea home as a souvenir.








Our second stop was at a shop making the whisks used in making matcha.  While probably most of the ones we use at home are not made in this ancient craft way, we were treated to seeing how a master takes a piece of bamboo that has been cut, boiled and dried over a period of several months.  Again, this is a craft that has been handed down from first son to first son for several generations.  After we learned how the whisks are made were moved to a tea room where we used whisks to make our own matcha.  As a parting gift we were given a handcrafted whisk to take home.







After checking into our hotel we had the evening free to explore on our own.  We are very near the Gion district which is where the geisha’s live and work and also there are several temples and shrines near by.  A couple of us walked there from the hotel and found a nice sushi restaurant for dinner.  Afterwards we walked to the Yasaka Shrine where hundreds of lanterns illuminate the structures.  You can tell we’re back in tourist country with all the foreigners visiting the shrine.  We capped off the evening with an ice cream before heading back for bed.



Tomorrow: Koji shop and pickles

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