NEWS
According to Japanese legend, if you drink green tea picked on the 88th night after the beginning of spring in the traditional Japanese calendar, you will be able to live a long life free of illness. For the year 2020, this 88th night was May 1st. In the green tea industry in Japan, this date is often referred to as the end of the harvest for ichibancha, the first-picked tea of the season which starts in late April.
There are three main harvesting periods for green tea in Japan, and the name of each batch of tea is based on when it is picked: ichibancha, nibancha (the second-picked tea in June), and bancha (the tea picked last in the season, from August onward). Ichibancha is the highest quality of the three, referred to as “premium,” characterized by a fresh aroma, deep sweetness, and high content of vitamins and amino acids due to the nutrients stored in its leaves from the winter season.
It also has a lower content of catechins (a bitter phenol and anti-oxidant) and is lower in caffeine, while containing greater amounts of theanine, an amino acid that is the main source of ichibancha’s taste, making it highly sought after in Japan with only limited amounts available outside of the country.
Catechins are found in all kinds of teas, including green, oolong, and black tea, but the amounts vary based on how they are processed. The more oxidized the tea is, the lower in catechins it will be.
While black tea is fully oxidized and oolong tea goes through a half-oxidation process, green tea’s processing is unoxidized, therefore allowing it to retain the highest level of catechins. Catechins have various health benefits, one of which is antioxidant activity many times higher than that of vitamin C. Some studies indicate that catechins can prevent the increase of blood pressure and inhibit the growth of certain types of cancer. There have also been experimental studies showing the antiviral properties of catechins.
In the Japanese language, there are some phrases that use the word mucha, which usually has the meaning of “reckless” when translated to English. But when looking at the Chinese characters that make up the word, it can also be interpreted as “without tea.” It can be said that acting in a hurry without first drinking tea can lead to rashness and failure, so it’s often recommended that we take a moment to relax over a cup of healthy tea.