I’m honored to do what I do and I’m honored to be connected to so many amazing people and one of those people is
Kei Nishida of The Japanese Green Tea Company
Kei and I talk often and we share a lot of information, I learn from him and hm, I.
Kei shared with me a new sensation from Japan and I had to see if it’s popularity stretched to the United States.
I am also very thankful for Nancy from Roasted Bean in Troy, Missouri for allowing me to set up shop in her store to share Konacha (powdered tea) with the clients that entered her shop that day.
Konacha or powdered tea what is it, actually?
First what it is not!
It’s not Matcha
and It’s not Instant
Yes, there is a difference!
I got a bit of education as well on the difference between the three first, we’ll talk about Matcha:
Matcha is powdered however the process to get to the powdering is very different from Konacha. Kei told me this about Matcha:
“ Matcha is grown in shade before harvesting and there are very specific process before grinding done by stone. This is why matcha is usually a lot more expensive than other green tea due to the labor involved.”
Next let’s talk about Instant Tea:
Instant tea is similar to the same thought as instant coffee. It’s processed (some times they won’t even tell us the process) the drying is more of a dehydrating making it a concentrate and adding back into it the fragrance of tea sometimes leaving an aftertaste. Instant teas also can be made from all parts of the tea plant.
Konacha or Powdered Tea is basically the leaves of the tea plant dried and powdered. That’s it, the process is simple.
Below is a detailed article about the aging of Japans tea drinkers, I’d like to spotlight a few facts from the article:
The problem affects the tea farmers
The average age of a Japanese green tea drinker is said to be 55
1. The younger generation favor other drinks like coffee, soda and other sweet drinks
2. There is a word for it: Ochabanare which means “leaving tea trend”
3. The area used for tea farming is decreasing
4. Enter Arahataen Green Tea Farms and their quest to fix the problem
5. Arahataen Green Tea Farm partnered with Innovators of the Future
6. After much brainstorming and even more sampling Konacha was born
Now this is a very VERY SHORT summary and I suggest reading the below article for a more in-depth look at the situation and solution. This was posted by Kei on T-Ching blog?
BUT>> WOULD POWDERED JAPANESE GREEN TEA GET A THUMBS UP IN THE UNTIED STATES?
With all this information I contacted Kei and asked for some samples to try at The Roasted Bean.
Here is a video of the days event:
Conclusion:
While most of you loved the new tea a couple felt the tea was too sweet. The sweetness I believe is part of the draw that the millennials in Japan love and one of the reasons they are choosing a powdered tea over a leaf. However, I passed this information onto Kei to see what he can do with it.
Thank you to everyone that sampled Konacha, that asked questions and that gave opinions. It was an honor meeting you and talking to each of you.
