Sencha (roasted tea) is green tea... But it's not ryokucha (lit. green tea), the fancy Japanese kind.
Probably could have just put Japanese and roasted tea as the translation, actually.
So japanese call 'green tea' only stuff that actually has green color? Good for them. It always kinda bugged me that all "green tea" I ever bought in local stores actually had that yellow-brown color.
So japanese call 'green tea' only stuff that actually has green color? Good for them. It always kinda bugged me that all "green tea" I ever bought in local stores actually had that yellow-brown color.
Paracite said:
It's more the difference between the colour of the leaves themselves, but ryokucha is certainly greener than sencha.
The only super-duper green tea is matcha, and that's because you're basically drinking liquid tea leaves at that point.
No, both sencha and ryokucha are green teas, but ryokucha is the prototypical "Green Tea".
The cafe-chan strip is comparing ryokucha and koucha (black tea).
I'm referring to Allaire's comment on how green tea looks brown, specifically, and expounding on why how the leaves are prepared, not the final color of the drink, that determines what "color" the tea is called.
I'm referring to Allaire's comment on how green tea looks brown, specifically, and expounding on why how the leaves are prepared, not the final color of the drink, that determines what "color" the tea is called.
Well I was actually wondering about colors of the drinks also. I mean in anime when people drink green tea (even supposedly poor/cheap, so it's not matcha), it has that REALLY GREEN color. But my local senchas&co were never green, no matter what kind I tried. Tea itself was yellow and brown, just like the leaves color. And I was so confused. So that's when I started my own quest to solve that 'green-colored green tea that people always drink in the anime' riddle.
Well I was actually wondering about colors of the drinks also. I mean in anime when people drink green tea (even supposedly poor/cheap, so it's not matcha), it has that REALLY GREEN color. But my local senchas&co were never green, no matter what kind I tried. Tea itself was yellow and brown, just like the leaves color. And I was so confused. So that's when I started my own quest to solve that 'green-colored green tea that people always drink in the anime' riddle.
Well, things like Sencha and Matcha really are quite green once brewed. Most green teas you can buy over here are more brown unless you actually go for some loose-leaf sencha. (Which can be quite bitter, so it's not really my taste...) I don't remember ever seeing powdered sencha or matcha over here, but maybe you could get some from a specialty Asian grocery store with a larger-than-normal Japanese selection?
Well, things like Sencha and Matcha really are quite green once brewed. Most green teas you can buy over here are more brown unless you actually go for some loose-leaf sencha. (Which can be quite bitter, so it's not really my taste...) I don't remember ever seeing powdered sencha or matcha over here, but maybe you could get some from a specialty Asian grocery store with a larger-than-normal Japanese selection?
The problem was that my city has absolutely no japanese stores. And all 'sencha' that I bought was actually chinese sencha. Or maybe even indian, or korean, I'm not sure. So then I got some tea straight from Japan (just picked some sencha and karigane at random) and holy crap, it was actually green. Leaves (and stems and stalks for karigane) were green-ish, and tea was green also. Not matcha-tier green of course, but still. But sadly, you can't just go and buy stuff like that where I live. No japanese teas here. Or at least I couldn't find any.
I have no idea what is the key difference between local-store-sencha and actual japanese sencha. But color (and taste) is very different in the end.
Paracite said:
The joke here is like saying 'Darjeeling is the best' but it's really just Earl Grey.
So the joke is that Atago can't really discern teas?
The joke here is like saying 'Darjeeling is the best' but it's really just Earl Grey.
It would be quite hard to confuse Darjeeling and Early Grey, though. Earl Grey is a blend that has bergamot oil (basically, oil squeezed from an orange rind) poured in, which drastically changes the flavor. You'd be more likely to confuse Darjeeling for a common English Breakfast blend. (And even then, there are WILDLY differing types and qualities of "Darjeeling tea", even including oolong, chai, and green versions!)
I was going to go with Regular Orange Pekoe vs Tippy OP or something, but that's getting to 'maybe people wouldn't know'
Seems that I've forogtten a lot of my tea knowledge when I switched to coffee in grad school for the "I NEED MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF CAFFEINE NOW" aspect.
Was a pretty heavy drinker of Earl Grey in my youth though; with milk and sugar - since it's designed to be drunk that way.
Is it? Earl Grey was one of the black teas I actually enjoy straight, since that fruity, astringent taste kept the bitterness really mellow. (Lady Grey, which is Earl Grey with spices and more dried fruit shavings, even moreso.) I tend to prefer Darjeeling and many "pure" black tea blends with some milk (but no sugar) to cut the bitterness a little.
I'm not sure about how well people can tell differences in grades of tea straight up, although I do notice significant differences in qualities between different brands that sell teas of the same name. (I.E. What different companies call "Darjeeling" can be wildly different things.) I'm sure tea leaf grade is part of it, but I suspect there are a lot of different factors going into what the final flavor winds up being. I actually prefer some of the cheaper greens (especially green with mint), because cheaper greens are less flavorful/less bitter, and I can enjoy those straight as a "gulping it down by the gallon for pure hydration purposes". Likewise, most things served just as "unsweet iced tea" (often something like Luzianne) aren't bitter enough for me to need to do anything, either. Just leaf grade alone might be more like comparing where beef comes from.
It may be a bit of heresy to mix such a fine tea at all, but I actually found the best way to prepare some of the high-grade Darjeeling was to mix it with some milk, and some Torani's chocolate mint. It's like hot chocolate having sex with your tongue.
And if you want caffeine, certain sodas tend to be a more direct route to it. I just binged Dr Pepper, since I can't stand Mountain Dew, but my father seems to swear by stocking up on Diet Mountain Dew... (double eww.) I drank tons of Dr Pepper as a child, though, so it doesn't seem like caffeine has much effect on me, though...
Because of the fermentation, though, black tea has something like 1/5th of the caffeine of green tea, and 1/50th of that of plain, watery coffee. They actually sell "decaffeinated" black teas, but I have no idea why they bother, since there's so negligible an amount to start with that you could practically just throw in regular black tea as a placebo and nobody would ever tell the difference.
Switched to black coffee for my health (mainly the calories), since I was downing basically entirely too much energy drinks per day - the amount of sugar is rather high after all.
I developed a heroic caffeine tolerance, but I'm down to the maximum recommended amount of caffeine/day now!
I was always told that Earl Grey blends were formulated to be best with milk and sugar, but it's possible that they were misinformed - I've never really investigated it. You can get Earl Grey green tea now too, apparently!
And since I'm in Japan, in summer, it's mugicha (not actually a tea, even though tea is in its name) for hydration - my office has it on tap!
Green tea is the best for me, indeed.Tea is certainly a delicious thing, isn't it?It certainly is.That's sencha though.Takao-class sisters ~Epilogue~