Information

2013.02.05

Green Tea on Mountains Is Different from Green Tea on Plains

Green tea which is planted in different locations will have different colors, smells and flavors, which are the specific characteristics and the charm of green tea. Kagoshima’s geography consists of plains near the sea and mountains. Therefore, it offers a great variety of tea to choose from for consumption. Let’s look at the different outstanding features of green tea on plains and green tea on mountains.

“Satsuma cha” from “Kumada tea plantation「熊田製茶」” is the green tea which is planted on the mountains. Its outstanding features are nice aroma, slightly bitter and astringent taste as well as yellowish green color.　This is because it is misty in the mountains in the morning and evening; therefore, the tea is exposed to the sun for a short period of time. The shades of other trees also obstruct the sun. Besides, the temperature in mountainous areas is lower than in the plains, and the temperature during the day is very different from the temperature at night.

For the above reasons, the tea will grow slowly and the new leaves will take a long time to sprout. Thus, the tea has time to store a lot of nutrients in its leaves. Its short exposure to sunlight and the fact that the shades of other trees obstruct the sun cause the green tea to have low level of catechin. Therefore, it is less bitter and astringent. However, it will have a lot of amino acids which give out sweet flavor. Another important thing is that the green tea on the mountains will have the smell called “the scent of the mountain” which characterizes the tea.

Next time, we will talk about green tea on the plains.