Green tea has remarkable effects on health,
Yet nowadays it is only an ordinary beverage.

Scientific research has demonstrated that, among other things, green tea prevents cancer, controls blood pressure, and retards aging. In fact, green tea was originally used as a medicine. (For more details, please consult our page on "Green Tea and Health"). Owing to these effects, the product has gained enormous popularity around the world, not only in Japan. 

Sometimes, however, these effects are overemphasized. It has been reported to us that certain members of the European public, for example, see green tea more as a medical drug than an ordinary drink. 

The health benefits of green tea are undeniable. Furthermore, tea blenders occasionally include medicinal herbs in the tea (e.g. Dokudami Kenkocha). But nowadays, green tea is to be considered just as an ordinary drink for use by anyone and at any time. Its health benefits are gravies, and medicinal ingredients are incorporated just in a few brands of teas, not all.

Green tea has a particular flavor.

On their first encounter with Japanese green tea, many foreigners-- especially those familiar with tea sweetened with several lumps of sugar in one cup--find green tea somehow bitter. However, green tea is not necessarily bitter. 

Normal green tea has a delicate taste that combines bitterness, sweetness, and astringency. It is true that some teas, matcha in particular, are bittersweet. But those are usually consumed along with sweets, which smoothens the overall taste. 

Furthermore, new brands of sweetened matcha--like our Green Tea Sticks--are now on sale and are much appreciated by both Japanese and foreigners. Another important factor in producing the best flavor of green tea is the brewing method (for more information on the making a good tea, please visit our page "How to Make a Delicious Tea.")

Beyond the taste, green tea is associated with a particular aroma. Taste and aroma together give the product an indescribable, irresistible flavor. More importantly, they make green tea a symbol of Japan: After leaving the country, even if formerly disinclined for green tea, one may later on crave for it, out of the nostalgia for the beloved Archipelago.