Japanese Herbal Tea

Have you heard something about Japanese herbal tea?  Or, is there such a term as Japanese herbal tea?  Well, let’s find out here.

Japan is well-known as one of the tea centers in the world aside from China.  In fact, they have their tradition widely known as the Japanese tea ceremony, which is greatly one of the representative arts of Japan. 

Historically, the tea in Japan actually originated from China during the Tang and Song dynasties.  It was brought by the Japanese monks who studied in China and discovered the benefits of tea for overall health and for well-being.  It is considered that the main form of tea that is drunk by the Japanese is green tea or macha and it is considerably in powder form. 

Speaking of green tea, it is important to know that it is not an herbal tea.  As opposed to herbal tea which is actually an infusion made herbs and not tea derived from the Camellia sinesis, green tea is a product of the Camellia sinensis plant.  So is there such a Japanese herbal tea?

So far there are no known studies or researches that show the existence of Japanese herbal tea.  Or maybe, there is really no proof for the existence of Japanese herbal tea.  One of the supports for that claim is the fact that in Japan, only green tea is grown, and only green tea is brewed and drunk.  It is just recently that Japanese cultivated oolong teas, which certainly are not Japanese herbal teas.  

Aside from that support for the claim that there is no known Japanese herbal tea is the fact that only green tea are consumed in everyday life or even during the elaborate Japanese tea ceremony.  In particular, the most high class tea from Japan is Gyoku ro, which is derived from Shizuoka prefecture.  This particular type of Japanese tea is used during the Japanese tea ceremony and it comes in the form of powder.  It is necessary to know that this type is certainly a Japanese green tea and not a Japanese herbal tea.  It is also interesting to know that even the ordinary tea in Japan which is known as ryoka cha is in fact not a Japanese herbal tea, but also a Japanese green tea.

From such facts alone, it is clear that there is really no Japanese herbal tea of any kind.  But this does not mean that there is no place for Japanese herbal tea.  Maybe for some time, Japan will formulate their own Japanese herbal tea and distribute in many parts of the world.