By Per Oscar Brekell
Bilingual Edition

 

In spring of this year I started to taste different teas. Not only Matcha but also Japanese green tea.

A small local tea shop recommended me a book about tea because it is beginner friendly. And so it really is!

Oscar Brekell was no new name to me. As one who has to watch several Japanese TV programs where foreigners appear and talk about their work and live, I already knew him (and some others involved in tea).
However, Sweden-born Oscar Brekell is well-known among Japanese tea professionals too and gives lessons for Japanese interested in Japanese tea.

In this book he summarizes all important facts tea-lovers should know about Japanese tea in two languages: English and Japanese. This makes this book perfect for people who like to study the language too.

Contents:

What is „Japanese tea“?

  • The taste elements of Japanese tea
  • Aroma
  • Compounds and efficacy

Types of Japanese tea

  • Sencha (Orthodox)
  • Fukamushi Sencha (Deep steamed sencha)
  • Gyokuro
  • Kabusecha
  • Bancha
  • Kyobancha
  • Hojicha
  • Kukicha/Bocha
  • Konacha
  • Matcha
  • and more…

The secret behind the flavor of Japanese tea

Single Estate Japanese tea

  • Zairai
  • Yabukita
  • Koshun/ Yutakamidori/ Tsuyuhikari
  • Shizu-7132/ Yamakai/ Sayamakaori
  • and more…

Japan‘s tea growing regions

  • Shizuoka
  • Kyoto・Kinki region
  • East Japan・Tokai area
  • Kyushu・Shikoku

How to steep Japanese tea

  • Basic tea ware
  • The standard steeping method for Sencha
  • Steeping Sencha in iced water
  • How to make cold brewed Sencha
  • How to steep Gyokuro
  • How to whisk Matcha
  • How to steep Hojicha

The beauty of Japanese Teapots

Column

  • Traveling teapot
  • First, second and third flush Sencha
  • Tea in plastic bottles
  • “Tea is for drinking, not for looking at“

Oscar Brekell‘s Tea Selection

Glossary

While living in Japan, I came in contact with Japanese tea and how to serve it early.
Actually, we had one customer who gave us a traditional teapot to make us tea during our breaks (commonly at 10am and 3pm) and my colleague showed me how to do it.
Through my Japanese husband I knew of the main areas producing tea in Japan.
So even though I already was aware about a good portion of Japanese tea, and this book is mainly talking about the basics, it still had many new information for me. For example, I learned how different steeping methods can influence the taste and how a second or third steeping should be carried out in detail.

The book also made me want to try more and different kinds of Japanese teas and also to try different brewing methods like the cold brewed tea in a bottle. The descriptions of the different teas helped me narrowing down which will probably fit my taste – for example kukicha – and I was right, I liked it!

It is a book full of love for Japanese tea and it spreads this feeling! If you like Japanese tea and would love to learn more about it through this book, I would be happy if you could click on the Amazon affiliate link below!

The Book of Japanese Tea
Author: Per Oscar Brekell
Price: $42.22
Click to see more details  

 

 

A Beginner’s Guide to Japanese Tea: Selecting and Brewing the Perfect Cup of Sencha, Matcha, and Other Japanese Teas
Author: Per Oscar Brekell
Price: $14.99 (Pre-order December 2021)
Click to see more details  

 

 

The Book of Tea
Author: Okakura Kakuzo
Price: $13.40
Click to see more details