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O-cha
used to be a luxury item!? |
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O-cha is one
of the most popular beverages in Japan. O-cha is Japanese tea, also
referred to as green tea. Green tea has long been associated with
Japanese people but it is said that the drink actually came from
China about 1200 years ago (cha is ‘tea’ in Chinese,
and Japanese added the honorific prefix ‘o’). Tea drinking
didn't become popular until the 12th century when the upper class
people began to enjoy maccha, a high quality powdered green tea.
During the 15th to 16th centuries, tea was closely associated with
the clergy, and Zen Buddhism spread cha-do, or tea ceremonies. However,
drinking o-cha didn't become popular among the masses until the
18th century, when a monk from China introduced a new way of drinking
o-cha: pouring hot water directly on the leaves. Unlike cha-do,
which requires whipping tea powder with a bamboo whisk until it
foams, this new style of drinking tea was so simple . Nowadays,
Zojirushi electric dispensing pot makes it even easier to make tea
because you can pour hot water at the touch of a button!
I'm so lucky to be born in such a convenient era! Today o-cha is
as popular as ever and even teenagers love it for their health. |
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Proverbs
show how o-cha is popular in Japan |
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There are many
Japanese who drink o-cha in the morning, just like Americans drink
coffee. Many Japanese also drink o-cha at the end of each meal to
relax. There are many proverbs using o-cha in the Japanese language.
For example, Chabashira ga tatsu to engi ga yoi, meaning "it
is auspicious when a tea stalk floats upright." Actually, when
a stalk floats upright, it has to be kept to yourself or otherwise
it won't bring you luck. I never get good luck because I boast to
everybody when I see a stalk floating upright! Let me tell you one
more proverb. Asacha wa sonohi no nan nogare, meaning "if you
drink tea in the morning, you will have a trouble-free day."
Now you know how o-cha has been rooted in Japanese lives, right?
Let me introduce you a recipe using o-cha!
[to Part 2] |
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