We got to like Japanese Green Tea. Because we first had it in a
restaurant, our Japanese friends found us "sushi bar style" green tea.

The same company, Yamamotoyama, besides "Konacha" which is the above,
sells also "Sencha", translated as simply Green Tea, "Kokya Sencha",
translated as "Premium Green Tea", and Saikokya Sencha, translated as
"Special Occasion Green Tea."

I would like to know what makes sushi bar style green tea different from
plain green tea, and would also appreciate any information about the
others.

Thanks.

-S-

On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 22:39:27 -0500, Steve Freides typed:

> We got to like Japanese Green Tea. Because we first had it in a
> restaurant, our Japanese friends found us "sushi bar style" green tea.
>
> The same company, Yamamotoyama, besides "Konacha" which is the above,
> sells also "Sencha", translated as simply Green Tea, "Kokya Sencha",
> translated as "Premium Green Tea", and Saikokya Sencha, translated as
> "Special Occasion Green Tea."
>
> I would like to know what makes sushi bar style green tea different from
> plain green tea, and would also appreciate any information about the
> others.
>
> Thanks.
>
> -S-

I'm no expert - others here probably know more - but I'll tell you
what I know.

Kona-cha is powdered green tea; it can be made from stems and leaves
or a higher grade of green leaves only; a particular type of kona-cha
is used in the Japanese tea ceremony. My Japanese friends tell me that
the brand that you mention is a supermarket tea in Japan; nothing
"wrong" with it, but there are better ones.

The others that you mention are higher quality green teas, the names
are the "grades". What is served in sushi bars varies greatly. I live
in the NYC area (high native Japanese population) and sushi bars tend
to serve sencha, but others serve kona-cha. One Japanese friend tells
me that kona-cha's "nutty" flavor goes best with sushi; the other
tells me sencha does. I like them both.
--
Cordially,

Sonam Dasara
11/17/2005 10:47:11 AM

Thanks - that's certainly more than I knew before.

-S-

"Sonam Dasara" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 22:39:27 -0500, Steve Freides typed:
>
>> We got to like Japanese Green Tea. Because we first had it in a
>> restaurant, our Japanese friends found us "sushi bar style" green
>> tea.
>>
>> The same company, Yamamotoyama, besides "Konacha" which is the above,
>> sells also "Sencha", translated as simply Green Tea, "Kokya Sencha",
>> translated as "Premium Green Tea", and Saikokya Sencha, translated as
>> "Special Occasion Green Tea."
>>
>> I would like to know what makes sushi bar style green tea different
>> from
>> plain green tea, and would also appreciate any information about the
>> others.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> -S-
>
> I'm no expert - others here probably know more - but I'll tell you
> what I know.
>
> Kona-cha is powdered green tea; it can be made from stems and leaves
> or a higher grade of green leaves only; a particular type of kona-cha
> is used in the Japanese tea ceremony. My Japanese friends tell me that
> the brand that you mention is a supermarket tea in Japan; nothing
> "wrong" with it, but there are better ones.
>
> The others that you mention are higher quality green teas, the names
> are the "grades". What is served in sushi bars varies greatly. I live
> in the NYC area (high native Japanese population) and sushi bars tend
> to serve sencha, but others serve kona-cha. One Japanese friend tells
> me that kona-cha's "nutty" flavor goes best with sushi; the other
> tells me sencha does. I like them both.
> --
> Cordially,
>
> Sonam Dasara
> 11/17/2005 10:47:11 AM

Steve Freides wrote:
> We got to like Japanese Green Tea. Because we first had it in a
> restaurant, our Japanese friends found us "sushi bar style" green
> tea.
> The same company, Yamamotoyama, besides "Konacha" which is the
> above, sells also "Sencha", translated as simply Green Tea, "Kokya
> Sencha", translated as "Premium Green Tea", and Saikokya Sencha,
> translated as "Special Occasion Green Tea."
> I would like to know what makes sushi bar style green tea
> different from plain green tea, and would also appreciate any
> information about the others.
> Thanks.
> -S-

http://sencha.com/konacha.html has information about Kona-cha.

HTH

"Steve Freides" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks - that's certainly more than I knew before.
>
> -S-
>
> "Sonam Dasara" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 22:39:27 -0500, Steve Freides typed:
>>
>>> We got to like Japanese Green Tea. Because we first had it in a
>>> restaurant, our Japanese friends found us "sushi bar style" green tea.
>>>
>>> The same company, Yamamotoyama, besides "Konacha" which is the above,
>>> sells also "Sencha", translated as simply Green Tea, "Kokya Sencha",
>>> translated as "Premium Green Tea", and Saikokya Sencha, translated as
>>> "Special Occasion Green Tea."
>>>
>>> I would like to know what makes sushi bar style green tea different from
>>> plain green tea, and would also appreciate any information about the
>>> others.
>>>
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> -S-
>>
>> I'm no expert - others here probably know more - but I'll tell you
>> what I know.
>>
>> Kona-cha is powdered green tea; it can be made from stems and leaves
>> or a higher grade of green leaves only; a particular type of kona-cha
>> is used in the Japanese tea ceremony. My Japanese friends tell me that
>> the brand that you mention is a supermarket tea in Japan; nothing
>> "wrong" with it, but there are better ones.
>>
>> The others that you mention are higher quality green teas, the names
>> are the "grades". What is served in sushi bars varies greatly. I live
>> in the NYC area (high native Japanese population) and sushi bars tend
>> to serve sencha, but others serve kona-cha. One Japanese friend tells
>> me that kona-cha's "nutty" flavor goes best with sushi; the other
>> tells me sencha does. I like them both.
>> --
>> Cordially,
>>
>> Sonam Dasara
>> 11/17/2005 10:47:11 AM

The Kona-cha's that I've had are broken into really fine pieces, but not
powdered like Macha. It's more like what you would find in a tea bag, very
fine, but you wouldn't want to whip it into water and drink it.

Blues