Ryokucha (緑茶) -Green tea, which is familiar to Japanese people, is getting loved as a “refreshment drink” in other countries to refresh your mood and improve productivity.
Japanese unsweetened green tea not only quenches your thirst but also has a refreshing taste and aroma.
Today, many countries are getting recognizing “Unsweetened tea” for health, refreshing, and relaxing.
Not only green tea, Japanese bottles tea has a variety of traditional tea products.
Japanese Unsweetened Green Tea
Ito En O~i Ocha
Because I was born as a Japanese, I have to talk about “O~i Ocha” as first.
Ito En is the pioneer tea company innovated canned and bottled green tea in Japan, and has been loved by Japanese people as the staple “bottled green tea”.
“O~i Ocha” is used tea leaves exclusively for the product and sticking to keeping the freshness of tea leaves.
Because of it, the green tea aroma is completely different from the other products.
The taste is refreshing and clear. Since there is no acquired taste, it is easy to drink for all kinds of people.
Suntory Fukuju En Iemon
Suntory Iemon was the first rival challenged Ito En O~i Ocha in 2004.
Iemon is supervised by Fukujuen, which the tea distributor has been for 200 years in Kyoto, and is blended over 20 types of tea leaves and matcha.
It’s a nice mellow and refreshing taste.
Due to the ideal balance of flavor, it doesn’t bother taste when having meals with it.
Coca Cola Japan Ayataka
The “Ayataka” concept is “the green tea just brewed in Kyusu-a teapot”, so this was the first murky green tea color item, until then, making murky color item had been a taboo for bottled beverage products.
The murky green tea color is from the premium Uji Matcha powder, and also this product is supervised by “Kanbayashi Syunsyou Honten”, which has been the tea distributor for 450 years, Uji, in Kyoto.
“Ayataka” has an elegant taste with the scent of Matcha, shake the bottle well before tasting to enjoy fully the flavor and aroma of the authentic green tea.
However, like “special green tea”, those who are not good at astringency may be better chose “O~i Ocha” or “Iemon”.
These three bottled green teas are always ranked in the top sales and have been competing since Ito En started selling green tea products.
Not just taste these bottled green tea, do you want to know about the never-ending battle among three major companies.
Blended Tea
According to the Coca-Cola Japan website, “blended tea beverages” are beverages that are made by blending (mixing) various plant-derived ingredients and extracting or brewing them into containers.
In this market, mostly the top 2 products have been shared for a long time, which is “Sokenbicha” and “Jurokucha”.
Main customers of bottled “Blended teas” are women especially pregnant and mommys because it doesn’t contain caffeine.
Also due to the healthy eating trend, the sales has been slightly increasing.
Coca Cola Japan SoukenBi Cha
“Soukenbicha” (爽健美茶) is a bottled blended tea that has been popular since it was on the market in 1994 with the concept of “fresh, healthy and beautiful”.
The product features are “caffeine-free”, “28 kinds of allergy specific raw materials are not used”, and a uniquely refreshing taste.
- Coix seeds
- Brown rice
- Barley
- Dokudami (Houttuynia cordata)
- Hub tea (Senna occidentalis)
- Chicory
- Evening primrose
- Nanban millet
- barley baby leaves,
- Ashitaba (Angelica keiskei)
- Mugwort
- Quinoa
- Sesame seeds
- flax seed
- Rooibos
Asahi Juroku Cha
Asahi Soft Drinks started selling the belnded tea, Juroku Cha in 1993.
“Jurokucha”(十六茶) is based on the concept of
“a tea that blends 16 (Juroku means sixteen in Japanese) good ingredients in an exquisite balance”.
The main ingredients are below and has refreshing aftertaste.
- 2 kinds of Barley
- Hub tea (Senna occidentalis)
- Barley Sprouts
- Corn
- Brown rice
- Dandelion root
- Loquat leaf
- Kawaroketsumei (Chamaecrista)
- Burdock
- Foxtail millet
- Panicum miliaceum
- Red bean
- Perilla leaf
- Jujube,
- Yuzu peel
Japanese Roasted Tea
Japanese roasted tea called “Houji-cha” in Japanese, made from roasted green tea leaves and stems.
Unlike green tea, Houjicha is reddish-brown. The roasting process eliminates the astringency, and the flavor is mild and nutty, making it a perfect drink for tea time.
Ito En Houji Cha
“Itoen Hojicha” uses 100% of the highest quality scented green tea produced in Japan. It is blended the best teas with different roasting levels to bring out a sweet scent and extract at a high temperature for a short time to suppress miscellaneous tastes and create a gentle taste.
Coca Cola Japan Ayataka Houjicha
“Ayataka Houjicha” has finally released from the “Ayataka” series, Coca Cola Japan in 2018 as the nearly trending of Houjicha.
The murky color which is the concept of “Ayataka” remained and
The rich flavor of roasted green tea, nice astringency, so you can enjoy an authentic taste as if brewed in a teapot.
Also, it has a good aftertaste.
Others
Suntory Oolong Tea
“Oolong tea” (烏龍茶) is a semi-fermented Chinese tea that has a wide variety, 800 species.
Oolong tea contains “Oolong Tea Polymerized Polyphenols (OTPP)”, a polyphenol peculiar to oolong tea, which improves fat burning and speeds up metabolism.
In 2006, Suntory launched black oolong tea as a food for specified health uses. Since it contains caffeine, it has diuretic effects.
In addition to helping digestion, it also has the effect of warming the body, which is also effective as a measure against cold sensitivity.
Burley Tea ( Mugi Cha)
Suntory, Mugicha.
“Barley tea” called “Mugi cha” in Japan is a roasted-grain-based infusion made from barley which is a staple across East Asian regions such as Japan, the Koreas, China, and Taiwan. It has a roasty, toasty, nutty flavor.
In Japan, it is usually served cold and is a popular summertime refreshment.
It reminds me the time when I was a kid, “Mugi cha” is the summer drink for children so it is always chilled in the refregiarater at each home.
Besides, Barley tea is not only for quenching the thirst and also improves blood flow.
Tokuho Products
“Tokuho”(特保), “Tokutei Hokenyou Syokuhin”(特定保健用食品) is the official name, means “Food for specified health use (Tokuho)” refers to commercially available food that has a scientific basis for efficacy and safety, and has been approved by the Consumer Affairs Agency in Japan.
“Tokuho” labeled bottled tea developed for consumers who are concerned about body fat is increasing due to an increase in lifestyle-related diseases since “Helthia Ryokucha” produced by Kao in 2010.
“Suntory Iemon, Tokucha”, is one of the top sales among the “Tokuho” products.
Conclusion
Japan has long loved to drink green tea, but today the Japanese enjoy a myriad of different types of tea, from domestic green tea to British tea, which is favored by exotic species.
Now, you know that not only green tea and Matcha but there are also many kinds of unsweetened tea in Japan, as bottled teas!
If you visit Japan or oriental grocery stores, try some of the Japanese bottled tea!
Japanese bottled teas (except for iced English Black tea) are unsweetened and bring you several health benefits!
