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Serving As Your Voice of the Nikkei Community Since 1902
Vol. 63, Issue 24 / June 24, 2008
Japan Into America 4
Japanese green tea explores western market with quality
By Shihou Sasaki
The North American Post
One change of the last decade can be seen in the aisles of local markets. The green tea section has become a big part of the tea aisle featuring dozens of brands by companies across the world.
Yasuhara Matsumoto of Obubu from Kyoto visits Seattle for Japanese green tea promotion in February.
Photo by Shihou Sasaki
 | In Seattle's Nihonmachi (Japan town), green tea has been a main drink for Japanese immigrants dealt by small markets. Kay Yamaguchi of North Coast Importing and Tomio Moriguchi of Uwajimaya recalled that those stores had wooden boxes and packed into a small bag for customers. According to the green tea history source from Shizuoka Prefecture, Japanese green tea was a main source of collateral for rehabilitation loans in Japan after World War II.
The Ministry of Finance Japan reported that Japan exported 4,599 tons of green tea to the United States in 1965, but the amount gradually decreased through the 1980s despite a huge promotion in the 1970s. In the states, the Issei (Japanese immigrant) population went down, and the generation shifted to Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans) to Sansei (third generation Japanese Americans), more coffee drinkers.
Eugene Levy of My Green Tea recalled that about 10 years ago only a five-or-six-foot width of shelf was available for green tea products. He once found in a nutrition magazine that only six percent of Americans drink tea.
"You just import green tea and place it in the store," Levy said in Japanese. "It's not the way in this country to sell the green tea. We need them to taste it and explain what the green tea is and why it is good. We have to sell the 'idea' of the new life style."
Levy has been demonstrating how to taste the green tea in local markets and other occasions including the Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival and Eastside Nihon Matsuri. Other small tea business groups started new markets including Obubu, a green tea farm in Kyoto, which made a Seattle visit last February.
The amount of tea consumption has regained in the 2000s with the popularity of Japanese food. In 2006, over 1,575 tons of green tea was imported to the states from Japan, compared to about 1,100 tons in 2005.
Yet, the life style for Japanese green tea is not completely ready. The Koots Green Tea, a green tea caf? chain from Japan, has operated stores in Seattle and Bellevue the last two years, but the business was shut down on May 11.
In an interview with then-managing director Nobuyuki Tanaka of Koots Green Tea Bellevue, he said that the goal was not only to have green tea but also to make high quality green tea using teapots rather than tea bags.
Masaaki Sugimoto, left, and Yasutoshi Sada from Shizuoka.
Photo by Shihou Sasaki
 | Yasutoshi Sada of Shizuoka Prefectual Research Institute of Agriculture & Forestry and Masaaki Sugimoto of Sugimoto Seicha Co., Ltd. visited Seattle in January for a future product of the Japanese green tea. The group has an on-going project to create a drip tool for green tea.
"Using a tea pot is the best way for high quality green tea," Sada said of the new product. "But you would still be able to taste the tea with the tool if you do not know how to use a tea pot for green tea."
The group plans to start selling the product around 2010.
"Japanese green tea tastes good," he said, "that's what I want people to realize."
Kyohei Sugimoto of Sugimoto U.S.A. said the green tea in the states often has other flavors including mint, herbs or even sweetness, which would be easier to taste. The tea is sometimes drank as "medicine" or "supplement" for healthiness, he pointed out.
Sugimoto participated in the annual World Tea Convention held in Las Vegas last weekend. Three types of tea from Sugimoto U.S.A. brand "Sa Japanese Tea" were selected as finalists of the World Tea Championship. The Genmai Cha won the Green Tea Blended/Flavored division, and Sen Cha and Ban Cha were both in the top five of the Green Tea Japan Style division.
"You see green tea with mint or other flavors in this country," he said. "But in the competition, our original Japanese tea is still recognized as the best, which I think is good news for the Japanese green tea industry."
In the convention, he said he could see the possibility of the future green tea business. At this point, it is the time not to compete yet but cooperate with each other for promoting their products and building a bigger market for the future, he said.
The hope also comes from the Japanese green tea industry.
In cultural aspect, the business may impact on Chado. Genshitsu Sen, a former grand tea master of Chado Urasenke said in his visit to Seattle last month that the while Chado is a cultural form, separated from business, it is always appreciated if green tea becomes more popular.
Levy of My Green Tea said that Japanese food has been popularized in the country, and can still step forward to the next level. The green tea would follow the mainstream, he added.
"Sushi has become a household name in America," he said. "Hopefully, Japanese green tea would be the next."
ARCHIVE
April 16, 2008 -"Pioneer" Hideo Nomo Brings Changes in U.S.-Japan Professional Baseball
April 2, 2008 - Is Japanese Pop Culture a Part of American Culture?
March 12, 2009 - Seattle's Japanese Cuisine Moves forward to Next Stage
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