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Keiji Kitani

How is the Price of Tea Developed

For both Sencha and Matcha, there are teas of many different price levels available. While it makes sense that the more expensive teas taste good, I’d like to explain a bit more about the various factors affecting the price.These three things most strongly affect the pricing:1. The quality of the teaOf course, the quality of the tea affects the price more than anything. Premium teas appear glossy, and are stuffed full of nutrients which give them a good weight. The flavor contains a large amount of umami compounds. and they have a wonderful fragrance. On top of this, the color...

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Keiji Kitani

The Refining Process for Sencha

While the basic form of tea is already formed when it’s crude tea, it’s still too rough to be sold. In this form the tea still includes stems, powder, and buds, as well as small hardened balls formed when the tea is roasted, and other components. The tea is still high in moisture content, and it’s unsuitable for long-term storage at home.Tea is sold as crude tea on the market to tea finishers. Our company buys most of our crude tea from the tea market in Kyoto. We take this tea and refine it into a state which can then...

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Keiji Kitani

The Unique Properties of Ujicha

Ujicha is one of the leading brands of tea in Japan, and ialong with Shizuokacha and Sayamacha it is one of the three great teas of Japan.So what kind of tea is Ujicha, and what makes it unique? I’ll be introducing the definition of what constitutes Ujicha, the amount produced, and the reason why this tea is so beloved.The Definition of UjichaUjicha indicates tea which has been produced and processed around the Uji Tawara region of Kyoto, but not just anything can be labelled Ujicha. Every year the rules for the labelling of foods become stricter, and in 2004 the...

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Keiji Kitani

Drinking tea could beat dementia

In 2025 There Will Be Over 7,000,000 Cases of Alzheimer’s! Becoming a common disease in Japan.If you were to develop Alzheimer’s disease, what would you do?What about if your parents developed the disease?This is a worry everyone thinks about as they age.Alzheimer’s is rare before 65 with a rate of 1.5%, but this rises to 30% before age 80 (that’s one in every five people!), and in the aging society of Japan, it’s increasingly common.As Japan’s society ages, the number of patients is rapidly rising as well. Treatment is difficult, and many patients still have healthy bodies, which can make...

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