Let's 茶 茶 茶


~Know・Drink・Think about Tea~
三

On the Shift Away From Tea

Shift Away From Tea Culture


The graph above shows the annual consumption of PET bottled tea beverages and loose leaf tea (green tea).This graph shows that even though people are "moving away from tea," the amount of money they spend on bottled and matcha lattes and other tea beverages is increasing, indicating an increase in terms of the amount of money they pay for tea. However, less money is being spent on loose leaf tea for teapots.(The problem that this causes dictates the different types and amounts of tea leaves used.)

Amount of Tea Leaves

Tea made in a teapot PET bottled drinks
5g/120ml 3g/500ml
1g/24ml 1g/about166ml

The table above shows the amount of tea leaves used in teapots and PET bottled beverages. If shows the amount of tea leaves used in teapots and bottled beverages.Thus, the amount of tea leaves used in teapot tea and PET-bottled beverages is about seven times different.

Types of Tea Leaves

The tea used in PET bottled beverages is very often sanban-cha or yonban-cha.Generally, ichiban-cha is more expensive and is used as a leaf tea to be brewed in a kyusu (Japanese teapot).The price of the third and fourth-grade teas is lower than that of the first-grade tea, So they are used to provide a cheaper price in PET bottled beverages.Therefore, as consumption of PET bottled beverages increases, lower-priced third and fourth teas sell well, but higher-priced first teas are less likely to sell.This has led to a relative decline in prices. In many cases, the amount of first-grade tea used is only a small amount, even if the label notes "its inclusion. Extraction technology from tea leaves for PET bottles has also improved, reducing the amount of tea leaves used.

Thoughts of the People Actually Involved

On the Shift Away From Tea

We asked the person in charge of tea at Ise Agricultural Cooperative what he thought about the tea industry's shift away from teapots.He said, "The times are moving and it is inevitable.However, we will continue to promote the delicious taste of tea made in a teapot, and furthermore, we would like everyone to think about and promote alternative ways of consuming tea to replace the conventional way of drinking it, which will help stabilize the income of tea growers."Indeed, times have changed rapidly from the days when tea was often drunk from a teapot to the present day, where PET bottled beverages have become the mainstream.However, drinking tea in a teapot is an important part of Japanese culture.Therefore, I feel that it is necessary for everyone to cooperate and think about how to protect this industry.

What We Want Consumers to Do

whose quote? Consider the following guotation ...
"Instead of drinking coffee, buy a teapot once and have a cup of good leaf tea at home".You will feel the goodness that only green tea has that you can't experience with coffee.

References

農林水産省 茶業及びお茶の文化の振興に関する基本方針現状と課題
Link:https://www.maff.go.jp/j/seisan/tokusan/cha/attach/pdf/kihonhou-18.pdf
Partially processed for use.