#ilbollitore

An Italian friend of mine who lives here in Japan asked me:

“How comes that on the menu there is a list of at least five different type of teas but the English translation – if there is any – it’s always Japanese Green Tea?”

He is so right! For a non-Japanese reader, in fact, it’s really difficult to guess which tea is going to drink!

Sencha, Shincha, Hōjicha, Kukicha … all of them translated always as ‘Green Tea’…when they are so different it taste, color, aroma and cultivar!

Contrary to the English translation, in Japanese there is something before the little character of ‘cha 茶’, which means ‘tea’. What’s before? The essence of the tea itself! I am serious, read here:

  煎茶：Sen is ‘fresh’, so Sen-cha is fresh tea (i.e. ‘steamed’)

新茶：Shin is New, so Shincha is ‘new tea’ (i.e. picked up the current year during the first harvest)

焙じ茶： Hoji means roasted Hojicha is Roasted tea

茎茶：Kuki are the tea-leaves stalks, so stalks-made-tea.

And then also the tea quality might chance!

For instance, usually kukicha is considered one of the lowest quality tea, just because it is made of stalks instead of proper tea leaves. But this is not true all the times! The kukicha I’ve tasted today, for instance, it is one of the best quality ever! Not only because it comes directly from a renowned farm in Shizuoka, but also because these little stalks belongs to this year best quality Shincha (New Tea, we’ve said). A truly cup of freshness and steaminess expressed in a reach vegetable aroma, as delicious as a cup of King Shincha!

Thank you Akari for this precious present

Bubble Tea, which originates from Taiwan, is becoming very popular in Japan.

It’s iced-milk-tea with balls of tapioca that have to be sucked up through an extra-wise straw.

I must admit that this “chewy tea” is not my cup of tea!

However, as Inrecomend to all tea-obsessed, I think that it was with to give a try, here were I’ve enjoyed it: TEA STAND, nearby Kitasando Station on Meiji-dori, Tokyo.

Post and Pic by Elisa Da Rin

“Vivo sull’acqua, solo.

Senza moglie né figli, ho circumnavigato ogni possibilità per arrivare a questo: una piccola casa su acqua grigia, con le finestre sempre spalancate al mare stantio.

Certe cose non le scegliamo noi, ma siamo quello che che abbiamo fatto. Soffriamo, gli anni passano, lasciamo tante cose per la via, fuorché il bisogno di fardelli.

L’amore è una pietra che si è posata sul fondo del mare sotto acqua grigia. Ora, non chiedo nulla alla poesia, se non vero sentire: non pietà, non fame, non sollievo.

Tacita sposa, noi possiamo sederci a guardare acqua grigia, e in una vita che trabocca di mediocrità e rifiuti vivere come rocce. Scorderò di sentire, scorderò il mio dono.

E’ più grande e duro, questo, di ciò che là passa per vita.”

Poetry by Derek Walcott

Suggested by Alessandra Rovetta

Picture by Stefano Adami

From an idea of Jurga P.Alessi @primainfusione

Voice of Elisa Da Rin Puppel

Let’s rate! Click here and do vote the best tea-pic of “ Concorso Fotografico MondoThè - il Tuo Viaggio nel Mondo del Tè” by @MondoThè