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Charaku is pleased to present two new Houji-cha tea (roasted green tea) products.
Apart from Sencha, Houji-cha is another popular kind of green tea in Japan. Tea leaves for producing Houji-cha are usually late-harvested leaves or twigs. Compared to other kind of Japanese green teas, Houji-cha is dried at a high temperature and roasted on a charcoal fire, therefore it is characterised by its unique roast-aroma and its red-brown infusion. Because Houji-cha contains a low amount of catechin, it is no astringent but has a soothing taste. Houji-cha is especially favoured as an after-dinner drink in Japan.

Super Premium Houji-Cha
This tea is produced in Kyoto-Uji using Sencha tea leaves harvested in Watsuka and Asamiya (Kyoto). This is a super premium quality Houji-cha with strong roast aroma. Its superb aroma and fine taste has won this tea a fine reputation and it has been used for serving customers in famous and traditional Japanese style hotels and restaurants in Kyoto.

Premium Houji-cha
Produced in Kyoto-Uji. It has a very nice roasted aroma with a mild nutty flavour. This tea is suitable for a summer drink too, being chilled in fridge after brewing.

Hurry! Time’s running out! Submit your green tea recipe to be in the running to win this exquisite hand-made tea pot.

Maybe you’ve baked some matcha cookies, confectionary, cakes or created your own drink using Japanese Green Tea as a base. Here’s a reminder of the competition from our Home Page:

Win this fabulous teapot pottered by the famous Tokoname Kyusu factory and valued at over us$100.
Simply email your Japanese green tea recipe to info@tea-charaku.com
The lucky winner will be decided on December 12th 2009 so you will receive the prize before Christmas. The best recipe in our opinion will win.

Here’s a recipe we trialled and enjoyed recently for Matcha Cheese Cake.

Ingredients:

-10 x plain tea biscuits, 40g of unsalted butter
-200g of cream cheese, 100g of granulated sugar, 2 eggs, 100g of full cream, 2tsp lemon juice, 40gm plain flour, 2tsp matcha powder

icing sugar to sprinkle over for decoration


Method:

1. Preheat Oven to 170C
2. Place biscuits in a plastic bag and crush to fine crumbs. Add melted butter, mix well and press into the bottom of a 15cm diameter cake tin.
3. Let cream cheese stand until soft then add sugar and mix well.
4. Add eggs, fresh cream and lemon juice continuing to mix well.
5. Sift flour and matcha together then fold into cream cheese mixture.
6. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 50-60 minutes. If the mixture browns too quickly cover with foil.
7. Allow to cool after cooking then refrigerate until chilled.
8. Decorate with sifted icing sugar.

Bon Appetite!

DRINKING five cups of green tea a day can slash the risk of developing certain blood cancers, it is claimed.


Researchers saw the chance of developing such cancers drop by 42 per cent compared with those who drank one cup or less.

Drinking this amount daily was also found to be associated with 48 per cent lower risk of lymph system cancers.

Previous research has shown the tea, drunk in China, Japan and the Middle East, has a host of benefits including staving off cancers, helping the heart, boosting the brain and lowering levels of “bad” cholesterol.

The latest study, carried out at Tohoku University School of Medicine in Sendai, Japan, and published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, looked at the diets and green-tea drinking habits of 41,761 Japanese adults aged 40 to 79.

They had no history of cancer and were followed for development of blood and lymph-system cancers.

The study confirmed the benefits. Researchers also found a reduced risk of blood-related cancers even among obese patients “considered to have higher risk of these”.
Daily Express UK 15th October 2009
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/134079/Green-tea-cuts-cancer-risk