Shizuoka Green Tea from a Funeral with a Kanji Lesson

My husband brought this home from a funeral the other day in one of the funeral gift sets that are commonly given to guests at funerals in Japan. Since my husband works for one of the larger funeral orchestrating companies in the region, it isn't surprising when he brings these home since his job makes it easier for him to pop into services to pay his respects to the families of his friends and neighbors when someone his family knows in the area passes. Green tea is a frequent component of such gift sets being that it is traditional, useful, and in the case of tea from Shizuoka, usually pretty delicious.

    I made this cup first thing in the morning in the fancy tea cup I brought home from Tokyo Disneyland last winter, with its festive year of the boar design. The gentle flavor of this green tea seemed almost juxtaposed to its cartoon-clad vessel, saved by the muted colors and Japanese elements of the design.  

    This tea was very smooth and soft, with such a gentle flavor that it was very easy to drink the entire cup, even the dregs at the bottom, without too much notice. I know the umami flavor was there only because the tea did not feel hollow or as if it were missing something, but it wasn't brought to the forefront. With a naturally soothing flavor, this tea was immensely enjoyable and just the thing to take the chill out of the air on that early December morning. If the flavors had been much softer, it might have felt more like tea-flavored water, but they were exactly where they needed to be to pull off this gentle beverage.

    After enjoying this cup of tea I went on a hunt to find more information about the company that produces this tea in an effort to provide more information about obtaining some for readers elsewhere, as waiting for funerals and hoping the family of the deceased opted to give out green tea and instant coffee sets isn't exactly a sure thing.

    Unfortunately, my internet searching powers and not what they used to be and my Japanese isn't really up to snuff either, so what I did learn is that the character on the front of the package (露) means ro (open, public) or tsuyu (dew), of which I consider the latter to be more appropriate here. The soft tea does bring to mind an image like the dew on the tea leaves in early spring. At least it does when I think about the kanji now.

This post is supported by Shizuoka Green Tea Guide, one of City-Cost's Supporters helping City-Cost bloggers to enjoy life in Japan and engage in new experiences.