Not only tea
From the middle of the xi in., When Japan was actually anew "Open" Europeans, a steady stereotype "Japanese and tea". No in vain Japan then called "Country houses". He enjoys great popularity worldwide, but nowhere has this drink gained such a value in a person’s life as in this country. Here, tea drinking is not just thickening thirst. This is a special ceremony (te-BU), in which the contemplation of nature and objects of art merged together, silent meditation and communication. His preparation – creativity, special ritual, requiring silence, privacy, peace.
For more than 12 centuries, the Japanese drink tea. Initially, they were known only by local low quality varieties. The taste of the present they learned only in HP in., When Monk Aisei discovered that high-quality Chinese tea can be grown in the southern suburb of Kyoto – the town of UDI. So it was the beginning of Japanese tea. By the way, the best varieties are still grown in these parts.
If you ask the Japanese today, what kind of tea varieties exist, you can hardly count on an exhaustive answer, for their very much. With all the manifold, there are two main types – sheet and powder. The highest grade of green tea – Gökuro (.: precious drop) prepare from the first upper sheets of tea bush; erased into powder he called Matte. This powder tea is designed exclusively for the tea ceremony. Tea of the second collection (leaflets located as it were on the second tier of the bush) are called Sanja. (This word as a whole in Japan denote green tea). He is quite expensive, it is served in good restaurants and at home when receiving guests. In everyday life, the Japanese are most drinking a bathhouse, which is prepared from larger and old leaves of the bottom of the bush. It is this inexpensive view that is served free of charge in all restaurants. It contains little caffeine. In the roasted bathing, it feels hardly a fearful smell of a haze, and usually drink it in the summer cold.
Also cold Japanese love to drink Cookite. It’s already, strictly speaking not tea, because it is prepared not from the leaves, but from the twigs and the stems of a tea bush, and therefore it contains an insignificant fraction of caffeine.To give the taste of Cookite, it is not brewed, but cook. Based on it is preparing medical teas. For example, one that is drunk in diarrhea, stomach pain, digestive disorders. Prepare it as follows: a glass of boiled kukitya, remove from heat, add one umeboshi, a few drops of shoyu and juice of fresh ginger and leave it for a minute or two.
Japanese drink more genmaicha – a mixture of a large green tea with air rice grains. In addition there is a barley tea – roasted barley tea, drink it cold, tea and seaweed – kombutya, which is made from seaweed powder. On special occasions such as Engagement, and revered Japanese seasons, preparing the so-called tea from Sakura – Sakurai; Strictly speaking, this is not tea, brewed with boiling water salted cherry blossoms.
All the variety of known and unknown to us varieties of black tea called Kotya.
A cup of green tea (hile) in Japan – a symbol of human communication. It accounts for 80% of total consumption in the country. Hile serving almost all the meetings. Its brewed in teapots porcelain, previously rinsed with hot water, and then capped and allowed to brew; poured into cups, without adding boiling water.
They love, and very Japanese coffee. In the year almost every drink more than 2 kg of the drink, the greater portion of the soluble, which is usually drunk at work and in the cafe.
Of alcoholic beverages is still popular sake which warmed or cold drink. It is prepared from rice, water (quality which is extremely important for the taste) and the leaven special. The tradition of the drink thing of the past, when sake was used in religious rituals. Until now, the Shinto shrines can be seen a large number of barrels of this drink, badged as a gift to the gods.
Japanese love and whiskey domestic and imported, as well as beer. Constantly growing assortment of this drink: if 10-12 years ago sold 60 items of imported beers, in the mid-90s – more than 200. Known beer producers – the company Suntory, Kirin and other products produced on license from Budweiser and Heineken. Domestic beer is the cheapest, somewhat more expensive produced under licensees, most expensive – imported.
Wine Japanese for the first time hung in XVI in., which is among European novelties brought Portuguese. Own production began only in the second half of the 4th century.
In everyday life, the Japanese drink many a wide variety of non-alcoholic beverages not only domestic, but also foreign, as well as fruit juices. Mineral water appeared relatively recently. Just a few decades ago, she was considered a delicacy and was served in bars and restaurants only in cocktails. Because of the high cost of drinking her house was considered very prestigious. Only from the second half of the 80s at the price of it comes with other non-alcoholic drinks.
