History of Japanese Green Tea: Exploring the area around Kyoto and Learning about Tea History

In this video, we explore the area around Kyoto including Uji, Nara and Ujitawara, to learn about important sites in the development of Japanese green tea. It's here that tea was first consumed, cultivated and produced in early Japan, and it still remains significant to this day. We get to participate in a tea ceremony at Taihoan teahouse in Uji and learn about the different steps, principles and utensils of the modern Japanese tea ceremony. We'll also meet a farmer that moved from the city to the countryside, to embrace a more traditional lifestyle of rural tea cultivation. Learning about tea history really gives you a greater appreciation and respect for the drink, and all the work that went into making it what it is today.