Tokyo, Sep 15 (ANI): Japan produces a good quality of green tea. It is used as an ingredient in delicacies at Harajuku, at the centre of Tokyo city. The Matcha flavor delicacies attract youth and foreign tourists. These are sweets that were made with Matcha, a finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea. By mixing matcha powder into ice cream or cake, the combination of bitter flavors and sweet tastes brings out the flavor. The sweets made of matcha are popular among females. The first company which used tea in sweets was Gashoan, a tea and cake maker with stores located in Shizuoka, the home of tea. The company is producing and selling shortbread and baumkuchen. The popular product of Matcha Baumkuchen is baked after wrapping the ingredients created by mixing wheat flour with Matcha powder onto the mold. Matcha has a clear green color. It’s said that it takes effort to create this color. It is wrapped about 20 times, organizing the shape and baking until browned. It takes about one hour until it is baked. Enjoying tea has formed a unique culture in Japan in the 800 years since it was introduced to the country. The proper way to drink tea is to put tea leaves into a teapot, pouring boiling water in and enjoy. In order to tastefully savor the tea, you need to have fine quality tea leaves, water and a tea set. Aichi Prefecture’s Tokoname City is known for making teapots. In this city, craftsmen make teapots in sections. Workers melt soil and place the materials into the molds of each section. The mold absorbs moisture and hardens. The product will be taken out when it stiffens. The next step is to install each individual part, such as the spout, handle, lid, etc. Everything is handmade. Occasionally, only one craftsman is in charge of the entire process of making a teapot. This craftsman is making the shape of a teapot with his hands using only the soil, but not using a mold. Spinning the wheel not only sharpens the senses, but also fine-tunes the shape and thickness of various parts of the teapot with the fingers. The teapots from Tokoname really bring out the flavor of the tea.
