Fully fermented tea “Gosekicha” for good health

There are many types of tea in Japan, but a rare fermented tea is produced in Otoyo-cho, Nagaoka-gun, Kochi Prefecture, in the middle of Shikoku. Goishi tea, a fully fermented tea that has been attracting attention in recent years as a health food rich in lactic acid bacteria, has been produced for more than 400 years in this mountain town rich in nature.

It is said that Goishi tea was introduced from China about 400 years ago. It is characterized by its unique flavor produced through a two-step fermentation process. At its peak, more than 100 tons were produced, but by the end of the Showa period, only one house was producing it, and it was in danger of disappearing for a while. But a cooperative was formed to preserve this traditional tea, and now four farmers and one corporation make Goishi tea.” (Yuji Yoshimura, Otoyo Town Goishi Tea Cooperative)

Take a sip of Goishi tea and a slightly peculiar sour taste fills your mouth. It tastes similar to pu-erh tea, a fermented Chinese tea, but it has a mellower taste, and as you get used to the sourness, the deeper taste becomes addictive. The vegetable lactic acid bacteria contained in abundance by the two-step fermentation is said to be 23 times more than that in Pu-erh tea, and since vegetable lactic acid bacteria work in the body without losing out to other microorganisms, it has a beneficial effect on intestinal regulation, hay fever, flu prevention, hyperlipemia, inhibition of arteriosclerosis, and lowering of blood pressure. The effects of plant lactobacilli have been announced at academic conferences and other occasions.

Tea that can only be made in Ootoyo Town, Kochi Prefecture

While black tea, a type of fermented tea, undergoes oxidation fermentation, Goishi tea is fermented using microorganisms. First, tea leaves are placed in large barrels along with their branches, steamed, then the branches are removed, and the leaves are spread out on mats to allow air to circulate and mold to form. In the second stage, the leaves are placed in wooden barrels for fermentation. The tea leaves layered in wooden barrels resemble “tea pickles.” These are then cut into small pieces and sun-dried to complete the Goishi tea. Due to the fermentation process using microorganisms, Goishi tea can only be made using the mats and wooden barrels from Ootoyo Town in Kochi Prefecture.

“Goishi tea is made from June to August. We choose sunny days for sun-drying, and the name comes from its pitch-black appearance when dried. When viewed from a distance, the sun-dried tea resembles a row of go stones.”

Fermenting tea using microorganisms is rare worldwide, with only a few places like Yunnan Province in China and the border region between Thailand and Myanmar known for it. Yet, in Japan, there are four production areas, and three of them are in Shikoku, which is quite intriguing.

Like many agricultural and traditional industries, the production of Goishi tea is facing an aging population, making it difficult to pass down the craft. However, once people discover its taste and benefits, I believe more fans of Goishi tea will emerge. It’s delicious and healthy. I hope more people around the world come to know about this tea that exists in Japan.

The post Goishi tea, a fully fermented tea that is attracting attention in Japan, a nation of fermented foods / Otoyo Town, Kochi Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Precious sugarcane called “bamboo sugar

With its elegant sweetness and gentle melting in the mouth, wasanbon is often used not only in Japanese confectionaries but also in Western confectionaries in recent years. Unlike ordinary sugar, wasanbon has a soft flavor of its own.
This wasanbon is made from a native variety of sugarcane called “bamboo sugar. Unlike ordinary sugarcane, which is thick and tall, bamboo sugar, as its name suggests, looks like thin, frail bamboo. It is said that the sugar cane is exceptionally tasty even when chewed raw and tasted with its juice. Currently, this “bamboo sugar” is grown only in Tokushima and parts of Kagawa. Therefore, wasanbon is a very rare sugar produced only in those areas.

Handcrafting Wasanbon

The process of making wasanbon is quite interesting because it reminds us of how hard people in the past tried to obtain white sugar. At Okada Sugar Refinery, where wasanbon is still made by hand today, one can catch a glimpse of the painstaking efforts of our forefathers.
For example, the “oshibune” process utilizes the sake brewery’s kasubiru (sake lees) squeezing method of the time, and the “mizuken-gi” process is a uniquely Japanese method that is unprecedented in the world. Oshibune” is the process of squeezing molasses by placing a stone weight on top of the sugar that has been boiled and stirred. The “mizuken” is the process of kneading the squeezed molasses by pouring water over it. Since molasses does not turn white when just squeezed, more water is added, the mixture is kneaded and squeezed again, and this process is repeated several times to produce white sugar. In the old days, this process was repeated three times, hence the name “Sanbon Sugar.

A taste that is not only sweet but also savory

It takes one day to grind the sugar once, and the amount of water and grinding time must be changed according to the temperature, humidity, and nature of the sugar. It also takes skill to knead the sugar uniformly and skillfully. It is a difficult world in which the artisan’s sense of touch is all-important. Today, only a limited number of sugar refineries still follow this ancient method. Ordinary sugar is reduced to only sucrose after refining, but wasanbon retains much of its original sugarcane content. Although this is an imperfect sugar refining technique, it is what gives wasanbon its rich flavor.
The wasanbon produced in this way is so flavorful and melt-in-your-mouth that it can be made into dried confections that are solidified from the wasanbon itself. This is truly a product of the wisdom of the Japanese people.

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The post Okada Sugar Refinery, which produces traditional wasanbon (Japanese sugar) / Kami-ita Town, Tokushima Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.