Kamairicha

Kamairicha

Type:	Green
Other names:	Pan-Fired Tea
Origin:	Japan
Quick description:	Generally not available in the west. Fired in hot iron pans, then rolled. Has a sweet, mildly roasted flavor.

Kamairicha (釜炒り茶) is a Japanese tea that does not undergo the usual steam treatments of Japanese tea and does not have the characteristic bitter taste of most Japanese tea. After a short withering, they are fired in hot iron pans of up to 300°C with repeated agitation to prevent charring. The different rolling techniques used produce teas of different leaf form. Kamairicha is processed as a pelleted or flat leaf.

Regions: Several southern regions are known for making fine Kamairicha. Sechibaru in Nagasaki Prefecture and Ureshino in Saga Prefecture are two of the most respected for their pan-fried manufacturing process.

Popularity: Kamairicha is generally not available in the West, however a few specialist tea merchants are making this tea more well known.

Flavor/Aroma: This Kamairi process develops sweet, mildly roasted flavors, which are very similar to the pan-fried teas produced in China today. It is sometimes referred to as ‘Chinese green tea’ by the Japanese owing to the pan-frying processing of this richly flavored tea.

See also

• List of Japanese teas
• Sencha - Japanese green tea
• History of tea in Japan