On the 88th day after the beginning of spring, today is known as “Hachijuhachiya” in Japan. This period marks the transition from spring to summer, and the weather becomes increasingly warm and mild. It is the time to prepare the rice paddies for planting and to begin the tea-picking season. According to legend, drinking the new tea harvested on this day can prevent illness. Compared to second flush tea, new tea has superior nutritional value and an exceptional taste. It has been accumulating nutrients since the previous autumn and is picked when these nutrients are fully stored, from the end of March to the beginning of May. This makes the new tea an exquisite and condensed flavor of tea. There are roughly three types of tea: green tea, oolong tea, and black tea, all made from the same tea plant. Green tea is made by immediately processing the picked tea leaves to prevent oxidation, black tea is made by completely fermenting the tea leaves, and oolong tea is made by partially fermenting the tea leaves. In the world, black tea accounts for 80% of tea consumption, while green tea is less than 10%. However, with the popularity of Japanese culture, green tea has been spreading globally as a healthy beverage.

立春から数えて88日目、今日は八十八夜です。春から夏の変わり目で、日増しに暖かくなり、気候も温暖なこの時期は、苗代の準備をする時期ですし、茶摘みのシーズンでもあります。「八十八夜に摘んだ新茶を飲むと病気にならない」という言い伝えがある様に、新茶は二番茶に比べて栄養も優れ、おいしさも格別です。前の年の秋からずっと養分を蓄えていき、3月の終わりから5月の初めくらいに、この養分をずっと蓄えてきたところで摘むので、新茶は格別にうまさが凝縮されているお茶ということになります。お茶には、大雑把に分けて、緑茶と烏龍茶と紅茶があります。どれも同じ茶の木からできます。お茶を摘んで、酸化しないようにすぐに熱処理をしているのが「緑茶」で、完全に発酵し赤くなったものが「紅茶」、途中で発酵を止めると「烏龍茶」になります。世界的にみれば、紅茶が80%で、緑茶は10%未満ですが、その緑茶も、日本ブームに乗り、健康飲料として世界に広がりつつあります。