Home > Encyclopedia of O-CHA(tea) > The origin of "tea color"
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Japanese people used to describe
the colors using the color in nature. For example, "peach color", "grass color",
"bean color" "sky color" or "ash color" However for the yellow, red or green,
we use the words and Chinese character. So, we say green for midori, but there
is no such a thing called midori.
What about Chairo (tea color)? The color
of tea we see normally is green, and when the tea is served in the cup, it also
looks green. Then why we use tea color to discribe the color of brown. The answer
is simple. If you go to the kitchen, and see the old cloth with tea soaked, you
can see it is naturally dyed in brown. Also the history of green tea in Japan
is still fairly new, compare to the long history of drinking coarse tea.
Before
green tea became really popular in Japan, Bancha was the most popular tea among
the people. To make Bancha, roast tea leaves in the big pan, and rub on the mat,
and then dry them under the sun. When those process is completed, the color of
the tea is dark brown. When bancha is served in the cup, the color is almost brown
or yellow, and far from green.
Process of making green tea has completed in
middle of Edo era. And the word "chairo (tea color)" was established before those
time.
(Yoichiro Nakamura)