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Tea: Scandal water, life saver, yum cha essential
SBS Audio
25/10/202325:20
The tea house regarded as the oldest in Japan surprised me in many ways.
At the of , there was no theatrical, tourist-luring signage declaring its incredible history. There was no souvenir stand loudly marketing merchandise for a place that is thought to be the .
In fact, the unassuming traditional building resembled the many other matcha merchants around Uji, a tea-growing region in Kyoto .
Credit: Lee Tran Lam
The people behind Tsuen Tea are seen as – one of the most ancient bridges in the country. And the family's story is worthy of a novel itself.
Tsuen Tea was started by a samurai named Furukawa Unai (who later became known as Taikeian Tsuen Masahisa), who died after in a famous battle. His final moments took place at nearby , an iconic temple that also appears on the 10-yen coin.
it was stunning to think of the centuries of history that this shop had endured.
Now, the shop's loose leaf is sold by its 24th-generation operators. When the , Yusuke Tsuen, he told the media outlet that he'd known since his kindergarten days that his future workdays would be spent at the nine-century-old company.
"I am operating the business my ancestors started," he said. In Japan, continuing a tradition started hundreds of years ago by your family is . Not too far away in central Kyoto, you can slurp noodles at one of the country's oldest , which is headed by , the 16th-generation owner and first female proprietor.
I didn't know any of this when I first stepped into Tsuen Tea, though.
I had caught a train from central Kyoto and passed by bamboo forests, watching the fog-shrouded mountains loom closer as I got to Uji.
The shop itself was quiet and filled with beautifully packaged varieties of green tea: sencha, gyokuro and much more. Next door, you could sit down and order freshly whisked matcha and green tea noodles and sip hojicha. You were seated by the river, and it was stunning to think of the centuries of history that this shop had endured, in this same location by the bridge, where its samurai founder had fought.
One of the many pretty bridges in Uji. Credit: Lee Tran Lam
When I put together the , I was struck by how ancient the tradition of tea drinking is. It's the most popular beverage after water and it's helped soothe bad days and also sparked many good gossip sessions over the years (I love that "scandal water" was Victorian slang for the drink).
Even though the significance of Tsuen Tea was underplayed from the moment I stepped into the shopfront, I'm glad its story isn't entirely hidden. Like a good cup of gyokuro or hojicha, it's something you can savour and slowly discover and appreciate over time.
