Later in life I was introduced to a very different tea. A Japanese friend invited me for tea. He served a pale-green tea in small handleless cups, but it did not taste like the tea I knew. This tea I liked! However, a friend with me alarmed the host by asking for milk and sugar to add to the tea! Our host explained that Japanese tea was not taken that way. Later, when I lived in Japan, I was delighted that Japanese tea in great quantity was always served to friends and visitors.

After that, I moved to Taiwan. I wondered if the tea my mother served would be the beverage of choice of most Chinese. How glad I was that green tea is also drunk in Taiwan, although the flavor is slightly different from that enjoyed in Japan.

The tea with the least fermentation is green tea. In Japan, India, and Sri Lanka, the leaves are sterilized over steam to keep fermentation to the absolute minimum, while the Chinese use dry heat for the same purpose. Green tea is taken just as it comes out of the pot!