Photo/Illutration Maho Kanda, director of the Kyoto prefectural Tea Industry Research Division, pours “sencha” green tea using the special dripper in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, on Nov. 16. (Manabu Kitagawa)

UJI, Kyoto Prefecture--It takes an expert to tease the taste of “sencha” mid-level green tea using nothing more than a teapot.

Now, tea drinkers can savor the deep flavor of Uji tea at home using a special brewer modified from a coffee dripper, according to the Kyoto prefectural Tea Industry Research Division here.

The organization threw its energies into promoting the tea maker it helped to develop in the hope of reviving the popularity of green tea made from loose leaves.

FAIL-PROOF SERVINGS

Brewed using the tea dripper, the tea contains a hint of a savory “umami” flavor.

The battery-operated tea maker is used on a regular teacup to brew a cup of green tea.

It dispenses hot water evenly over tea leaves in a specially shaped cup as the round-shaped hot water server slowly rotates.

The cup has a small hole in the bottom, keeping the tea leaves infused for about two minutes before letting the tea drip into the regular teacup placed underneath.

“It is difficult to make tea tasty using a teapot, but you can’t go wrong with this to bring out the best taste of Uji tea,” said Maho Kanda, director of the research institute. “And it’s easy to discard used tea leaves.”

The dripper was manufactured by Taiwan-based coffee equipment maker Oceanrich Global Co.

The institute collaborated with Uniq Corp., a company based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, which acts as the sole agent for Oceanrich, to develop the appliance.

FALLING LOOSE LEAF TEA DEMAND

Officials of the research institute recalled that it was approached about 10 years ago by a consumer electronics maker that needed help to build a machine to serve “gyokuro” top-quality umami-rich green tea.

After roughly three years of trial and error, the institute came up with a prototype that was as large as an electric pot.

But hotel staff and others who used the tea maker were not overly impressed.

Although the electronics maker backed out of the project, the institute didn’t want to see its efforts go down the drain, even though consumption of green tea made from loose leaves was declining.

According to the farm ministry, 701 grams of tea leaves were consumed per household in 2022, a nearly 40 percent drop from 2006.

Yet, sales of bottled green tea drinks were booming.

The institute came up with an idea of remodeling an Oceanrich coffee dripper into a sencha tea maker because of its handy size.

Working with the sole agent, the organization made adjustments for the hole in the bottom of the exclusive cup by several millimeters and completed the tea dripper 18 months later.

It is priced at 5,980 yen ($41), including tax. Batteries are sold separately.

The appliance became available for purchase at online stores of leading home electronics retailers and other shops from March 2022. Already, about 1,500 units have been sold.

The dripper also went on sale from late November this year at an online shop managed by an Uji-based general incorporated association called Ocha no Kyoto DMO at (https://dmo-shop.com/).

“If the current situation continues, producers determined to grow high-quality tea, which represents the pride of Uji tea, will lose their motivation,” Kanda said. “Our aim is to present a wide variety of ways to enjoy tea with the sencha dripper.”

If the business gets on track, the institute wants to start developing a gyokuro dripper, the director added.

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