Team:Kobe/HP/Gold Integrated
Integrated Human Practices
Visit to tea farm
Although content of L-theanine is an indicator of good Japanese tea, there are also various other indications of tea quality. Our tea-quality theanine sensor should be useful when our project reflects the actual situation of tea industry. The best way to learn and better understand the current situation of Japanese tea world is, literary to get out of the lab and experience it with our hearts.
Interview with Mr.Matsumoto: The owner of a farm house, “Teppen”
8 Oct. 2017
We visited a tea farm house, “Teppen” in Ehime prefecture.
The link of the inn
They cultivate “Yabukita”, a type of tea plant usually used for green tea. We heard a lot of interesting and useful information related to our project.
Below is the information that we have gathered there.
o Most of the market green tea contains some additives.
They sometimes tastes marketed tea. Cheap or imported ones often contain the additive to enhance the taste of the tea.
Mr.Matsumoto saids he can test the amount of additives in tea by putting it overnight. If there are a lot of additives, the tea will turn into a milky color.
According to the following references, the custome of adding monosodium glutamate (MSG) into green tea is widely seen from Sanin Region through into the Hokuriku region in Japan.
後藤 哲久・堀江 秀樹・向井 俊博（2009），添加茶の化学成分による判別法（Japanese）
The grade of green tea can be determined by the ratio of glutamate content to the theanine content.
In the case of tea without additives, the value of this ratio is about 0.2 or less. However, this ratio sometimes exceeds more than 0.4 in cases where the tea is containing the additive. Glutamate is often added to enhance umami in Japanses green tea, but that taste is quite different from the original one(umami of theanine). Our theanine sensor can be used to detect additive in tea.
○The taste of green tea is often affected by many factors.
There are many factors that could change the taste of tea. The taste of tea is variable even if it is cultivated in the same way. For example,the factors include the difference of place like facing across the road, the degree of damage done by insects and the different way of how people processed the tea.
Only the large scale facilities own the devices to analyze the components in tea because they are expensive. Small farms can't afford that devices so they can't check their tea quality anytime they want. We realized again the importance of inexpensive way to measure the tea quality.
○Decrease in consumption of green tea
According to the following references, the consumption of green tea in Japan is decreasing these days.
茶類の国内消費量の推移（Japanese）
Indeed, the tea farmers also mentioned the decrease in green tea sales.To promote the Japanese green tea, but to make Japanese understand the health benefits brought by natural green tea is important.
"Theanine sensor" would help promoting Japanese tea by appealing Japanese teapeople are to beverages with health claims good healthy benefits but these beverages are added by Theanine artificially. Natural green tea contains a lot of L-theanine. Our sensor will prove the fact to the public.
After the interview, the owner generously allowed us to experience tea-picking and hand-rolling. (Hand rolling is the primary process of making green tea)
Interview with the representative of Benifuuki group
9 Oct. 2017
We interviewed with the representative of Benifuuki group.
“Benifuuki” is a type of tea commonly used for black tea. But these days, it is also used for green tea because of its high content of catechin, the substance which suppress the symptoms of hay fever.
We learned interesting story there.
Below is the information we have gathered there.
○Shortage of successors due to the aging of population.
There are many tea plantations which have been left and forgotten for years. These days, they changed their orange farms into tea plantation because tea is easier to grow. So they grow “Benifuuki” which is new breed and attracts the customers for its reducing effect of the hay fever symptoms .
○The necessity of small device which can analyze the components of tea accurately
To analyze the component of tea in a way that is publicly certified is difficult on a small scale. They said that the content of catechin affects sales directly. They contain a lot of cathchin but they cannot appeal about this because its small scale. We believe that small biosensor will be able to measure the components of tea accurately and will be publicly certified.
Survey on tea culture
As a human practice project, we decided to help promoting Japanese tea to the world. We carried out a survey to collect useful data when promoting Japanese tea. .
Percentage of individuals from different places who took the survey.
As indicated in the chart, Japan has the greater number of people who enjoys tea. For this data, enjoying the taste of tea has become a part of Japanese culture.
Even though green tea has been an important part of food culture in Japan, green tea doesn’t have big market share in Japan compared to other region.
In all regions, at least about 40% people think that health effect is a very important aspect when choosing tea. Most of them know that different type of tea have different effects on ones health. Many people are interested in health effects of tea. The day that theanine gets a lot of attention is near.
All participants who took the survey have already tasted green tea somewhere. Most of them already heard about Japanese tea product. Japanese tea is more famous than we have thought.
Theanine is more familiar in Japan was higher compared to other regions. (Except for category other regions in which there are only two people in this category and they know Theanine.) There are some people who pointed out that Japanese has a lot of interest in the healthy beverage in the free-answer column of the survey. We agree with this opinion. They heard about theanine in various situations and was reported in a variety of media in Japan.
Organization Chart
- Ehime Prefecture International Center
Secretary‐general Ryo Takaoka - Matsuyama International Center（MIC）
Maki Mizuno - 愛媛県中予地方局商工観光室
Miyuki Yamanaka - 愛媛県港湾管理事務所
Our sincere thanks to these people!
