Kikkoman Corporation

Once, Japan's Western-style coffee houses were de rigueur; these days, young people meet in nihoncha (Japanese tea) cafés to enjoy traditional teas in very un-traditional, trendy surroundings.

To the Japanese, "tea" means green tea, the classic accompaniment to sushi or Japanese confectionery. Tea has always been one of Japan's most popular drinks, but its image here has undergone some remarkable changes since the early 1980s, not only in how and where it is consumed, but in how it is perceived by the younger generation.

Legend has it that tea was first discovered by the Buddha himself; certainly its origins are ancient, dating back some 5,000 years in China. Tea was later brought to Japan 1,200 years ago by Buddhist priests who acclaimed the brew as a cure for a range of ailments.

Specialized methods produce a variety of Japanese green teas, including gyokuro, made from specially selected tea leaves; powdered matcha, used in the tea ceremony; houjicha, steamed, dried and roasted; and steamed and dried sencha, which today is the most popular type of green tea in Japan, representing some 85 percent of all teas consumed here.

Traditional Japanese tea shops still sell tea leaves by weight, along with tea pots and accessories, and some still roast their leaves right on the premises—one of the most tantalizing ways to attract customers. But these shops are becoming increasingly rare, thanks to modern canning techniques that have helped position ready-to-drink teas in supermarkets, convenience stores and vending machines.

With the introduction of the modern vending machine in the 1980s, tea became even more accessible—and sales proved it. Today, a countless variety of cold and hot tea drinks in both cans and PET bottles are sold in the ubiquitous machines. PET bottles are particularly popular, as they can be conveniently re-capped. In fact, most sales of canned and bottled drinks in Japan are tea-related. Consumption of green tea has grown nearly 20 percent in the last five years, and twice as much canned and bottled tea is produced than coffee drinks. According to a National Soft Drink Industry Association survey, sales of Japanese tea rose nearly threefold from 1997 to 2001, increasing from 505,000 kiloliters to 1.421 million kiloliters.

As more Japanese seek organic, natural and healthy foods, the country's so-called tea revival has been particularly driven by advertising that promotes the concept of tea as a healing, relaxing drink that possibly prevents heart disease and cancer and slows ageing. Without a doubt, tea is healthy: it is a rich source of vitamins C and E, contains catechin and other antioxidants, and has few calories. These dietary and health benefits seem to appeal especially to Japan's most lucrative consumer market, women in their 20s and 30s.

Another factor in tea's newfound popularity lies in the current resurgence of wafu – Japanese style – that has manifested itself in the arts, fashion and cuisine. Wafu has been wholeheartedly embraced by the younger generation, especially when it takes on a modern twist.

In response, today there are innumerable types of tea drinks to choose from, designed to tempt any palate, all with appealing brand names and a variety of ingredients. The selection changes seasonally, based around a core group of tea products so that consumers can sample a new product every few months or so, knowing that certain favorites remain on the market. Some of the added options to the ever-changing array of teas include sugar, milk, esoteric tea blends and carbonation.

Once, tea was considered something one drank at home with a meal, or as a free drink that accompanied sushi – but Japan's trendy tea cafés are changing such staid notions. In today's upstart nihoncha cafés, dozens of green teas from throughout Japan are served. Classics like matcha and sencha blends appear alongside modern incarnations, including sweetened matcha milk tea, "bubble tea" (tapioca mixed with green tea, a variation of a Vietnamese tea), and matcha milkshakes.

Despite added flavorings and sugars, the healthy, low-calorie aspects of traditional tea endure, and today's consumers are willing to enjoy their tea any way they can. Even in its trendier guises, the simple aroma and astringent aftertaste of green tea somehow reaffirms a sense of tradition and harmony.