Varieties
Japan
In Japan,konbu-cha or kobu-cha is kelp tea made by pouring boiling water onto chopped kombu and leaching,or pouring hot water into powdered kombu. [3]
Kelp tea for fortune
The tea served on New Year's Day and at weddings is sometime kelp tea [3] because the pronunciation of kombu is similar to that of the last part of "yorokobu" (喜ぶ,meaning "be happy"). [3]
Fuku-cha(福茶,meaning "fortune tea") is sencha green tea with kombu,umeboshi (pickled plum),kuromame (black beans),and sanshō (Japanese pepper) and is drunk on the last day of the year (Ōmisoka),in New Year,and on the day before the beginning of spring (Setsubun) in Kansai region, [4] wishing a long life. [4]
In particular,in New Year,oo-buku-cha or dai-buku-cha (大福茶,meaning "very good fortune tea"),which is sencha green tea with kombu and umeboshi, [5] is drunk in Kansai region [5] wishing good health and happiness. [5]
Instant kelp tea
Powdery kelp tea is sold as an instant tea under the name of konbu-cha [2] or kobu-cha [3] . It is made by drying kombu to a fine powder and blending it with seasonings such as salt and sugar [3] . It's simply dissolved in hot water and enjoyed as a tea. Note that this type of konbu-cha does not contain any true tea ( Camellia sinensis ). [6] [7] [8]
The powdery kelp tea was invented by the founder of GYOKUROEN "Umazou Fujita" in 1918. [2]
Ume-konbu-cha [2] or ume-Kobu-cha, [9] which is powdery kombu tea with freeze-dried crushed umeboshi,is also sold as an instant tea [2] and is drunk as a tea in the same fashion.
History
Kelp tea is thought to have been drunk from quite a long time ago [3] because "the Japanese have incorporated kelp and seaweed into their diets for 1,500 years". [3] [10]
It is said that,in 951,Kūya made a statue of the Ekādaśamukha to cure an epidemic that was spreading in the capital and went around the city giving oo-buku-cha to the sick. [5]
Tea using kelp already existed in Edo period (1603-1868) at the latest, [2] and people in these days drank it by pouring boiling water over chopped kelp. [2]
Korea
Either dried kombu powder or julienned kombu (typically of the species Saccharina japonica ) can be used to make the tea. [11]
Powdered tea can be made by pan-frying and pounding cleaned and dried kelp. [12] For a cup of hot water,two to three spoons of kelp powder is used. [12] Optionally,sugar or honey can be added. [12]
Alternatively,around 30 grams (1.1 oz) of cleaned kelp pieces are infused in 300–500 millilitres (11–18 imp fl oz;10–17 US fl oz) of hot water. [13] The kelp slices are removed after infusing,and salt is added to taste. [13]
