Wellness

[World Traveler]

The photos with the monk were taken at Senkoji Temple, which is 400 years old. We were invited to have a private Zen meditation session. In order to get to the temple, we needed to take a boat ride for about 20 minutes. Shoes had to be taken off while in the boat; the monk's dog had to be put in a box. ha!

We had to walk up 200 steps on the side of a cliff to reach the temple and then we were served tea by the monk. He is very interesting as he gave us two sessions of meditation, and then wanted to take photos of us for his blog! ha!

The couple live in Kanazawa. And I misspoke when I gave their ages. I was thinking of another couple. The wife was in her late 70's and the husband was in his early 80's. Still looking good though!

The floor of their house was very cold, even though we wore socks, knowing we would have to take our shoes off. They served us a small piece of cake and delicious green tea. They showed the three versions of green tea they had: stems, leaves, and powder.

The husband is very good at calligraphy and the wife teaches flower arranging. He wrote my name with symbols. Their very small house has TWO pianos, one is behind them. They allowed me to sit down and play a little for them. 

Also while in Kanazawa, we were able to have a couple of hours with the head of a Tea House (Geisha). She told us about the life that a Geisha leads and we were free to ask any questions we wanted. She was very gracious and funny. She is quite the conversationalist and we enjoyed our time in her place of business. 

During that trip we got to make Mochitsuki (rice-cake), washi paper (thick, fibrous paper derived from mulberry bark), and ball sushi in a 300-year-old house where a famous samurai once lived.

Wonderful trip to Japan! Thanks for letting me reminisce of a beautiful trip during cherry blossom time.

[SilleeMee]

Sounds so exciting @World Traveler . 

That temple where you were is located in Kyoto where my mom was born. She attended Kanazawa University and graduated with teaching degree in English. She use to talk about how beautiful the temple gardens were. Her family history goes back hundreds of years. She said the mountains there are much like some of the mountains here in Colorado. 

Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience. I enjoyed reading about your time there.

[World Traveler]

@SilleeMee Your welcome! A beautiful country with beautiful people, that's for sure! All the temples are beautiful and their surrounding gardens.

You should go see where she was born. And yes, the mountains are beautiful, all over Japan!

[Jersey Born]

Thank you for sharing the wonderful pictures and your fond memories of your trip to Japan.  Now that is as serious of a green tea experience as a person can have!  

[artisto]

1) EGCG is:

Epigallocatechin gallate, also known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate, is the ester of epigallocatechin and gallic acid, and is a type of catechin. EGCG – the most abundant catechin in tea – is a polyphenol under basic research for its potential to affect human health and disease. Wikipedia

2) EGCG can be purchased in capsule form if you

want EGCG benefits and drinking tea is not for you.

3) Google EGCG NIH and articles will come up.

[Jersey Born]

Thank you, @artisto.  There are many people who truly do not like the taste of tea, and it is helpful that there are alternative ways to derive its health benefits.

I keep reading that tea is the #2 most popular drink in the world (#1 is water), but in the USA, it seems that coffee is more popular than tea, at least for a morning drink, and the  success and longevity of so many Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts locations seems to indicate that.

[Harpa]

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@Mindy D wrote:

Green tea is killing my stomach. I recently bought a box of organic green tea and every time I drink it my stomach really hurts. More so, than coffee, which I drink with milk. I was surprised by this. 

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@Mindy D 

When I first started drinking green tea, decades ago, it used to give me upset stomach. I have no explanation. A few years later I went back to it, and now I am able to drink it with no problems.

Also wanted to mention how good for the skin green tea is! Ingesting as well as putting on topically.

@World Traveler 

Thanks for sharing your experience!!

[Mindy D]

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@Jersey Born wrote:

We are all different @Mindy D.  Someone close to me was having stomach problems from coffee, and since switching to tea, feels much better.  

Perhaps try a totally different brand of it, as soil nutrients vary and so do the compounds in the tea, or switch to black tea, which (I think) tastes great with milk.

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@Jersey Born @thank you for the suggestion. @I used to drink the green tea at Chinese restaurants all the time and never had a problem. I drank Oolong and Black teas for years without problems. I will try other green tea brands to see. I do have stomach problems and coffee with milk leads to stomach distress but the distress usually starts in the evenings on the days I drink coffee. The green tea distress starts immediately or within a few hours. 

[mousiegirl]

I have been drinking black tea forever, three large mugs daily with some nonfat milk.

[World Traveler]

I find black tea to be too strong for my stomach, no matter which brand it is.