| Type | Herbal tea |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Kombu kelp |
| Kelp tea | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 海带茶 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 海帶茶 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Korean name | |||||||
| Hangul | 다시마차 | ||||||
| Hanja | 다시마茶 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Japanese name | |||||||
| Kanji | 昆布茶 | ||||||
| Kana | こんぶちゃ | ||||||
| |||||||
Kelp tea orkombu tea[1] is aherbal tea made fromkombu, a type ofediblekelp. On its own it does not contain any true tea (Camellia sinensis), although kombu may be added togreen tea in some cases.
It is calledkonbu-cha[2] orkobu-cha[3] (昆布茶) in Japan,dasima-cha (다시마차) in Korea andhaidai-cha (海带茶) in China, all meaning "kombu tea."
In Japan,konbu-cha orkobu-cha is kelp tea made by pouring boiling water onto choppedkombu and leaching, or pouring hot water into powdered kombu.[3]
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The tea served onNew Year's Day and atweddings 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") issencha green tea withkombu,umeboshi (pickled plum),kuromame (black beans), andsanshō (Japanese pepper) and is drunk on the last day of the year (Ōmisoka), inNew Year, and on the day before the beginning ofspring (Setsubun) inKansai region,[4] wishing a long life.[4]
In particular, inNew Year,oo-buku-cha ordai-buku-cha (大福茶, meaning "very good fortune tea"), which issencha green tea withkombu andumeboshi,[5] is drunk in Kansai region[5] wishing good health and happiness.[5]
Powdery kelp tea is sold as aninstant tea under the name ofkonbu-cha[2] orkobu-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 ofGYOKUROEN "Umazou Fujita" in1918.[2]
Ume-konbu-cha[2] orume-Kobu-cha,[9] which is powdery kombu tea with freeze-dried crushedumeboshi, is also sold as an instant tea[2] and is drunk as a tea in the same fashion.
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, in951,Kūya made a statue of theEkādaśamukha 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 inEdo period (1603-1868) at the latest,[2] and people in these days drank it by pouring boiling water over chopped kelp.[2]
Either dried kombu powder orjulienned kombu (typically of the speciesSaccharina 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]
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