Shochu tea cocktails are popular for their refreshing taste, making them easy to drink even for those who don't usually enjoy alcohol. Green tea highballs made with single-origin sencha are particularly exquisite.
For this article, we interviewed Mr. Ihara, a former bartender and current manager of Tokyo Saryo, about the background and preparation of tea cocktails. We'll introduce recommended tea leaves for shochu tea cocktails and the basic method for making a green tea highball.
The Surprisingly Deep World of Shochu Tea Cocktails: What is a Green Tea Highball?
A "tea cocktail" refers to any alcoholic drink mixed with tea. This versatile drink can be made with various teas, including oolong, jasmine, green tea, or hojicha.
A green tea highball, as the name suggests, is a cocktail made by mixing shochu with green tea. Despite the name suggesting carbonation like a highball, green tea highballs don't use carbonated water. The term "green tea highball" was coined to avoid the lengthy "shochu green tea mix" and to evoke the image of a chuhai (shochu highball).
In Shizuoka Prefecture, known for its tea production, "tea cocktail" specifically refers to a green tea highball. It's widely known as "Shizuoka-wari" (Shizuoka-style mix).
The Background of Tea Cocktails
Today, tea is readily available in bottled form, but in the past, it had to be brewed with hot water.
Around 1980, canned oolong tea was introduced, becoming popular for its convenience and taste. This led to the trend of oolong tea cocktails, which were easy to drink even for those who didn't like alcohol.
Canned green tea came a bit later. Green tea, being prone to oxidation affecting its color, aroma, and taste, was challenging to preserve in its freshly brewed state.
As technology improved, canned green tea gained popularity. The shift from cans to plastic bottles and the development of products that tasted good even when cold made green tea more accessible.
Restaurants began offering green tea highballs, which became popular for their refreshing taste.
From Easy-to-Drink to Delicious: The Evolution of Tea Cocktails
Green tea cocktails became popular among those who don't usually drink alcohol due to their refreshing and easy-to-drink nature. Even now, tea cocktails are often seen as "drinks for non-drinkers" or "a final drink after heavy drinking."
Both tea and shochu are products that farmers and artisans take pride in. Tea and alcohol enthusiasts might hesitate to combine these
