| | Amazon.com: Green Japanese Sencha Tea, 125g: Gourmet Food (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09) |
 | | The Japanese tea tradition began in the 9th century AD (during the Heian Period, 794 - 1192, when the Japanese capital was Heian-kyo, the present-day Kyoto), when Buddhist monks returning from diplomatic missions to China brought back tea, to which their Chinese brethren had introduced them as a means of intensifying alertness during meditation. |
 | | Sencha (rolled green tea) and its preparation was introduced into Japan by influential 17th century Chinese monk Yinyuan (Ingen in Japanese), the founder of the Obaku sect of Zen Buddhism. |
 | | The elaborate Japanese tea ceremony was perfected in the 16th and 17th century, first using powdered green tea (maccha) and later rolled green tea (sencha). |
| www.amazon.com /exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001ENZ5W?v=glance (772 words) |