During my recent trip to Japan, I manged to pick up a few fun, tea-related items to share here on the blog. So far, I've posted about green tea caramels and green tea yokan (another type of tea sweets). This post is the first "find" that I wouldn't advise eating on its own, although I suppose you could use it as a seasoning. It's green tea bath salts!Bathing is an extremely important part of Japanese culture. Onsen, or mineral springs, are popular destination spots. Long soaks in small tubs filled with very hot water are considered to be a great way to unwind. And, naturally, various bath soaks and bath salts (including natural additives like fragrant orange peels) are very popular.
Some people say that hot baths are important in Japanese culture not just because of their ability to relieve stress, but also because sweat releases excess sodium from the body, thus reducing some of the potential for negative health effects from a high-salt traditional Japanese diet.
It seems only natural, given the cultural importance and health benefits of green tea and bathing in Japan, that the two could be combined. Some people drink tea while bathing or soaking. (Others drink sake, but that's a different story!) Some people make "tea baths" with used or low-quality tealeaves.
Today's "Find From Japan" combines regular bath salt with green tea for yet another kind of tea-bath experience. I found it at The Tea Museum in Shizuoka, the prefecture where much of Japan's green tea is grown. The museum gift shop also offered a huge array of tea-based foods and drinks, as well as other tea health/beauty products and souvenirs. These bath salts were actually a gift for my mom (who owns a tea spa), but I did pick up some tea chips for myself -- delicious!
Next up: Tea Toothpastes.
Photo (c) Marko Goodwin
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