Japan's traditional plum drink, tea gets wider recognition

Well-known as dinosaur kingdom, Fukui Prefecture in Japan is also famous for its culinary delights.

It was ranked number one in the happiness ladder of Japan in 2014 because of its food culture.

Now, All Nippon Airlines (ANA) has announced to introduce the food of Fukui Prefecture as per its project for promoting the 'charms of Japan'.

Yuji Ishii, GM, Kanazawa Sales Office, ANA, said, "Among the various services provided at ANA, through this service, we would like to send a message on the attractions of Fukui Prefecture. We would like to promote it both domestically and internationally and would like to have the foreign guests to dine here and physically visit Fukui Prefecture."

As part of this project, ANA focused on the fact that Fukui is a home to plums and developed a drink using a new kind of fruit.

This project is the result of collaboration with a producer in the Wakasa area in Fukui Prefecture.

Two ANA flight attendants participated in the development process.

According to Akira Shinya, President, Ecofarm Mikata Corporation, "Last August, two flight attendants who were interested in creating the processed plum drink in Fukui were chosen and have been working extensively over multiple occasions in Fukui."

The product was named 'Rogue Eclat' meaning 'glittering red', which came from the plum ingredients raised in Fukui.

Shinya further said, "Since the red in Red Points is also used for lipstick or rouge, the name was created by emphasizing the prettiness of the colour as well as the attractiveness of females. Rose was used to create this luxurious feeling. The taste was fine-tuned by adding a little bit of rose essence. The ordinary plum syrup was used as the sweetener and little bit of honey was added to make the taste elegant. We have been striving to promote Fukui by introducing this processed plum drink to the overseas guests."

In 'Sado' (tea-ceremony), the host makes tea for the guests with the spirit of hospitality."

In May, the harvest season begins at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka prefecture. The harvest of tea is usually done by hands.

However, nowadays many farmers are using machines.

The harvested tea leaf is processed at the factories, which includes steaming, rubbing, and drying. The production is well operated under computerized control.

On the other hand, there are many small scaled yet unique tea factories.

With its healthy ingredients, tea has got a lot of attention from overseas. In this store in Shizuoka Prefecture, it is given free to the visiting guests.

There are many different types of teas in Shizuoka Prefecture. Among which, Matcha is the special tea used in 'Chado' or tea-ceremony.

Tencha, the ingredient of Matcha, is raised differently compared to other types of tea. Kyoto city produces Tencha.

Traders touch the tea leafs or test drink before they make the bid.