What is a traditional Japanese drink

A. Green tea is the most popular beverage in Japan. It's made from the tender young leaves of the flowering evergreen called Camellia Sinesis. Pressing determines which kind of tea the leaves become.

Q. How many different types are there

A. The key here is fermentation. The green teas of China and Japan are unfermented: the oolong teas of China are semi-fermented and the black teas of India are fully fermented. Both powdered and green leaf teas are drunk in Japan. Matcha, the brilliant green tea which is drunk at traditional Japanese tea ceremonies, is made from powdered tea leaves.

Q. Does green tea have any health benefits

A. It's extremely rich in Vitamin C ( a bowl of tea has as much Vitamin C as a kilo of oranges), and tea is known to contain poweferul antioxidants, which keep cells healthy. Green tea, however, does contain caffeine, and the Japanese say it is an excellent stimulant.

Q. What sort of green tea is drunk in Japanese households

A. Sencha is the most common green tea in Japan. It's fairly sharp with sweet undertones and is what most people turn to if they fancy a cuppa. Other teas include bancha, an ordinary tea made from leaves from the third picking; gemaicha, which is bancha and toasted rice; and hojicha or roasted bancha. The Japanese say the key to making good green tea is to never boil the water, because it makes the drink taste bitter.

Q. What is sake

A. It's easily the most popular alcoholic drink in Japan. People have been fermenting rice and wine to produce sake for over 1,300 years. Overall production of sake in Japan has dwindled over the past 50 years, nevertheless, there are still over 2,000 breweries in every prefecture except Kagoshima and Okinawa. Sake ranges in price and quality; from cheap gut rot to expensive bottles. The cheapest is served at blood temperature in ceramic flasks (tokkuri) and drunk in thimble-sized cups (choko). It's customary to only pour for your drinking partners, never yourself. At the other end of the spectrum, there are handmade limited edition bottles of sake, or nihonshu, with more complex subleties of flavour. The best place to sample quality sake is at a specialist izakaya (sake pub).

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By Katharine MacColl