5 Summer Teas from Japan

 

Unlike sweetened American ice tea or the deep and dark black teas that keep us toasty in the winter, the Japanese teas that reign supreme in the summer months are light, refreshing and packed with minerals and antioxidants to counter the heat and humidity of July and August.

1. Mugicha (麦茶)

© Photo by iStock: Wako Megumi

Out of all the teas highlighted in this article, mugicha (barley tea) is probably one of the most popular and nostalgic summer teas in Japan. It is brewed from roasted barley grains and produces a rich aroma and an earthy and nutty flavor. Naturally caffeine-free, people of all ages can enjoy mugicha’s refreshing taste.

Although you can drink mugicha hot or cold all year round, cold-brewed mugicha is especially ideal for sweaty summer days. It has a natural cooling effect on the body and nutrient-replenishing properties. Other health benefits include aiding digestion and preventing tooth decay.

2. Mizudashi Ryokucha (水出し緑茶)

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Mizudashi is the Japanese word for cold brew. Cold-brewed ryokucha (Japanese green tea) is known for bringing out its more mellow flavors. While some sencha (a type of green tea), for instance, can taste astringent, mizudashi sencha results in a smoother and sweeter cup of tea.

Importantly, for the summer months, brewing tea this way lowers the amount of caffeine, thus making it more hydrating and less diuretic than its warm counterparts. Also, by steeping for a longer period, the vitamin C and theanine in the tea, known to reduce blood pressure and improve cognitive function, are preserved.

3. Hojicha (ほうじ茶)

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Often associated with the fall and winter months, hojicha (roasted Japanese green tea) is also a strong candidate for a summertime beverage. Made by steaming and then roasting green tea leaves at a high temperature, hojicha is known for its deep umami flavor.

Its low caffeine content and inherent sweetness make it a delicious and unique cold brew! Indeed, if you seek out kuki (stem) hojicha in particular, the tea’s caffeine content will be at its lowest, making it a wonderful pick for the hottest days.

4. Sanpincha (さんぴん茶)

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Sanpincha is a traditional Okinawan tea with a flavor profile similar to Chinese Jasmine tea. Before becoming part of the Japanese mainland, present-day Okinawa’s Ryukyu Kingdom had strong trade ties with China; as such, sanpincha, whose etymology stems from the Chinese word for Jasmine tea, developed in Okinawa before popularizing in the rest of Japan.

Unlike Jasmine, which is typically made with white or green tea, sanpincha uses semi-oxidized tea as a base, making it closer to an oolong. Perhaps the most caffeinated of the teas on this list, warm or cold sanpincha is often enjoyed as a refreshing pick-me-up for your workday as it’s packed with vitamin C, vitamin E and minerals.

5. Kuromamecha (黒豆茶)

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Kuromamecha is an herbal tea made from roasting kuromame (black soybeans), which is grown mainly in the Hokkaido region. It is known for its sweet and nutty taste. This tea is typically steeped using whole beans, which can be consumed for extra fiber after you have finished brewing them.

Kuromamecha is popular for its anti-aging properties, mainly due to its high levels of antioxidants like anthocyanins. These antioxidants not only give the beans their dark pigmentation but also help regulate blood pressure.

- Author: ELIZABETH SOK, Savvy Tokyo

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'' SWIFT '' -DOLLAR- SWIRL : INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS ESSAY

SINCE Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of Group of 7 sanctions, the number of cross-border central bank digital currency projects has doubled.

Offering a way for commercial banks in different countries to send money to one another using the  same technology on which cryptocurrency is built.

The money can travel in seconds and avoid touching a U.S. bank. The most advanced project of this kind is mBridge, whose participants include China, Thailand, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and as of last year, Saudi Arabia.

Because the volumes transacted are still low [ reportedly only $22 million during a pilot in 2022 ] this project and similar endeavours in emerging markets, especially in the BRICS countries, are often dismissed.

That's the problem with thinking only about macroeconomics and not about national security.

Economists typically don't view money as a key lever of U.S. foreign policy; they see small workarounds as meaningless to the overall health of a currency.

A Federal Reserve study last year echoes what you often hear from U.S. officials in private :

" The Chinese renminbi is nowhere close to overtaking the dollar in international importance, '' it concluded.

This Essay Publishing continues. The World Students Society thanks Josh Upsky, who is the chair of  international economics at the Atlantic Council.

Headline, July 25 2025/ ''' HOW-UH? '''

''' HOW-UH? '''

'' HOW-UH ? '' IS THE MOST OFTEN USED WORD for The World Students Society - most lovingly and respectfully called !WOW!. '' How did the students of the world achieve this greatest of accomplishments? How - Uh? ''

SOMETIMES CHANGE COMES NOT in the form of a new word but in the form of an '' uh. '' That little gasp of irritation is doing some serious work.

You've probably heard people in real life - generally under 40, usually women - adding '' uh! '' to words and sentences that way, as a kind of verbal exclamation point.

A reader, Dean Featherston, sent me this great bit of videos, in which police officers are summoned to remove a young woman from a restaurant bathroom. 

'' Do not come back on this property. You've trespassed,'' one of the officers says. '' How-uh ? '' she replies with perfect sullen irritation.

I became aware of this in 2015, when overheard someone ask a college student how her summer had been. '' Good-uh ! '' she replied. I wondered why she had exclaimed in that particular way.

But once I noticed that intonation, I realized I was hearing it everywhere - from people in real life and on the radio and actors in film, television and theater. It turns out it has been around for a while.

I've heard from readers that '' No-uh ! '' has been common among kids for decades, and I wouldn't be surprised if even longer. Perhaps young Grover Cleveland replied, '' No-uh ! '' when someone tried to give him castor oil for a tummy ache.

Was George Washington, asked if he had chopped down that apocryphal hcherry tree, tempted to say, '' No-uh ! '' ? We may never know. But by the 2010s, that quasi-suffix had expanded its reach well beyond '' No.'' It really caught on, and here we are.

AS IT IS often the case, women led the way. Scholars of the academic speciality known as variationists  sociolinguistics have found that across cultures, women are more likely to let the language morph and evolve along its own flow.

Men use slang, sure, but overall, they are less given to experimenting. It was women who, way back when, started using the word '' has '' instead of '' hath. ''

After a while, men got with the times. In the same way, these days I hear men under about 30 using '' -uh!'' more than I used to.

This emotionally resonant sound is now such a common way of speaking that it can be used even without exclamation, in a neutral voice to respond in an only mildly dramatic way, as if in scare quotes.

'' Is that really what we're going to do? '' my younger daughter asked my tween. The answer was a placid '' Yessa.'' No need to raise a voice.

She had subtly but successfully communicated her displeasure at being asked.

I'm mentioning all this not just because ''-uh '' is a curiosity in its own right but also because it says a lot about a question that readers frequently ask me :

How do new words or expressions get adopted?

The truth is that in a great majority of cases, there is really no answer. People are creative about the words they choose and how they use them, and that creativity just keeps the language evolving.

It's no more a matter of reasons than the creativity that drove the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat or Yoko Ono.

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research of Language, Irritation and Evolution, continues. The World Students Society thanks John McWhorter, a professor of linguistics at  Columbia University.

With most respectful dedication to the Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See You all  prepare for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society - the exclusive and eternal ownership of every student in the world :

wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter X !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

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