TOKYO (dpa) – More and more Tokyo cafes are switching from coffee to green tea in order to lure trend-conscious Japanese working women in their 20s and 30s.
Competition has been intensifying in the tearoom and coffeehouse market recently, which is estimated at nearly 1 trillion yen (8.2 billion U.S. dollars) a year.The industry has been dominated by Doutor Coffee Co., the franchise that has been popping up around the country since 1980, as well as U.S. coffee chain Starbucks, which started business in Japan in 1996.“I decided to open a cafe that specializes in green tea because there was too much competition in the coffee business, so I wanted to open a cafe that is different from existing ones,” said Jyuhachi Saichi, owner of the Zen Cha’fe in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi business district.Saichi opened Zen Cha’fe in March. It serves hot and cold green tea at less than 1 U.S. dollar for a cup. It also serves Japanese sweets as well as sandwiches.“I thought if I opened a trendy cafe serving green tea, the image of green tea could change, and more young people would start drinking the Japanese tea,” he said.Consumption of green tea increased during Japan’s impressive economic revival after World War II, hitting its peak in 1972 at about 110,000 tons. Since then, green tea consumption has decreased because of lower population rates and a highly diversified beverage market.According to government figures, an average 727 grams of Japanese green tea was consumed per person annually in 1965, compared to 155 grams of coffee. However, an average of 788 grams of Japanese green tea was consumed in 1999, compared to 1,420 grams of coffee.Green tea has a long history in Japan. It was introduced in the country in the 12th century by a Buddhist priest named Eisai who brought tea seeds from China. Tea was used for medicinal purposes by the upper social class at the time.But the custom of tea drinking moved down from the upper classes to the common people in 15th century, thanks to cultural icon Senno-Rikyuu who refined the art of the tea ceremony.During Japan’s bubble economic years in the late 1980s, French-style coffee shops where waiters in long, white aprons served cafe au lait and customers paid at the table when the drink arrived, were very popular in Tokyo.After the economic bubble burst in the early 1990s, coffee shops serving regular coffee became very popular amid the recession.Doutor Coffee has opened 780 shops in Japan. Its coffee, priced at less than 1 U.S. dollar a cup, is about one-fifth of the price demanded for French-style blends.Unlike the French-style coffee shops, Doutor has an image similar to a fast-food restaurant. People buy coffee at a counter and find their own seat. Its main customers are businessmen who stop by between appointments, and stay for less than an hour. And, the seats are not very comfortable either.In the Tokyo cafes now serving Japanese green tea, the atmosphere is relaxing and comfortable. The cafes cater to customers who come by themselves and sit for hours.“I wanted to open a cafe where people can read a book in a comfortable chair or talk to friends for many hours,” said Zen Cha’fe’s Saichi.Saichi said Japanese love green tea but there aren’t many places where people could sit comfortably to drink it.Green Bird, another cafe specialising in green tea, has a similar atmosphere to Zen Cha’fe – wooden chairs and cute chinaware. Green Tea Cafe Sou-an in Tokyo’s trendy Hiroo district offers European antique furniture and plays jazz and bosanoba music.
