On a hot day in Japan, green tea does not always arrive steaming from a teapot. It may come from a bottle, a pitcher in the refrigerator, a tea bag steeped in cold water, or a pot of freshly brewed tea poured over ice. All of these can fall under the broad idea of reicha (冷茶) — tea served cold. Reicha is not one specific type of Japanese tea, and it is not one fixed brewing method. Instead, it describes a way of enjoying tea at a cooler temperature. That simple distinction is useful because cold Japanese green tea can ...
