冷茶
reicha
The English phrase 'cold green tea' can be translated into Japanese as 冷茶 (reicha).
冷茶 refers to green tea that is served chilled or at room temperature.
Which one should you use?
While 冷茶 is a formal or technical term for cold tea, in daily conversation, people are much more likely to say 冷たい緑茶 to specify 'cold green tea'.
How do you pronounce it?
reicha
Did you know?
- In some traditional contexts, serving a chilled drink like 冷茶 is considered a form of omotenashi or hospitality, specifically timed to provide relief from the extreme humidity of a Japanese summer.
- Japanese has a specific term, 水出し, meaning 'cold brew', which is often used interchangeably with 冷茶 when the tea was steeped in cold water rather than cooled after boiling.
- When using the more conversational 冷たい緑茶, the word 冷たい (tsumetai) is strictly for things you touch, like a cold drink, whereas 寒い (samui) is used only for the weather.
Examples in context
- 冷茶をください。Reicha o kudasai.Cold green tea, please.
- 冷茶を二つお願いします。Reicha o futatsu onegaishimasu.Two cold green teas, please.
- 暑いので、冷茶を飲みます。Atsui node, reicha o nomimasu.It's hot, so I will drink cold green tea.
Example conversation
Hiroto and Himari are at a cafe.
- 大翔 Hiroto飲み物は何にする？Nomimono wa nani ni suru?What will you have for a drink?
- 陽葵 Himari私は冷茶にします。Watashi wa reicha ni shimasu.I'll have the cold green tea.
- 大翔 Hirotoいい選択だね。Ii sentaku da ne.That's a good choice.
- 陽葵 Himari今日はとても暑いからね。Kyou wa totemo atsui kara ne.Because it's very hot today.
