History of Canned Tea

Although bottled tea is much more popular, you’ll also find canned tea in Japan.

The canning process of preserving food was invented in the 1800s in Europe.

Since there weren’t refrigerators at the time, it started out as a way to make food last longer.

It wasn’t until 1935 that beverages appeared in canned form.

First beer, and soft drinks soon after.

Surprisingly, canned coffee wasn’t a Western invention.

It was first made in Japan in 1965. The brand was Mira Coffee, but it didn’t last long.

UCC Ueshima Coffee Co started selling canned coffee with milk in 1969. The company is still selling canned coffee today.

But the real breakthrough was the development of the cold and hot drink vending machine. Sales soared after that.

But let’s go back to the topic of canned tea.

As you can imagine, it was also invented in Japan.

But what’s unexpected is the type of tea that became canned: oolong tea.

The year was 1981, and the company is Ito En.

Why would Japan start canning oolong tea if it mainly produces green tea?

When Japan ruled Taiwan (1895 – 1945), oolong tea reached the Japanese market.

During the 1970s, the word of mouth was that oolong tea had a slimming effect.

This created a big market for oolong tea in Japan. Even now, oolong tea is sold in vending machines as well.

Green tea oxidizes rapidly, so at first it didn’t lend itself to being canned.

The necessary technology was developed in 1986. Ito En started selling “canned sencha”.

Have you ever tried canned tea?