In the foyer of a Japanese vegetarian restaurant on East 39th Street, around the corner from several nail salons and the House of Lasagna, a Japanese tea ceremony was unfolding.
从几家美甲店和意式千层面馆(House of Lasagna)拐过街角，在东39街一个日本素餐厅的门厅里，一场日式茶道正在进行。
Kato Riichiro, the manager of Ippodo Tea, had before him a whisk, a sieve, a wooden spoon and, most important, a bowl of vivid green powder. This is matcha, a very particular kind of Japanese tea that is not easy to come across even in such a caffeinated city.
一保堂茶铺(Ippodo Tea)的经理加藤理一郎(Kato Riichiro)面前放着一个搅拌器、一个滤网和一个木勺，以及最重要的一碗鲜绿的茶粉。这是抹茶，一种非常特别的日本茶，甚至在纽约这座钟爱咖啡因的城市里，你也不容易碰到它。

Waiting for her order was Niovi Christopoulou, 36, who works nearby and discovered Ippodo Tea a couple of weeks ago. She now comes in most afternoons for a “thin matcha” ($4.25).
点这杯抹茶的是36岁的尼奥维·克里斯托普洛(Niovi Christopoulou)，她在附近工作，几周前发现了一保堂茶铺。现在她几乎每天下午都来这里买“淡抹茶”（4.25美元）。
Mr. Riichiro added boiling water into the bowl and whisked the mixture until it was smooth. He poured the tea into a regular to-go cup with a lid.
理一郎在碗中加入沸水，搅拌混合，直至变滑。他把茶倒入一个普通的带盖子的外卖杯中。
“For mental energy, it’s better than coffee,” Ms. Christopoulou said.
“从提神的角度讲，它比咖啡管用，”克里斯托普洛说。
Matcha, which comes from specially cultivated tea plants grown only in Japan, is not especially loaded with caffeine, with a cup containing only 25 to 70 milligrams. (An eight-ounce cup of coffee has from 95 to 200 milligrams.) But unlike coffee, matcha is full of theanine, an amino acid that has a calming effect, balancing the jitters some get from caffeine. It also has an unusual flavor — earthy, with a lingering umami aftertaste — that few teas do. In Japan, matcha is mainly for ceremonial events, but the green tea is finding a wider audience in the United States.
抹茶产自仅在日本种植、经特殊培植的茶树，它的咖啡因含量并不是特别高，一杯仅含25至70毫克咖啡因（一杯8盎司的咖啡含95至200毫克咖啡因）。不过跟咖啡不同，抹茶中含有大量茶氨酸，它是一种具有镇定作用的氨基酸，能平衡咖啡因给某些人带来的亢奋。它还有一种不同寻常的味道——有泥土的芳香，还有一种长久的甘甜回味——别的茶几乎都没有这种味道。在日本，抹茶主要用于仪式活动，但是这种绿茶在美国拥有更广泛的消费群体。
Ippodo Tea is a nearly 300-year-old Japanese company based in Kyoto with a shop also in Tokyo. The New York location is its first international storefront.
一保堂茶铺是京都一家有300年历史的日本公司，在东京也有分店。纽约分店是它的第一家海外分店。
It opened here in April 2013, after the company realized that most of its online sales were coming from the area. Besides serving ready-brewed tea, Ippodo sells bulk bags of tea and the tools to prepare matcha at home. The store is little more than a long counter that occupies the front space of Kajitsu, a Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant. Tea drinkers must take their beverages to go; the seats are for dining guests only.
这家公司发现它的产品在网上主要销往这个区域，所以2013年4月在纽约开了家分店。除了供应泡好的茶水，这里还销售大包装的茶以及在家泡抹茶的工具。这家店其实只有一个长长的柜台，位于米其林星级日本餐馆Kajitsu的门厅里。喝茶的人必须把茶带走喝，座位只留给那些在这里用餐的顾客。
While Ippodo also has other green teas, including sencha, the most popular tea in Japan, the thin matcha is the most popular drink in the store. The matcha slushy, tea over shaved ice, and matcha lattes were developed for the New York outpost to appeal to a Starbucks-drinking customer. Most teas are $3 to $5, a range familiar to the Starbucks crowd.
一保堂茶铺也卖其他种类的绿茶，包括日本最流行的煎茶，但是该店最畅销的是淡抹茶。抹茶刨冰和抹茶拿铁是为了吸引常喝星巴克的纽约顾客而开发的。大部分茶水3至5美元，星巴克也是这个价位。
Yuichi Ikeuchi, 26, was visiting from Tokyo with a friend when they stumbled upon Ippodo near their hotel. Mr. Ikeuchi ordered a matcha latte to see how Americans drink the tea.
26岁的池内雄一(Yuichi Ikeuchi)和一个朋友从东京来旅行，他们在酒店附近偶然发现了一保堂茶铺。他点了一份抹茶拿铁，想看看美国人是怎么喝茶的。
“I imagined it was going to be very sweet, but it’s not,” he said. “I like it.”
“我以为会很甜，但其实不是，”他说，“我挺喜欢的。”
Victor Sarto and Dan Grossfield stopped in after a walk from their office nearby. Mr. Grossfield, 36, had been to Ippodo Tea before and brought Mr. Sarto, 31, to have his first cup. Mr. Sarto had the gyokuro, a highly caffeinated green tea. Mr. Grossfield had the thick matcha, which has twice as much matcha as the thin version and is more viscous.
维克托·萨尔托(Victor Sarto)和丹·格劳斯菲尔德(Dan Grossfield)是从附近的办公室出来散步顺便来这里。36岁的格劳斯菲尔德以前来过这里，这是他第一次把31岁的萨尔托带来品尝。萨尔托点的是玉露，它是一种咖啡因含量很高的绿茶。格劳斯菲尔德点的是浓抹茶，它的抹茶含量是淡抹茶的两倍，更粘稠。
“It has a little bitter taste to it,” Mr. Grossfield said. “But definitely in a pleasant way.”
“它喝起来有点苦，”格劳斯菲尔德说，“不过当然是那种好喝的苦味。”
Mr. Sarto, who said he usually drank espresso, compared his tea to seaweed.
萨尔托说他通常是喝浓咖啡，他把自己点的茶比作海藻。
“If I want a change of pace, I’d drink it again,” Mr. Sarto said.
“如果我什么时候想换换口味，肯定还会来喝的，”萨尔托说。