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I was having a discussion with a Japanese friend and she said that the word
日本茶 ''means'' green tea.

I have put the word ''means'' in brackets for emphasis.

I replied that surely 日本茶 means Japanese tea and 緑茶 means green tea. I don't
know a lot about Japanese teas but a quick Google shows that most teas in
Japan are green but there are some non-green teas.

So my understanding is this: 日本茶 means Japanese tea but because most teas in
Japan are green it implies green tea.

I tried to explain this to her but she was having none of it. 日本茶 absolutely
''means'' green tea.

I didn't want to push the conversation any further so I let it go.

My understanding is this, please tell me if I am wrong.

日本茶 literally means Japanese tea.

緑茶 means green tea.

Most tea in Japan is green so saying 日本茶 to a Japanese person implies green
tea.

But 日本茶 does not ''mean'' green tea.
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words definitions
Does 日本茶 ''mean'' green tea?
日本茶 literally means Japanese tea, or tea produced in Japan. 緑茶 means green
tea.

Teas produced in Japan are almost exclusively green, but Japan does produce
non-green teas.

Note that green tea does not refer to the green color of the beverage but the
color of the tea leaves.

According to the website of Itoen, a major Japanese tea company, 緑茶 used to
represent the whole of 日本茶, but nowadays 緑茶 is often used interchangeably with
煎茶(sencha).

The Itoen website in question is the following: "緑茶、煎茶の違いは何ですか？" on
<https://www.itoen.co.jp/customer/faq/detail/tea_leaves_01.php>
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answer
Putting aside that there are other teas in Japan, such as barley tea, 日本茶 is
green tea in that it refers to the Japanese tea leaf which traditionally,
domestically, is never allowed to oxidize into a different form of tea which
is more traditional of other cultures such as oolong or black.

This being said, this then covers "green tea" in all its forms:
煎茶、抹茶、ほうじ茶、玄米茶、etc.

Where 緑茶 can mean, explicitly, "green tea," because of its essential
connection to 煎茶, 緑茶 does NOT actually cover other forms of green tea such as
抹茶 or ほうじ茶.
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answer