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...
Removing Tea Stains from Teacups
Two of my porcelain teacups have brown stains. These stains won’t come off with soap, no matter how hard I scrub them. At first the stains were barely noticeable,...
The Toyoka Tea Cultivar
Toyoka (とよか、豊香) is a cultivar named after Toyooka (豊岡) city in Hyogo prefecture. Its name means “rich aroma”. History of Toyoka In 1948 at the agricultural experimental site in...
I Asked ChatGPT about Tea
We’re in the age of AI. I’m sure that you’ve used it by now in one way or another. I do use ChatGPT fairly often, to the point of...
The Mieuejima Tea Cultivar
Mieuejima (みえうえじま, 三重上嶋) is named after Mie prefecture, and the last name of its tea breeder. This cultivar has a good resistance towards pests and diseases. History of Mieuejima...
Nio Teas Henta Okumidori Sencha
This sencha comes from Kirishima, Kagoshima prefecture. It’s sold by Nio Teas. I like this cultivar. It’s quite similar in taste to Yabukita, so it can make a classic...
Monaka
Monaka (最中) is a traditional Japanese sweet (wagashi) consisting of a sweet filling sandwiched between two thin wafers. The wafers are often made of rice flour, and they can...
The Houshun Tea Cultivar
Houshun (鳳春), meaning “spring phoenix”, is a cultivar meant for gyokuro production. This early budding cultivar comes from the Uji region. History of Houshun At the Kyoto tea industry...
History of Japanese Porcelain
Porcelain, a white, translucent, and non-porous material, was invented in China more than a thousand years ago. This ceramic is made with kaolin clay, and fired at a high...
Sugimoto Tea Yabukita Kamairicha
Sugimoto Tea offers rare teas for wholesale accounts only, and for a limited time. Luckily, I get samples of those teas every now and then. I tasted a kamairicha...
The Tenmyou Tea Cultivar
Tenmyou (展茗) is a cultivar meant for tencha production. It’s mainly cultivated in the Uji region. History of Tenmyou In 1975 at the Kyoto tea industry experimental site, seeds...
Momoyama
Momoyama (桃山) is a baked wagashi (traditional Japanese sweet) that’s similar to manjū. The difference is that momoyama uses white bean paste (shiroan), not only as a filling but...