Seimei (せいめい), written with the Chinese characters 清茗 can be translated as “clean and pure tea”. This cultivar is highly suitable for making shaded teas such as tencha. History...
Naoki Chiran Matcha
This matcha comes from the Chiran tea region around Minamikyūshū city in Kagoshima prefecture. Many thanks to Naoki Matcha for giving me this sample for review. One very interesting...
The Tsuyuhikari Tea Cultivar
Tsuyuhikari (つゆひかり) can be translated as “dew light”. This tea cultivar has a high valuation in terms of umami taste and color of its liquor. While still a rare...
Nomad Tea Festival
Two weeks ago I attended the Nomad Tea Festival, which is a virtual tea event. I had missed other virtual tea events because of my work schedule, so I...
Wakoen Benifuuki Powder
Nowadays I don’t go out as often because of the pandemic, so my allergies have improved. But I still have symptoms every now and then. That’s why I like...
Tea Tasting Guide by Tony Gebely
Tony Gebely from Tea Epicure is offering a tea tasting guide for just one dollar! I learned about it through his newsletter. The guide consists of two parts. The...
At what Age can a Child Start Drinking Tea?
Tea contains caffeine, although its total content varies depending on the type of tea. Pregnant women are advised to limit or totally stop their caffeine intake, and the same...
Chakouan Ureshino Kamairicha
Tea from the Ureshino region (Saga and Nagasaki prefectures) is well known in Japan, especially kamairicha. The most interesting about this type of green tea is that it’s made...
Cultivating Femininity: Women and Tea Culture in Edo and Meiji Japan (Book Review)
Nowadays, most of the practitioners of the Japanese tea ceremony are women. But for a very long time it was a cultural activity dominated by men. Through this book...
The Shizu-7132 Tea Cultivar
Shizu-7132 (静7132) is an unregistered Japanese tea cultivar whose main characteristic is its unique aroma of cherry blossom (sakura). I can’t think of a better aroma to represent spring...
Ikkyu Kiri
In this blog there aren’t many reviews of tamaryokucha because it’s an uncommon Japanese tea. But luckily, I received this sample from Ikkyu. Basically, tamaryokucha is the same as...
Furuta Oribe
Sen no Rikyū, the most famous master of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, taught his disciples to “do things differently”. Most of them either kept doing the same, or just...