Senchadō (煎茶道) means “the way of sencha”, and it involves the preparation of loose leaf tea such as sencha and gyokuro. Sadō, or chanoyu, which we know as the...
Tea Drunk: Chayoi
Chayoi (茶酔い) is the Japanese term for tea drunk. Many people think that getting drunk from drinking tea is impossible. But I can tell you that it is real....
The Izumi Tea Cultivar
Izumi (いずみ) is an old cultivar, and it is definitely rare. Only a few tea farmers cultivate it. It was developed for kamairi tamaryokucha, but today it can be...
About Konbucha
Konbucha (昆布茶) is an infusion of the konbu seaweed. It shouldn’t be confused with kombucha, which is a fermented beverage that has become very popular. By the way, in...
The Benitachiwase Tea Cultivar
Benitachiwase (べにたちわせ) is an old cultivar developed at a time when Japan was very interested in competing in the black tea market. It is named after its three more...
Western Versus Japanese Style Tea Brewing
At first I thought about using the title “Western vs Eastern Style Tea Brewing”. But after looking at some of the related articles online, I noticed that they are...
Teatox: Herbal Tea in Detox Diets
Cleanse diets have become very popular, there are a great number of them. One of them is the detox diet, which often employ herbal tea blends. You’ve probably seen...
How to Make Matcha Iri Genmaicha
Matcha iri genmaicha (抹茶入玄米茶) is a blend of two very popular Japanese teas: matcha and genmaicha. If you ever feel like drinking a bolder version of a genmaicha, this...
Why does Japanese Green Tea Smell like Seaweed?
Japanese green teas often exhibit a fresh and marine aroma, very similar to seaweed. It’s an indicative of good quality. Some people mistakenly call it a “fishy” aroma. If...
The Samidori Tea Cultivar
Samidori (さみどり) is an unregistered tea cultivar from the Uji region. It’s not to be confused with Saemidori. This cultivar is suitable for shaded teas like gyokuro and tencha....
Ochazuke
Ochazuke (お茶漬け) is a Japanese comfort food that is very easy to make. The basic ingredients are cooked rice, toppings of your choice, and either green tea, dashi (a...
The Minamisayaka Tea Cultivar
Minamisayaka (みなみさやか,南爽 ) can be translated as “south freshness”. This cultivar is known for its aroma. It is milky, floral and refreshing. While initially meant for sencha, from what...