Marishi (摩利支) is named after the Buddhist guardian deity called Marishiten in Japanese. Meant for sencha production, this is an extremely early budding cultivar. History of Marishi In present...
Zojirushi VE Hybrid Water Boiler
The first time I saw a Zojirushi water boiler was when I lived in Japan. It’s a popular brand there. I bought one when I left Japan and I...
Maiko Tea Nomigoro Gyokuro
I visited Maiko Tea many years ago when I was on a tea tour in Kyoto prefecture. What I remember the most is that they served me a gyokuro...
Podcast 052: Steeped
A while ago I was contacted by Tristan Otto, the co-founder of Steeped. I didn’t know that this app existed, so I talked with Tristan to learn more about...
I Prefer Small Teapots
I’ve become used to drinking tea in small teacups and teapots. Of course, in the case of many guests I would use a bigger teapot. But for few people,...
Mitocha Makibi Kancha
I’ve known about kancha for years, but I only managed to get my hands on a sample now. It is quite rare. In fact, this isn’t the original one...
Stories of Japanese Tea (Book Review)
Thanks to Princeton Architectural Press, I obtained a copy of this book before it was published. The author is Zach Mangan, founder of Kettl. I haven’t tried their teas...
Podcast 051: Osadaen
In this episode I interview James Johnson from Osadaen. We talk about their different teas, for example the dark tea yamabuki nadeshiko. This tea company led by Osada Natsumi...
Tezumi Handpicked Honyama Sencha
Since most Japanese tea is harvested by machine, obtaining one picked by hand isn’t easy. I’m very eager to taste this asamushi (light steamed) sencha from the Honyama region...
The Nanmei Tea Cultivar
Nanmei (なんめい, 南茗) can be translated as “south tea”. It was named this way because it is an early budding cultivar that is suitable for the southern regions of...
Paper Kyusu
A friend told me about a paper teapot in Japan that you can mail as a gift: Kami no kyusu. You choose the type of tea to send with...
Okaki and Arare
Okaki (おかき) and arare (あられ) are rice crackers made of glutinous rice (mochi rice). Nowadays, the only difference between them is their size. Okaki is bigger than arare. But...