Minamikaori (みなみかおり) means “south aroma”. It refers to Miyazaki prefecture, which is where this cultivar was developed. Its purpose is sencha production, but while researching online I noticed that...
Hotta Katsutaro Shoten Organic Matcha
I had this sample lying around for a long time, but hadn’t opened the package until now. I’m glad I did because I liked it a lot 🙂 Since...
The Reason Why Matcha is Healthy
I often get asked what’s the healthiest green tea, and the short answer I usually give is that it’s matcha. But in this post I’ll explain in detail why...
The Old Tea Seller: Life and Zen Poetry in 18th Century Kyoto (Book Review)
While writing the post about Baisao, the “old tea seller”, I learned of this book. Because Baisao was such an interesting and influential person, I bought the book on...
The Tea Crane Organic Seed-Grown Black Tea
I’ve never had the chance to taste a green tea from the Yamatomidori cultivar, but at least I was able to taste a black tea made from bushes grown...
Baisao: The First Senchado Master
For centuries, matcha accounted for most of the tea drank in Japan. This would change in the 18th century, in large part by the efforts of a traveling monk...
The Hatsumomiji Tea Cultivar
Hatsumomiji (はつもみじ) refers to the first maple leaves to turn red in autumn. This was the first hybrid between a Japanese native tea plant and a black tea cultivar...
Boke Bancha Review
This is one of those tea samples that for some reason I didn’t review quickly, so I forgot about it until now. It happens when I receive too many...
Jade Leaf Matcha Classic Ceremonial Matcha
I received this sample from Jade Leaf Matcha at the World Tea Expo. The company has three ceremonial matchas. This one is the most economic. All of them come...
Podcast 037: The Tea Crane Kickstarter
Tyas Sōsen from The Tea Crane has been working on a new tea project. In this podcast we talk about his Kickstarter campaign, organic and natural teas in Japan,...
Podcast 036: Pairing Green Tea with Cheese
In this episode I talk with Robert Wemischner, the author of Cooking with Tea, about pairing green tea with cheese. Robert is very knowledgeable about tea pairings, I attended...
Smile Tea Organic Houjicha
Smile tea is a new brand created for selling through Amazon. It’s manufactured in Kagoshima prefecture by Kagoshima Seicha. They gave me this sample at the World Tea Expo....