At first I didn’t think that I would be able to attend this year’s World Tea Expo. My finances weren’t good, but in the end things got better so...
Rishouen Tea Sencha Z1
When I visited Rishouen Tea in Uji, they let me try some of their teas. One of them was a sencha from the Z1 cultivar. It was the first...
The Z1 Tea Cultivar
The Z1 cultivar is quite rare. It’s difficult to find even inside Japan. There’s also very little information about it, because it’s not a registered tea cultivar. So why...
Nana’s Green Tea
The last few days that I was in Tokyo I had the chance to visit Nana’s Green Tea. This green tea cafe chain has been called the Japanese Starbucks....
Fumio Maeda Original Blended Fukamushicha 2016
Last year when I met the famous master tea blender Fumio Maeda, he gave me this sample. I had tried one of his previous blends, and it was excellent....
Chachanoma
Chachanoma (茶茶の間) is a tea room in Tokyo which specializes in Japanese tea and has a very good reputation. The name is a play on words. “Cha” means tea...
The Story of Ikkyu
The Buddhist monk Ikkyū Sōjun (一休宗純) is credited for imparting a Zen influence into the arts of Japan. Of course, this includes Japanese tea. Ikkyū’s disciple, Murata Jukō, would...
Tea Company Sayamaen Honoka
Honoka is the name of a fukamushi sencha sold by Tea Company Sayamaen. It’s made with the Yabukita cultivar, and comes from Iruma city (入間市), Saitama prefecture. Note that...
Tea Company Sayamaen
After visiting Shizuoka prefecture, I still had some few days for tea tourism in the Tokyo area. My friend Kayoko Ikeya invited me to visit her parent’s tea house,...
Yamahachi Maeda Koutarou Shouten
My last tea experience at Shizuoka prefecture was at Yamahachi Maeda Koutarou Shouten (やまはち前田幸太郎商店). This company is a tea wholesaler. It’s best known because the master tea blender Fumio...
JapaneseGreenTeaIn.com Issaku
This is the first tea that I review from www.japanesegreenteain.com. This company sells tea from Shizuoka prefecture. More specifically, the Arahataen Green Tea Farms. Arahataen employs the chagusaba sustainable...
How to Take Care of Your Chasen (Tea Whisk)
I’ve been drinking matcha every morning since last year. Even my wife drinks it too. We’re regular matcha drinkers now 🙂 Because of that, I’m using the chasen (茶筅,...