This is a question that I’m often asked. People wonder why I stick to Japanese green tea, if there’s such a great variety of tea in other countries as...
The One Taste of Truth (Book Review)
The full title of this book is The One Taste of Truth: Zen and the Art of Drinking Tea. The author, William Scott Wilson, is a renowned translator of...
Sugimoto Seicha Factory Tour
Another tea factory tour that I did while in Shizuoka prefecture was at Sugimoto Seicha (杉本製茶). Perhaps you’ve heard about Sugimoto America in the US? They are a subsidiary...
Koicha
Did you know that there’s another traditional way to prepare matcha? The matcha that we mostly see pictures of is usucha (薄茶, thin tea). Usucha has a layer of...
La Kouju
I obtained this sample from Yamanashi Shouten, which is the company that makes it. But before I review it, let me explain a little bit about this new type...
Yamanashi Shouten
This was a tea factory tour courtesy of The World Green Tea Association. Mr. Nishikawa (Manager) and Mr. Uchino (Senior managing director) were kind enough to take me along....
The World Green Tea Association
I first heard about the World Green Tea Association (世界緑茶協会) at the World Tea Expo. The manager, Hiroshi Nishikawa, learned of my trip to Japan because of this blog’s...
Yamaneen Genmaicha with Matcha
This tea is sold by Ippin, an online store that specializes in Japanese products. The following link is for the US market: https://us.ippin.com. The tea’s brand is Yamaneen (山年園),...
World Atlas of Tea (Book Review)
World Atlas of Tea, as its name implies, is a book with emphasis on the geographical aspect of tea. It’s written by Krisi Smith, co-founder of Blue Bird Tea...
NAJTIA Bamboo Certification Course
NAJTIA (North American Japanese Tea Instructors Association) is a non profit organization representing the Japanese Tea industry and the traditions around Japanese Tea in North America. Before NAJTIA, you could only...
Meeting Tyas from The Tea Crane
My wife and I wanted to go to Osaka because the city is famous for its food. I hadn’t been there much, even when I lived in Japan. Besides,...
How to Prepare Iced Matcha
I usually prepare matcha with hot water, but iced matcha is a good alternative when you need to cool off. Let me show you the different methods, and my...