Dietary minerals are very important for our health. A sustained lack of a specific mineral results in a corresponding illness, much like what happens with vitamins. While not a...
Sakao Enterprise Houjicha with Genmai Superior
This tea is uncommon, it’s the first time that I try a houjicha with genmai. Also called houji genmaicha in Japan, it’s made of houjicha with roasted rice. Since...
Podcast 009: Breakaway Matcha
Unlike most online tea stores, Breakaway Matcha only sells one type of tea. I had a good time interviewing Eric Gower. He lived in Japan for many years and...
Eating Spent Tea Leaves
In a previous article, I wrote about how to dry used tea leaves. The idea was to avoid waste by finding another use for your spent tea leaves. This...
Fukamushi Sencha: Taking Steaming a Step Further
This is my first guest post for T Ching, a tea blog that has been around since 2006. I’ll be writing more posts for T Ching every now and...
How to Choose a Good Gyokuro
As you know, gyokuro is one of the most expensive Japanese teas. How can you make sure that you’re buying the best gyokuro for your money? Follow these simple...
Kurihara Premium Gyokuro
This gyokuro comes from Fukuoka prefecture, and is made by the Kurihara family tea farm. It’s not everyday that I get to drink gyokuro, so I was very excited...
Podcast 008: Tea Horse
Tea Horse is a British online tea store that sells a variety of loose leaf tea. This is the first time that I feature a tea company from the...
Guide to Re-steeping Japanese Green Tea
Did you know that once brewed, you can still get more flavor out of your green tea leaves? You do so by re-steeping. Basically, all you have to do...
Shincha: Japanese Green Tea from the First Flush
Shincha (新茶, new tea) sounds like a type of Japanese tea and is easily confused with sencha, but it has more to do with the time of harvest. You’ll...
Mellow Monk Top Leaf
Top Leaf is a first flush tamaryokucha from the Aso region of Kumamoto prefecture. It comes in a 100 gr (3.5 oz) resealable bag and as as you can...
Podcast 007: Tea for me please
In a sense, Nicole Martin is my tea blogging mentor. She helped me out with some questions I had when I started this blog, and she is also active...