After my podcast with Reina Sakao of Sakao Enterprise, I was fortunate enough to receive a variety of tea samples from her store. Thank you Reina! The first tea...
Podcast 006: Mellow Monk
Mellow Monk is an online tea company that sells Japanese teas from the Kumamoto prefecture. I interviewed Paul Kotta, Mellow Monk’s founder, who personally meets and buys from artisans...
Why are there Electric Fans in Tea Fields?
If you look at a Japanese tea field, you’ll often see what looks like tall posts with small fans on top. Have you wondered what they are for? The...
Ice Brewing Gyokuro
I’m sure that you’re familiar with iced tea, but did you know that you can brew tea using ice only? Ice brewing, or ice steeping, is called kooridashi (氷出し)...
The Tea With the Highest Saponin Content: Saponincha
Did you know that there’s a tea that’s mainly drank for its saponin content? It’s called saponincha (サポニン茶, saponin tea) in Japan, and it’s a real tea in the...
How to Make Kaga Boucha at Home
Have you tried kaga boucha before? It’s basically roasted kukicha and it’s named after Kaga city in Ishikawa prefecture. Other names for it are houjikukicha (焙じ茎茶) and kukihoujicha (茎焙じ茶)....
The Persimmon Tree Sencha
I’ve been enjoying this tea for the past weeks, it’s almost over now. Sencha is the second tea that I drink the most, after genmaicha. The Persimmon Tree Sencha...
Podcast 005: Sakao Enterprise
I first met Reina Sakao on Google+, she’s active in the the Japanese Tea Community. She posts beautiful pictures of teaware there, so I encourage you to join. It’s...
Wagashi: Traditional Confectionery for the Tea Ceremony
Wagashi (和菓子) is a traditional Japanese sweet made of bean paste, rice and fruits. It’s often served with a bowl of matcha in the Japanese tea ceremony. There are...
Podcast 004: Everyone’s Tea
I asked Kohei Yamamoto for an interview because I like his tea blog, and he offers very good teaware in his online shop. He also knows a lot about...
Kesennuma Kuwacha Sencha
This isn’t a type of sencha but rather an herbal tea made from mulberry leaf and processed in the same way as sencha. Kuwacha is a healthy tea that...
Kuwacha
Have you ever heard about Kuwacha? Kuwacha (桑茶, mulberry leaf tea) is a tisane made from the leaves of the mulberry plant. It has been traditionally drunk in Japan...