Since last year, most of my tea drinking has happened at the office. This is where I spend most of my time. In this post, I’ll describe my morning...
Sakura Mochi
Sakura mochi (桜餅) is a wagashi (Japanese traditional sweet) that’s usually wrapped in a cherry blossom leaf. Basically, it’s a pink colored rice-based dessert with a sweet bean filling....
The Miyamakaori Tea Cultivar
Miyamakaori (みやまかおり) is a late budding cultivar used for sencha production. Its name means “deep mountain aroma”, 深山香. History of Miyamakaori In 1983 at the tea industry branch of...
Swapping Tea with Friends
Did you buy a tea that you just don’t enjoy as much? Or perhaps you bought too much of a single tea and now you worry that you’ll get...
Crystals on Tea Leaves
Some days ago a Japanese friend send me a picture. It looked like crystals that had grown on top of some of the tea leaves. She told me that...
The Harunonagori Tea Cultivar
Harunonagori (はるのなごり) is a late budding cultivar that can be used for sencha and oolong production. The name can be literally translated as the sorrow of the passing of...
How to Make Sencha from Your Tea Plant
At my balcony, I have some tea plants that I’ve been taking care of. Since their are still too young, I don’t get to harvest them regularly. Also, I’ve...
The Haruto 34 Tea Cultivar
Haruto 34 (はると34) is a very early budding cultivar with a good taste and aroma. The name comes from the Chinese characters 春翔, meaning spring and soar. Hence the...
Karukan
Karukan (軽羹) is a traditional sweet from Kyushu. It’s made with rice flour, Japanese mountain yam (山芋, yamaimo, Dioscorea japonica), sugar, and water. Japanese mountain yam is the most...
The Nagomiyutaka Tea Cultivar
Nagomiyutaka (なごみゆたか) can be translated as “relaxing richness”. It was named this way because it is rich in L-theanine, which is a relaxing compound. History of Nagomiyutaka In 1988...
Chairo: The Color of Tea
In Japanese, chairo (茶色) literally means “tea color”. Oddly enough, this color is brown instead of green. Green tea leaves are green, and the liquor of most Japanese green...
Having Tea Leaves in the Teacup
Usually, after the tea leaves are infused, only the liquid is poured into the teacup. That is, the tea leaves are filtered out. If we keep the tea leaves...