I had never imagined that I would be traveling every year to Las Vegas. But I can’t resist going to the World Tea Expo, I always have so much...
The Sakimidori Tea Cultivar
Sakimidori (さきみどり) is a Japanese tea cultivar characterized by its vibrant green color. Over the last years it has received some attention. For example, it has been one of...
Senchado
Senchadō (煎茶道) means “the way of sencha”, and it involves the preparation of loose leaf tea such as sencha and gyokuro. Sadō, or chanoyu, which we know as the...
Yannoko Tea Sencha Sagi
Since I had a good experience with my first tea review from Yannoko Tea, I decided to try another one. This sencha comes from Ujitawara town in Kyoto prefecture,...
My Experience with Hosting Tea Tastings
I’ve been hosting tea tasting events for about 5 years. At first it was just once every two months or so, but now I have an average of two...
Tea Drunk: Chayoi
Chayoi (茶酔い) is the Japanese term for tea drunk. Many people think that getting drunk from drinking tea is impossible. But I can tell you that it is real....
Maruyamaen Sencha with Gyokuro
This tea by Maruyamaen caught my interest because it’s a blend that I hadn’t tasted before. It consists of a fukamushi sencha with a gyokuro from Uji. I received...
Tada Motokichi: The Father of Japanese Black Tea
People are often surprised to hear about Japanese black tea, or wakoucha (和紅茶), since Japan is mostly known for its green tea. Japanese black tea isn’t produced in large...
The Izumi Tea Cultivar
Izumi (いずみ) is an old cultivar, and it is definitely rare. Only a few tea farmers cultivate it. It was developed for kamairi tamaryokucha, but today it can be...
DoMatcha Master’s Low Caffeine Matcha
DoMatcha Master’s Low Caffeine Matcha is a novel product, I hadn’t heard about such a matcha before. It has the same level of caffeine as a decaffeinated coffee, so...
About Konbucha
Konbucha (昆布茶) is an infusion of the konbu seaweed. It shouldn’t be confused with kombucha, which is a fermented beverage that has become very popular. By the way, in...
The Benitachiwase Tea Cultivar
Benitachiwase (べにたちわせ) is an old cultivar developed at a time when Japan was very interested in competing in the black tea market. It is named after its three more...