Culinary Tea, by Cynthia Gold and Lisë Stern, had been on my wish list for a long time. While I’m not very active in the kitchen, I do try...
3 Leaf Tea Ceremonial Matcha
After the podcast with Luciana from 3 Leaf Tea, I received a sample of the company’s ceremonial grade matcha. It’s hand picked in the Uji region, so the quality...
Podcast 034: Oscar Brekell
I first met Oscar Brekell in Japan at last year’s Uji press tea tour. At that time, I didn’t know that I was speaking to a famous tea personality...
Chagayu
Chagayu (茶粥) is a tea rice porridge that is made in western Japan, but it is in Nara prefecture where it is most famous. The oldest written account about...
Kiss Me Organics Ceremonial Matcha
Kiss Me Organics reached out to me for a review of their organic ceremonial matcha. I love matcha, so I was definitely interested in trying it. Especially since it’s...
Podcast 033: 3 Leaf Tea
3 Leaf Tea specializes in matcha. The company sells online, and also in their physical store and café in Auburn, NY. In this episode I speak with Luciana Torous,...
Podcast 032: The State of the Matcha Market in the US
In this episode I talk with Noli Ergas of Sugimoto America about the matcha market in the United States. Among the topics covered are: the current trend regarding demand...
Sakamoto Organic Tea LLC Gyokuro
Tea farmer Shuichirou Sakamoto (修一郎坂元) was at the 2017 World Tea Expo in JETRO’s booth. I tried his cold brewed gyokuro and it was very good. However, I didn’t...
Ochazuke
Ochazuke (お茶漬け) is a Japanese comfort food that is very easy to make. The basic ingredients are cooked rice, toppings of your choice, and either green tea, dashi (a...
Murata Jukō
Murata Jukō (村田珠光), born in Nara in 1423, is known as the founder of the Japanese tea ceremony. He entered priesthood in the Jōdō sect at an early age...
Ryutsu Service Organic Matcha
I’ve tried this matcha more than once, because Yoshiaki Hattori from Ryutsu Service has been coming to the World Tea Expo regularly. But this is the first time that...
The Book of Korean Tea (Book Review)
After attending the seminar of Fred Yoo about Korean tea at the World Tea Expo, I couldn’t resist buying his book. I know next to nothing about the subject,...