Chachanoma (茶茶の間) is a tea room in Tokyo which specializes in Japanese tea and has a very good reputation. The name is a play on words. “Cha” means tea...
The Story of Ikkyu
The Buddhist monk Ikkyū Sōjun (一休宗純) is credited for imparting a Zen influence into the arts of Japan. Of course, this includes Japanese tea. Ikkyū’s disciple, Murata Jukō, would...
Tea Company Sayamaen Honoka
Honoka is the name of a fukamushi sencha sold by Tea Company Sayamaen. It’s made with the Yabukita cultivar, and comes from Iruma city (入間市), Saitama prefecture. Note that...
Tea Company Sayamaen
After visiting Shizuoka prefecture, I still had some few days for tea tourism in the Tokyo area. My friend Kayoko Ikeya invited me to visit her parent’s tea house,...
Yamahachi Maeda Koutarou Shouten
My last tea experience at Shizuoka prefecture was at Yamahachi Maeda Koutarou Shouten (やまはち前田幸太郎商店). This company is a tea wholesaler. It’s best known because the master tea blender Fumio...
JapaneseGreenTeaIn.com Issaku
This is the first tea that I review from www.japanesegreenteain.com. This company sells tea from Shizuoka prefecture. More specifically, the Arahataen Green Tea Farms. Arahataen employs the chagusaba sustainable...
How to Take Care of Your Chasen (Tea Whisk)
I’ve been drinking matcha every morning since last year. Even my wife drinks it too. We’re regular matcha drinkers now 🙂 Because of that, I’m using the chasen (茶筅,...
What I Like About Japanese Green Tea
This is a question that I’m often asked. People wonder why I stick to Japanese green tea, if there’s such a great variety of tea in other countries as...
The One Taste of Truth (Book Review)
The full title of this book is The One Taste of Truth: Zen and the Art of Drinking Tea. The author, William Scott Wilson, is a renowned translator of...
Sugimoto Seicha Factory Tour
Another tea factory tour that I did while in Shizuoka prefecture was at Sugimoto Seicha (杉本製茶). Perhaps you’ve heard about Sugimoto America in the US? They are a subsidiary...
Koicha
Did you know that there’s another traditional way to prepare matcha? The matcha that we mostly see pictures of is usucha (薄茶, thin tea). Usucha has a layer of...
La Kouju
I obtained this sample from Yamanashi Shouten, which is the company that makes it. But before I review it, let me explain a little bit about this new type...