The Benihikari Tea Cultivar

Benihikari, which literally means “red light”, is a Japanese tea cultivar for black tea. Note that black tea is called “red tea” (koucha) in Japan. This cultivar is a...

rakugan

Rakugan

Rakugan (落雁) is a Japanese dried confectionery that is commonly used in the tea ceremony. This wagashi (traditional Japanese sweet) is made with flour (often from rice) and sugar...

matcha pizza

Matcha Pizza

I’ve seen matcha used as an ingredient for many dishes, but it has never occurred to me that a matcha pizza exists. First I saw one from Japan through...

The Marishi Tea Cultivar

Marishi (摩利支) is named after the Buddhist guardian deity called Marishiten in Japanese. Meant for sencha production, this is an extremely early budding cultivar. History of Marishi In present...

The Nanmei Tea Cultivar

Nanmei (なんめい, 南茗) can be translated as “south tea”. It was named this way because it is an early budding cultivar that is suitable for the southern regions of...

Paper Kyusu

A friend told me about a paper teapot in Japan that you can mail as a gift: Kami no kyusu. You choose the type of tea to send with...

Okaki and Arare

Okaki (おかき) and arare (あられ) are rice crackers made of glutinous rice (mochi rice). Nowadays, the only difference between them is their size. Okaki is bigger than arare. But...

Cyber Chakai

On January of this year, an event called Cyber Chakai (サイバー茶会) was held in Japan. It is sort of a tea ceremony but with the use of a projecting...

The Sawamizuka Tea Cultivar

Sawamizuka (さわみずか) is a late budding cultivar with high yield. Its name comes from an alternate reading for the Chinese characters of the region where it was cultivated: Sabaka...

Senbei

Senbei (煎餅) is a Japanese rice cracker that often has a flat and round shape. This confectionery pairs well with green tea. Although the origin of the word is...

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