Pests are a a major problem for farmers, and tea farmers are no exception. Here’s a list of some of the most common pests that attack the tea plant...
Sakao Enterprise Matcha 2
It’s been a while since I tasted matcha. This tea is not easy to obtain in my country (although I’m trying to change that), and until now I have...
Podcast 021: The Enshu School of The Japanese Tea Ceremony
The Enshu school of the Japanese tea ceremony isn’t very well known, but I find it intriguing because it was founded by a feudal lord and hence it is...
The Yumewakaba Tea Cultivar
The Yumewakaba (ゆめわかば, dream young leaf) is a Japanese tea cultivar developed by the Saitama Prefectural Agriculture and Forestry Research Center. Its yield at harvest and picking time are...
Cha Doraku Yume
Yume is the name given to this ichou fukamushi sencha from Iruma, Saitama prefecture. It’s the first time that I try such a tea. It will also be the...
Infusing Green Tea in Alcohol
Making your own tea-infused liquor is very easy. You don’t need to add heat. Why infuse tea in an alcoholic beverage? Well, just in case that you want to...
The Japanese Tea Ceremony and The Shoguns (Book Review)
As a tea lover, I find books about tea to be very interesting, especially if the topic of Japan is involved. Imagine my happiness when I found a book...
Sugimoto America Genmaicha with Matcha
Genmaicha may be a low grade tea, but I’m a big fan of it. When it has added matcha, I like it even better! This genmaicha with matcha from...
Why Loose Leaf Tea is Better Than Tea Bags
Every once in a while the topic of tea bags comes up, especially when I’m having a tea tasting with people that have never tried loose leaf tea before....
The Kanayamidori Tea Cultivar
Kanayamidori (かなやみどり) is a cultivar known for making a sencha with body and a milky aroma. The use of this cultivar has been encouraged by tea research centers, so...
Furyu Mimasaka Bancha
This sample was sent to me by Geoffrey Norman, a fellow tea blogger that writes on Steep Stories. Furyu is a tea shop that specializes in rare types of...
Podcast 020: Cha Doraku
Have you ever seen a Japanese green tea with an extra step of oxidation? Neither had I until I heard about bihakkou (微発酵, slight withering), also called ichou (萎凋)...