While I’m not a practitioner of the Japanese tea ceremony, I’ve always found it interesting. This video is an episode from an NHK television program that aired in 2009....
Swirling the Teapot while Brewing Tea
Swirling a teapot means to move it in a circular motion. In Japan, this is generally not advised. The reason is that your tea may become too bitter. But...
Tezumi Takamura Kamairicha
It’s been years since I’ve tasted a kamairicha. This type of Japanese tea is uncommon. Thanks to Tezumi I’ll review this one from Kumamoto prefecture, one of the two...
The Komakage Tea Cultivar
Komakage (駒影) can be translated as “horse shadow”. There’s very few information about this cultivar online, and I haven’t tasted it yet. However, there’s an interesting reason behind its...
If I had an Unlimited Budget for Tea
Recently, the US dollar has appreciated so much against my local currency that imported goods are more than twice as expensive as before. It’s very depressing. But dreaming is...
Maiko Tea Takumi Gyokuro
Takumi means artisan in Japanese. This isn’t the highest grade gyokuro from Maiko Tea, but it’s up there with the best. There’s little information on the website regarding this...
Flowers + Tea (Book Review)
I’ve been under much stress this week. There are various reasons: problems with the economy that affect me directly, I’m moving to a new office, and a project’s progress...
The Ooiwase Tea Cultivar
Ooiwase (おおいわせ) is named after the Ōi river in Shizuoka prefecture. Wase (早生) refers to early budding cultivars. This cultivar is meant for sencha production. History of Ooiwase In...
Taiyaki
Taiyaki (鯛焼き) is a traditional Japanese sweet (wagashi) that has the shape of a sea bream. Its main ingredients are wheat flour, sugar and red bean paste. In case...
Sugimoto Tea Organic Sencha Fuushun
One of my favorite things to do is reviewing a Japanese tea made from a cultivar that I haven’t tasted before. Sugimoto Tea has helped me a lot in...
Why Does the Kyusu Have a Side Handle?
Western and Chinese teapots usually have an upper or back handle. Have you wondered why the traditional Japanese teapot has a side handle? To answer this question, let’s take...
Podcast 053: The Kamikatsu Awa Bancha Association
I was recently contacted by Kanji Nakata from the Kamikatsu Awa Bancha Association. His English is quite good, so we decided to record this podcast episode. We talk about...