What is Soba Tea (Buckwheat Tea)?
Have You Heard of “SOBA”? Soba is a plant from the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae, genus Fagopyrum). The seeds from this plant are ground into flour and used to make soba...
All About Japanese Tea Culture
What is Soba Tea (Buckwheat Tea)?
-
Genmaicha, the brown rice tea everybody loves
As some of you may already be aware, November 1st was a day to celebrate Genmaicha day. Genmaicha is a type of Japanese tea made by mixing sencha or bancha...
-
Matcha is becoming hip in Germany, here’s why
German matcha consumption began picking up along with the foodie trend around the year 2012. Additionally, in the last four to five years Netflix and television shows have piqued people’s...
-
Celebrate Japanese Tea Women
Tea farming, like agriculture in general, is typically thought of as a male-dominated world, probably because men tend to own the land, businesses and equipment. Nevertheless, in Japan, women have...
-
A Japanese summer delicacy, Uji kintoki
If you are a Japanese tea aficionado, you’ve probably already heard of the famous tea producing region Uji, in Kyoto Prefecture. But have you heard of Uji kintoki? It actually...
-
Craftsmanship and evolution of the Japanese tea caddy
Tea caddies have been important for Japanese tea for hundreds of years and have carried particular prestige since the great warlord Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) ranked tea ceremony utensils for their aesthetic value....
-
Tea Tour 2023 in Tokyo!
On Sunday May 28th there was a tea event in the Nihonbashi neighborhood of Tokyo city, called Tokyo Tea Tour 2023 (in Japanese: 東京お茶めぐり２０２３). Being back in my motherland this...
-
Grandma phantom tea in the mountains
Hello! Have you tried any of the 2023 shinchas at Yunomi? The month of May (the time around the 88th night) is peak tea harvesting season in Japan. When one...
-
Celebrate Hachijyu-Hachiya (88th Night)
May 2nd in 2023, is “hachijyu-hachiya”, a holiday which marks the 88th night since the beginning of spring called Risshun (i.e., February 2nd or 3rd) according to the Japanese lunar calendar. Traditionally...
-
A Japanese Folktale - "Uji Tea of the West" (Nishiuji-no-Cha) by Kyota Ko
Written by Kyota Ko, author of Folk Tales of Japan: 28 Japanese folk tales with cultural commentary. Some of the finest tea in Japan has come from Uji ever since farmers...
-
Full Moon Harvest Wha-ha-ha Three Year Bancha
Greetings! It’s starting to feel more like spring in Japan with the beautiful blooms on ume (plum), cherry, chinese magnolia trees, and the hopeful call of the nightingale. What new scents, sprouts...
-
History of Hojicha, One of Japan's Favorite Teas
Today, we touch on the history of hojicha, which in comparison to the other Japanese teas out there, is relatively new. Hojicha making started in the 1920’s, during Japan’s early...
-
A Japanese Proverb with Roots in the Tea Ceremony
A belated happy new year to you! I hope 2023 has started off kindly for you. Today, January 20th in Japan marks Daikan (大寒；daikan), the season of the big cold...
