If April is the month for first harvest and shincha, May is when shaded spring teas are harvested.What is a shaded tea or, as they are called in Japanese, “kabuse” かぶせ? The world kabuse かぶせ literally means cover and a shaded tea means that its cultivation method involves shading the tea plants before harvesting. This […]
Dear tea lover friends, you are probably reading these lines sitting at your desk or on your sofa at home, and you might have had several cups of tea since the early morning. Perhaps you also opened the cupboard where you store your selection and sighed as you gazed upon the Christmas limited edition from […]
Red Tea from Japan: that is the exact translation of Wakoucha. But we in Europe call it a black tea, and for us black tea comes from India or China or Sri Lanka, not from Japan. And in a nation where the production of green tea is so dominant that for the biggest part of […]
The world of Japanese tea is wide and deep. By now many people know Matcha, Gyokuro, Sencha. Some other teas may not have been in the spotlight but they are also worth some attention. One of them is Kukicha, or stem tea, if translated literary form Japanese. What that means is that Kukicha mostly includes […]
Kombucha is a fermented drink made from tea, whose origins are thought to be in north-eastern China sometime around 200 BC. Rich in probiotics, this drink has recently been seeing a boom in Western world thanks to its alleged good properties; it is made by adding tea with sugar or honey to a symbiotic culture […]
Summer has arrived to our part of the world and with it the demanding heath. Very hot weather and high humidity scream for something refreshing and that is why in Japan is very common to drink cold tea during this season. Every restaurant that usually serves you houjicha with meals, will give you now a cold […]
Spring is when some of the most prized Japanese teas are made. Called ‘jade dew’, Gyokuro is one of the highest-grade teas of this season. Rich an umami unlike any other tea, Gyokuro is appreciated in Japan and around the world. But how did it come to be and how is it produced? The story […]
Many have heard this word, but what does it mean? It seems there is quite a bit of confusion around it. Translated from Japanese shincha (新茶) literally means ‘new tea’. Following this it seems it could refer to any new tea. Usually, however, it is used to describe tea harvested and processed in spring season. […]