Among all our projects and activities Japanese Tea Evangelist Program is probably the one that gives us the most hope and excitement for the future.
The program was started in 2022 and is aimed at Japanese university students who are going to study abroad. During their time abroad tea evangelist organize various Japanese tea activities in their host countries and help to raise curiosity in Japanese tea all around the world.
The class of 2023 started their journey as tea evangelists by completing our online tea course. Learning is always deeper when you can do it by hand, so after the online program tea evangelist also joined a tea tour in Ibaraki and Kyoto to learn about tea cultivation and processing more deeply.
In Ibaraki tea evangelists visited Yoshida Chaen and spend a day on the farm. They learned more about tea cultivation in one of the most northern and most urban tea regions of Japan. They also got to see a tea factory and understand how fresh leaves become finished tea. Yoshida Chaen has also become well known for their black teas, so at the end of the day along their green teas we could taste their black teas as well.
In Kyoto tea evangelists stopped by Obubu Tea. The day was very hot, but they were still really curious to see the tea farm. Guided by Obubu interns, they also got to visit the sencha factory. Kyoto is famous for Matcha, so after tasting many different teas, tea evangelists could make their own bowl of Matcha as well.
Equipped with the tea knowledge and a suitcase full of tea they are now traveling to their study abroad destinations. Let’s follow their journey from here on.