Once again, winter in Prague charmed us with its warm, tea-filled vibes. Tea lovers flocked to the city from many different places around the globe – some even flew in from as far as Canada and Japan! About 25 GJTea Tea Fellow members were present as well.
During the cheerful weekend, we had the chance to meet many tea friends… and make new ones!
The weekend began, as all good tea stories should, in a teahouse. On Friday, our first stop was Lao Teahouse, where Hiroki and Misako from Yoshida Chaen held a workshop about their tea farm. We joined Marjolein from Ikedoki in helping them, though “helping” hardly describes the pleasure of tasting through Yoshida Chaen’s remarkable range. Known for their focus on wakoucha and oolongs, they surprised many participants accustomed to more familiar Japanese styles.
On Saturday, the festival began and quickly reached its peak. A never-ending bustle of people flowed through the venue, gathering at each stand and trying to taste all the teas available. Among the many interesting teas, vendors, and amazing pottery artists, we must of course especially mention the Japanese ones. Yoshida Chaen from Ibaraki prefecture and Ikedoki from Nagasaki prefecture stood side by side, showcasing a vast array of Japanese delights, ranging from traditional teas like sencha, hojicha, and tamaryokucha to more unconventional and experimental ones like wakoucha, oolong, and even tamaryokucha or wakoucha powders.
In the same room, our dear member Kyle Whittington displayed his stunning creations of shifuku (silk pouches for tea caddies), custom fabric pouches for teaware, as well as beautiful fabric pouchettes for utensils. Hokkaido-born Mariko Chiba displayed her catching blue and white teaware. Keiko from Germany was also present with selections of matcha and matcha chocolates. Fujini Tea from Japan had a stand for one day, bringing teas from Marufuku Seicha in Shizuoka. Last but not least, Areek from Rishe Tea offered an always stunning selection of organic teas from Japan, spanning regions from Gifu to Shiga to Kagoshima.
Among the workshops and talks, the Urasenke school of Prague gave a guided demonstration of an outdoor winter tea gathering using a chabako. Areek from Rishe Tea gave a gyokuro masterclass, and Keiko presented on the differences and similarities between sencha and matcha. Martyna Graczyk from Zaparzaj led a tasting of rare Japanese teas.
Our association hosted two events during the weekend. On Saturday afternoon, we organized a chakabuki at the festival. Twenty participants joined the workshop, which began with an explanation of the history of chakabuki, its modern use, and the rules. Then the blind tasting took place, featuring three teas: a sencha from Utena Tea in Kyoto Prefecture, a kamairicha from Miyazaki Sabou in Miyazaki Prefecture, and a tamaryokucha from Cha You in Nagasaki Prefecture. Our Tea Fellow and Catalyst members Michaela, Zita, Susan, Andy, and Steen skillfully handled all the brewing, while Sofie captured amazing photos. Among the participants were both GJTea members and new faces. And one of our dear Tea Fellows, Irina, guessed both rounds correctly! Well done!
On Sunday evening, we were invited by the wonderful teahouse Meetea to host a gathering focused on Mandokoro tea town. Last October, Matsu and Anna visited Mandokoro and tea farmer Ren Yamagata. This very traditional tea place is so special that Anna wanted to share its story and teas with the tea community – and there could not have been a better place than Prague. Twelve tea friends joined the gathering, and together we discussed the peculiarities of Mandokoro tea traditions and the difficulties of keeping them alive. We tasted a hirabancha, a sencha, and a gyokuro made by Ren Yamagata, and everyone was surprised by their flavour profiles compared to many other Japanese teas. It was a warm and relaxing evening, sharing tea in the best setting with lovely tea people.
Monday arrived in a bliss, and it was time to leave. We still had time for one more informal gathering over breakfast and a visit to one last teahouse – Tea Mountain! – before hugging everyone goodbye and heading to the airport.
The feeling of this warm tea community still lingers, and we already look forward to the next occasion to gather. Thank you to each and every encounter in Prague. And thank you, Agha, for organizing such an incredible tea festival once again!
* Feature Image and more: by our Tea Fellow member and photographer Sofie Vercauteren
