As professional tea enthusiasts, we’re often asked for recommendations on where to best experience Japanese tea while visiting Japan. As our full list of favourite spots is very very long, here are our top ten picks for Tokyo.   Sokkon Cafés, Tea Shops, and Restaurants Ippodo Marunouchi When visiting Tokyo, it would be remiss to ignore one of Japan’s oldest tea companies. This branch of Ippodo offers loose tea and teaware for sale, alongside teas to go and teas to be slowly sipped at the counter or table. We recommend trying the koicha and wagashi pairing if you are a big fan of match ..read more

Though the cultivation and harvesting of the tea leaves determines the quality of the raw material, the processing ultimately determines the final style, taste, and quality of the sencha. If you haven’t read parts one and two of this series, check them out first.   The post-harvest processing for most types of Japanese tea, sencha certainly included, can be split into  two main parts: The production of aracha (荒茶), also known as crude or unrefined tea Refining that aracha into shiagecha (仕上げ茶), also known as refined or finished tea Sometimes a single producer will do both themselve ..read more

While a great tea will taste amazing when fresh, if it's not stored well, that taste can begin to fade. We're often asked how best to store teas so here we'll go over some basic tea storage rules and tips to get you started. Why Does Storage Matter? A lot of tea's flavour is in its volatile aromatic compounds which can dissipate and weaken if not stored well. Additionally, things like oxygen, humidity, and light can cause tea leaves to deteriorate. Different teas have different storage requirements but there are some basics they have in common: Keep tea away from Sunlight Light, especially UV ..read more

  If you’ve ever gone shopping for matcha (and if you’re reading this blog post, then I’m sure you have), you’ve undoubtedly come across the term ‘ceremonial grade’ plastered on a can’s label or an online product description. You may have even been told only to buy matcha that bears this term. We’re often asked why none of our matcha uses this label and so I thought that it was about time that I answered that question properly and thoroughly. While I’ve touched on this topic before (when writing about matcha myths and how to shop for matcha) here I’ll take a deeper look at this term and ..read more

Though only developed in the late 1800s, the unglazed brick-red kyusu has become synonymous with Tokoname-yaki. Despite this, this ancient pottery town in Aichi Prefecture boasts a rich variety of clays, designs, and finishes used to make its famous teaware. Here are some of the most popular: Tokoname Clay Types Perhaps the most important factor in deciding teaware's final feel, functionality, and appearance is the clay from which it is made. As the majority of Tokoname ware is unglazed, the clay itself determines the final finish of the piece.    Shudei (朱泥 - vermilion cl ..read more

With matcha’s ever-growing popularity, it has never been easier to buy matcha outside of Japan. However, this explosion in availability did not come with a wave of matcha education and knowledge. As such, when a budding matcha enthusiast goes out to buy some tea, they are unwittingly tossed into a sea of confusion — surrounded by branding and labels but without the means to discern which tea is worth buying. To help ease this, I’ve put together a rudimentary list of things to keep in mind when in the market for some frothy green tea. This is all information designed to help you decide whethe ..read more

As the wave of matcha mania continues to sweep across the world, it has become increasingly easy to find matcha and matcha-based drinks at cafés and restaurants. However, many establishments fail to take this tea seriously, treating it as a simple add-on to their menu, and not giving it the same care and attention as they might their espresso or filter coffee options. Here, we’ll take a look at how to incorporate matcha into a café’s drink lineup and workflow as simply as possible, without sacrificing quality and customer experience. The Equipment Matcha can be intimidating due to the unique ..read more

A term that has recently gained a lot of traction in the worlds of tea, coffee, wine, and even chocolate is the phrase ‘single origin’. Here, we’ll take a look at what that phrase means for tea, in particular Japanese tea, and explore how single origin teas differ from blended teas with the hope of setting the record straight and dispelling any misconceptions.  What Does Single Origin Mean? Quite simply, single origin means that a tea comes from one location. At minimum, this is a geographic location, say Uji or Yame, but in common usage it also implies that the tea comes from a single ..read more

There's no doubt that tea's energising and calming effects are one of the many reasons it has remained the world's favourite beverage (after water, that is). To examine how tea achieves these effects, we’ve once again consulted avid tea enthusiast and medical professional Dr. Ben Epstein, who has kindly shared this this analysis of the interaction between caffeine and theanine for all of us to read. You can find more of his writing on his blog The Lazy Yogi. Leaf to Bloodstream: The Emerging Tea Science of Caffeine and Theanine by Benjamin Epstein, MD From sages and philosophers to ..read more

One of Japan's oldest and most culturally pervasive arts is the crafting and appreciation of incense. Used in temples, tea ceremonies, incense ceremonies, and of course, casually, the timeless fragrances of sandalwood, aloeswood, and other aromatic herbs and spices have the power to calm, soothe, and transport. In Japanese, the word for incense is kō (香), often with the honorific, ‘O’ as o-kō (お香・御香) to differentiate it from the general word for aroma or fragrance which uses the same character, kaori (香り). Incense arrived in Japan along with Buddhism in the 6th century where it is part of rit ..read more