Tea tasting: Hokumei cultivar

I was reminded that I have a sample of this cultivar after reading a blog post by Eustea Reads recently. I have been enjoying the freshness of shincha teas, so didn't get to try this until today. It was a sample received from Florent-san of Thes du Japon when I ordered a shincha from him. …

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Tea tasting: Dentou Hon Gyokuro (Takaki Chaen)

Gyokuro is considered as the highest level or the most luxurious of all Japanese green teas. It is a shaded tea. About three weeks before harvest, farmers will cover the fields to shade the leaves from sunlight. The shading process retains L-theanine, the compound responsible for the umami of this tea, and suppresses catechins that …

New tea wares!

A new normal during this time is looking forward to postal or courier delivery every now and then. It was exciting to receive these items in the mail this evening! Yes! Got myself a new chasaji (tea scoop) and a shiboridashi teapot! The tea scoop is made of silver-plated stainless steel and has sakura motifs …

Tea tasting: Shincha 2020 (Saeakari cultivar) from Kumamoto

The town of Mashiki in central Kumamoto is mostly an agricultural hub, not too far from the prefectural capital of Kumamoto City. Among its famous produce are watermelons, persimmons and satsumaimo (sweet potato). It is also home to Kumamoto Airport. However, its name is more known for an unfortunate disaster. Mashiki was near the epicentre …

Astringency in tea

One of the terms that is most frequently used in tea tasting is 'astringency' or 渋み (shibumi) in Japanese. Quite a number of non-tea friends have asked me what I meant when I described tea as astringent. Then there are some people who express their dislike for tea because of the 'rough' feeling they get …

Finding calm in a teacup

Human beings are a simple lot. We think we have what ‘normal’ is, with most of us valuing calm and order in our daily lives. However, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has upended the normalcy we knew not too long ago. It has also deeply transformed the emotional landscape of many people. Stress, anxiety …

Tea tasting: Shincha 2020 (Saemidori cultivar) from Sonogi

The area north of Nagasaki prefecture, bordering with Saga prefecture and overlooking the scenic Omura Bay, has a long history of tea cultivation that goes back to the Edo period. This area is known as Higashi-Sonogi (東彼杵), while the tea produced here is known as Sonogi tea (そのぎ茶). It is also the largest tea production …