Tea tasting: Jiaogulan

When my mom received this sampler pack of Chinese tea from my aunt who sang praises of its benefits, I did not think much of it at first. However, after taking a closer look, my curiosity was piqued because the leaves looked somewhat like oolong tea. The leaves have that "rolled" look like most Tieguanyin. …

Tea tasting: Kazurabashi-cha

I have very little information besides what I have already known about this tea, which I had bought at the Oboke roadside station in Tokushima. Kazurabashi-cha is the brand of tea produced in Aruse, a mountainous area located in southwestern Tokushima, close to the border with Kochi prefecture. Tea has been cultivated here for many …

Northern limit of Japanese tea

In the book 日本茶のすべてがわかる本 , there is a brief section on Japan's northern teas (日本におけるチャの北限), as illustrated above. I was surprised to see Hokkaido, but apparently it is just the northernmost point where tea plants can grow. Some are also found growing in the wild. I further read that in Furubira town, tea plants can …

Sencha and rice flour facial mask

I have found a good use for 茶殻 (chagara, used tea leaves) from my sencha brew. By turning them into facial mask, that is. At first, I tried with just the leaves, by spreading them on the face while they were still warm after the third steeping. It was a refreshing experience, but the leaves …

Tea tasting: Tosa Aburicha

I have to admit. I am not a big fan of houjicha, and it is exactly what this tea from Kochi prefecture is. I bought it because its packaging stood out in a row of packaged teas at the souvenir store in Kochi train station. Talk about effective marketing through packaging? Haha. Tosa Aburicha (土佐炙り茶) is …

When is tea not tea?

True teas as we know them, come from the tea bush known as Camellia sinensis, with some varieties in between. White tea, green tea, oolong tea, black tea and even dark/fermented tea come from that wondrous plant. All other "teas", be it ginger tea, chrysanthemum tea, rose tea, mint tea, vanilla tea and so on, …

Tea tasting: Homemade black tea blend

With absolutely no experience in tea blending, I tried to replicate a nice cinnamon spice black tea I had drank before. I only knew from memory that the ingredients of the said tea contained black tea, ground cinnamon, dried orange peel and cloves. The only black tea I have at home currently is a tin …