Entocha is a traditional herbal tea, drunk by the Ainu, who are the indigenous people of Hokkaido. Scientifically known as Elsholtzia ciliata, its Japanese name is naginata kouju, which is of the shiso plant family. I bought this tea at the Ainu village museum called Poroto Kotan in Shiraoi town, over one hour from Sapporo … Continue reading Tea tasting: Entocha
Do you know that October 1 is designated as Nihoncha no Hi or Japanese Tea Day? It was established by popular beverage maker Ito En, based on some historical facts. On the first day of the 10th month in the 15th year of Tensho era (天正１５年１０月１日), the great daimyo lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi held a large-scale … Continue reading Nihoncha no Hi (Japanese Tea Day)
This is one of two teas I bought at Usagiya in Asahikawa. As mentioned before, the teas sold here come from different prefectures around Japan and are blended in-house. Usagicha is the company's signature product. It is an original blend of gyokuro, kabusecha and sencha sourced from Uji in Kyoto and Shizuoka. I bought the … Continue reading Tea tasting: Usagicha
This is my first time drinking wakoucha (Japanese black tea). Well, most of those koucha I had at Japanese cafes were imported from India or Sri Lanka. Don't recall having had any wakoucha before. It's certainly the first time I bought wakoucha, that's for sure. Anyway, I bought this tea from Kanouya in Asahikawa City, … Continue reading Tea tasting: Hishidai Seicha Wakoucha
To continue from where I left off in the previous post, I will introduce this other tea place I encountered in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. Not far from Asahikawa Station, there is a new-ish cafe and shop selling Japanese teas. Instead of the traditional tea shops that are often seen in old shopping arcades, Usagiya is a … Continue reading Tea place: Usagiya
Having just came back from a week's holiday in Hokkaido, it is time to blog about the teas I've bought. Firstly, Hokkaido is not a tea-producing prefecture, being so far up north. I did not expect to find locally produced teas. Regardless of that, I needed to replenish my depleting tea stock at home, so … Continue reading Tea place: Kanouya
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. … Continue reading Tea tasting: Jiaogulan
