Tea tasting: Arabiki Genmaicha (Wakohen / Wakoen Global)

It's been awhile since I last had genmaicha in loose leaf form, and I don't think I've had any powdered one before. Basically it's green tea with roasted rice, and in loose leaf form, you get to see those bits of rice pops that add an extra crunch to your tea if you choose to …

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Tea tasting: Sawamizuka cultivar (Hagiri Tea)

Happy new year! Here's hoping that 2023 be an awesome year for all of us! For fellow tea lovers, may our cups be abundantly filled with great tea! Today I'm writing about this sencha that I've opened last month. I've bought it sometime in October. Usually I don't buy sencha this late in the year, …

Tea tasting: Yellow Tea Special (Ilguda / Okseon Myeongcha)

This is my first yellow tea from South Korea, ever. I don't have anything to benchmark it with as I have very limited experience with yellow tea. The last one I've had was probably a decade ago, and it was a gift from a friend who came back from Hong Kong. I think it was …

Tea tasting: Organic black tea (Nukumori-en Yururi)

This tea was one of several Shizuoka black tea gifts that I received recently. Nukumori-en Yururi is a traditional farm in Ogouchi village, Shimizu Ward, central Shizuoka, operated by the Nishiyama family. The closest train station would be Okitsu Station on the Tokaido line, but you'd need a car to reach the place. The Nishiyamas …

Tea tasting: Koganemidori sencha (Koganemidori Chaen)

Revisiting the taste of this unique hakuyoucha or white-leaf tea after I have first tasted it in November 2019. To learn more about the previous tasting experience, click HERE. Koganemidori, just like its name 'golden green' implies, is characterised by its golden-coloured leaves that don't look like any regular tea leaves. However, it is still …

Tea tasting: Houjicha powder (Wakohen / Wakoen Global)

My mom finally realised how tasty powdered tea could be in pancakes that these days she could not make them without adding some tea powder in the flour mix. But she doesn't make them too often and doesn't use a lot of powder at one time, so I didn't think it would be worthwhile to …

World Green Tea Contest 2022 results

I should have put this up earlier but it's never too late. The World Green Tea Contest 2022 was held on August 17 and 18 this year. It is an annual competitive exhibition that showcases "innovative products that point to the future of tea", organised by the World Green Tea Association headquartered in Shizuoka, Japan. …

Japan Tea Week Malaysia 2022 (World Ocha Festival special!)

I was feeling kinda down because I couldn’t make it to this year’s World Ocha Festival, which is currently happening in Shizuoka. I thought I could make it there, but as August crept by, I knew I couldn’t get any affordable flights to Japan even if it reopens fully before the festival (for a recap …

Tea tasting: Daisen no Kaori Kuroboku Bancha (Nagata Chamise)

Tottori is Japan's least populated prefecture, and probably most well-known for its sand dunes, which had inspired Abe Kobo's 1962 classic novel 'Suna no Onna' or 'The Woman in the Dunes'. Other than that, it's also known for its Mizuki Shigeru connection in the port city of Sakaiminato. Occasionally it appears in some list of …

Tea tasting: Yamanami cultivar Kamairicha (Miyazaki Sabou)

Wow, it's almost a month since I last posted anything here. So slack. Hah. Lately I'm more into kamairicha, even bought a couple of teas that I had previously bought, including a rare one from Shimane prefecture. The tea I'm talking about today is a kamairicha from Miyazaki prefecture. Actually I have opened the tea …

Tea tasting: Ureshino Saemidori Mikkou Koucha (Ota Shigeki Seicha Kojo)

Mikkou koucha or honey-scented black tea is one of the more unusual black teas from Japan. Honey-scented here doesn't mean adding any fragrance or flavouring to the tea, but is a natural occurence after tea leaves are bitten by an insect known as unka or planthopper that usually appear during the summer. A famous bug-bitten …

In the news: Matcha improves sleep quality, social cognitive function

Good news for matcha lovers! 🍵💚 We know theanine contained in matcha has been previously reported to be effective in relieving stress, improving sleep, and improving working memory.　This time, it was officially confirmed in the world's first clinical trial that matcha is not only delicious, but also good in several important ways. Tea producer Ito …