Tea is one of the world’s most fascinating beverages and its consumers can range from tea masters practicing the art of Gong Fu Cha to teenagers slurping down fruit flavored Bubble Tea with mouths full of boba. Bubble tea has been growing in popularity ever since it was … [Read more...] about How to Add Bubble Tea to Your Menu
Comparing Fukamushi Sencha with other Sencha
Sencha is widely grown, steam processed, and sold in Japan. It comes from the same plant as other green tea types, Camellia Sinensis. However, based on the growing method and later processing, it stands out with its astringent taste and dark color. Sencha is further divided into … [Read more...] about Comparing Fukamushi Sencha with other Sencha
Covering Process of Japanese Tea Plants
Covering culture or shading of tea plants has been in use since the early ages, and it was developed to save the tea leaves from frost. In modern days, farmers use the covering or shading process to achieve certain characteristics in tea for a specific period. The covering … [Read more...] about Covering Process of Japanese Tea Plants
Shizuoka Tea vs Kagoshima Tea vs Uji Tea
Tea has been a staple drink in Japan, be it for cultural or health aspects for the Japanese. While tea originated in China, its importation in Japan played a major role in its cultural heritage even up today. At present, Japan is highly renowned for producing high-quality tea … [Read more...] about Shizuoka Tea vs Kagoshima Tea vs Uji Tea
What is Benifuki (べにふうき)
Japan is famous for green tea as its 99% of tea production compromises green tea. Recently, Japan is also getting into other tea styles, such as black, oolong, and more, but the production stays at 1 % and still a rarity. Benifukki cultivar is mainly famous for black tea; … [Read more...] about What is Benifuki (べにふうき)
What is Yutaka Midori (ゆたかみどり)
Yutaka Midori ゆたかみどり means abundant green, is a Japanese green tea cultivar that ranks second after Yabukita in terms of cultivation land and popularity. It is mostly found in Kagoshima Prefecture, with a 30% cultivated area used for most of the green tea variety. This cultivar … [Read more...] about What is Yutaka Midori (ゆたかみどり)
What is Chiran Sencha (知覧煎茶)
Chiran Sencha refers to a Sencha plant grown in the Chiran region of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It is a high-grade tea cultivated using the highest rated cultivars such as Yabukita, Yutakamidori, and Asatsuyu. Chiran Sencha Tea is easy to brew and has a rich and complex flavor, … [Read more...] about What is Chiran Sencha (知覧煎茶)
What is Konacha (粉茶)
Konacha 粉茶 means powder tea or bud tea, a kind of Japanese green tea made up of tea buds, dust, and small leaves that were left behind during the processing of Sencha and Gyokuro. Although. It is named powdered tea, but it is not finely grounded into a powder form like Matcha; … [Read more...] about What is Konacha (粉茶)
WHAT IS GENMAICHA (玄米茶)
Genmaicha translates to brown rice tea (Genmai = brown rice, and cha = tea), and the word is derived from Japanese. It is a mix of Sencha leaves and roasted brown rice. Japanese also referred to this green tea as popcorn tea due to the popping sound during roasting and the fact … [Read more...] about WHAT IS GENMAICHA (玄米茶)
What is Kukicha (茎茶)
Kukicha茎茶 is also called, Bōcha棒茶, due to stick-like shape and In English, known as the "stem tea" or "twig tea." It is cultivated from the same plant as Sencha, just like Bancha, consisting of stems, stalks, and twigs instead of leaves like in other teas. It mostly comes from … [Read more...] about What is Kukicha (茎茶)
What is Karigane-cha (雁が音茶)
Karigane-cha referred to tea made from stalks especially, from stalks of Gyokuro or high-grade sencha. This term is mainly used in the Kyoto province of Japan, but many from outside use this term to differentiate it from Kukicha, which is stalk tea too but has a blend of Sencha, … [Read more...] about What is Karigane-cha (雁が音茶)
What is Hojicha (ほうじ茶)
Hojicha is a type of Japanese green tea that is basically roasted at a high temperature. Usually, Bancha, Kukicha, or sometimes Sencha leaves are roasted over charcoal to get Hojicha. The process of roasting tea leaves first came to Kyoto, Japan, in the 1920s. Some speculate that … [Read more...] about What is Hojicha (ほうじ茶)
Green Tea Steaming Process – Light Steamed (Asamushi) vs Medium Steam (Futsumushi) vs Deep Steam (Fukamushi)
For Japanese Sencha green tea, the length of steaming time determines the flavor, aroma, and color of green tea. Different kinds of green tea have specific timed steaming processes. Mostly the period of steaming depends on growing circumstances such as where it was grown and … [Read more...] about Green Tea Steaming Process – Light Steamed (Asamushi) vs Medium Steam (Futsumushi) vs Deep Steam (Fukamushi)
Steaming vs fermenting vs Roasting for Japanese tea
Tea leaves after being plucked from the plant are sent for processing. The processing involves a bunch of methods through which tea leaves are transformed into dried and preserved leaves for later brewing. The tea from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis are differentiated based on … [Read more...] about Steaming vs fermenting vs Roasting for Japanese tea
In memory of Kent Rhoads (09/03/1952-01/25/2020)
ShizuokaTea.com, KagoshimaTea.com, and GreenTeaMerchant were founded by Kent Rhoads. We always honor Kent’s spirit of providing high-quality tea and customer service, and our commitment is to always retain the same level of service to all the customers. Our first blog post … [Read more...] about In memory of Kent Rhoads (09/03/1952-01/25/2020)