In my opinion, tea culture is composed of three parts: material culture, rules and rites, and spiritual culture. Tea art is tea culture at the material level because it focuses on the tea, the water, the vessels, the color, smell, and taste of the tea… Continue reading
It was certainly much more than I had expected it to be – an eye opener, to say the least. It was every child – young and old – steeped in tea… Continue reading
Long before organic was trendy, Toshiaki Kinezuka, from “Setoya” in Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, in Japan, took a stand against the chemical companies in the mid-1970’s… Continue reading
My favorite memories of living in Japan involve tea and cake. I found I really connected with my friends and family in a tea-and-cake shop. The menu offered the best black, green, and oolong teas in the world and a few cake options. Fewer stuff on the table allowed me … Continue reading
Shincha translates literally as “new tea.” It is the first harvest of the year in Japan and is a highly prized representation of spring. Sencha translates as “brewing tea” and, for most of the year, is the de facto standard against which the quality of Japanese green teas is measured. … Continue reading
March 18 marked the five-year anniversary of our teahouse, Essencha Tea House, just a week after the devastating news about the earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan. We had a week full of events and specials planned, finishing with a customer appreciation celebration on that Friday. In light of the … Continue reading