My Japanese Green Tea

The post Podcast 055: Tea Vendor first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . I’ve known Salvador Sosa for many years. We finally managed to record this podcast, where we talk about Tea Vendor . Perhaps you know this tea company by its previous name: International Tea Importers. It was founded by Devan Shah more than 30 years ago. I hope that you enjoy this episode. I certainly did. The post Po...

The post Podcast 054: Tezumi first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . While I have reviewed teas from Tezumi before, I didn’t know much about them. In this episode I interview David Lavecchia, who is one of the three co-founders. David is a practitioner of the Ueda Sōko style of the Japanese tea ceremony. Besides their company, we talk about teaware, single cultivar tea, and even incense. T...

The post Podcast 053: The Kamikatsu Awa Bancha Association first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . I was recently contacted by Kanji Nakata from the Kamikatsu Awa Bancha Association . His English is quite good, so we decided to record this podcast episode. We talk about Awa bancha , how and where is it made, about the association, and more. I wish Kanji much success with his promotion of this ra...

The post Podcast 052: Steeped first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . A while ago I was contacted by Tristan Otto, the co-founder of Steeped . I didn’t know that this app existed, so I talked with Tristan to learn more about it. Soon the app will have a major update, and new features will be available. I have already downloaded the app The post Podcast 052: Steeped first appeared on My Jap...

The post Podcast 051: Osadaen first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . In this episode I interview James Johnson from Osadaen . We talk about their different teas, for example the dark tea yamabuki nadeshiko . This tea company led by Osada Natsumi is located in Mori town, Shizuoka prefecture. They have been successful in exporting their tea to different countries. The post Podcast 051: Osadaen fi...

The post Podcast 050: Matcha Kanaya first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . I was contacted by a new online tea store: Matcha Kanaya . Osami Ogai and the owner Tsutomu Sugiyama tell us about Shimada city in Shizuoka prefecture, their matcha, and how they are aiming to increase their organic tea production. They have a wonderful lineup of matcha with good prices. I haven’t tried their teas...

The post Podcast 049: Tea Ceremony Online Course first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . In this episode I talk with Tyas Sosen about his 6 week tea ceremony intensive course . At the end of the course, you will be able to perform a basic tea ceremony service from start to finish. We also talk about the importance of the tea ceremony and why it is a worthwhile activity. If you live in a place wi...

The post Podcast 048: Matcha Moto first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . In this episode I interview Nicholas Leo, the founder of Matcha Moto . This store offers ceremonial grade matcha at an affordable price. I’m interested in trying it. I’ll post the review as soon as I receive the sample. Use the discount code PODCAST and get 15% off. The post Podcast 048: Matcha Moto first appea...

The post Podcast 047: Professional Japanese Tea Tasting first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . In this episode I interview Oscar Brekell . He explains how professional tea tasting is done in Japan and why its goal is not the same as that of a tasting done by a tea enthusiast. Even if you are not a tea professional, Oscar shares some tips that you can apply at home. Be sure to check out Senchais...

The post Podcast 046: Tea and Water first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . In this episode I interview Michael Hemling, a tea and water sommelier. I didn’t know that there was so much variety in the world of fine water. But the best thing is that it can be paired with tea for an even better experience. Michael tells us which types of waters are best suited for tea and why. His blog is Man...

The post Podcast 045: Japanese Tea Cultivars with Noli Ergas first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . I had been wanting to record a podcast about Japanese tea cultivars for a long time. My chance finally came after speaking with Noli Ergas from S u gimoto Tea . Why should we care about tea cultivars? When did cultivar use start in Japan? How do the prices of different cultivars compare? Noli ans...

The post Podcast 044: Wakoen first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . In this episode I interviewed Daisuke Horiguchi and Kyle Ketner of Wakoen. I was surprised by how much information they had to share. We talk about the history of the company, the types of teas that they sell, their teanery (like a winery but for tea), a special machine to repel pests in a natural way, and the different tea cul...

The post Podcast 043: Ikkyu first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . In this episode I interview Joelle and Aldo Bloise from Ikkyu . Ikkyu is an online store that sells Japanese tea from Kyushu, one of the main islands of Japan. It was fun to speak with Joelle and Aldo, they are a very friendly couple. We talk about their tea store, the teas of Kyushu, the special kaoru cups, and white leaf tea ,...

The post Podcast 042: Tyas Sosen Talks About his Latest Book first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . In this episode I interview Tyas Sōsen of The Tea Crane . He’s been on this podcast several times before. We talk about his book: The Story of Japanese Tea . The information offered by Tyas is useful whether you’ve read the book or not. For example we talk about what natural tea is, o...

The post Podcast 041: Tea Events with Elyse Petersen first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . In this episode, Elyse Petersen of Tealet shares her experience with organizing tea events. She recently wrote a related article on T Ching . Tea events are the key to spreading the word about specialty tea. It’s an important marketing tool. I’ve slowly opened up my local market thanks in lar...

The post Podcast 040: Oscar Brekell Talks About The Book of Japanese Tea first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . I reviewed The Book of Japanese Tea some time ago. It’s my favorite book about Japanese tea so far. In this podcast episode Oscar Brekell tells us about how this bilingual book came to be, how it was received by Japanese and non Japanese, and what he personally finds unique abou...

The post Podcast 039: DoMatcha first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . I’ve reviewed teas from DoMatcha before, they have all been very good. But I hadn’t recorded a podcast episode about this company until now. In this episode I interview John Harrison, the CEO of DoMatcha. He tells the story of the founding of the company, how they first began to market matcha in North America at a...

The post Podcast 038: Mizuba Tea first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . I had heard about Mizuba Tea many times before, but I hadn’t talked with its founder Lauren Danson until now. Mizuba Tea specializes in matcha. Naturally, we talk a lot about matcha in this episode. Among the topics covered are the importance of blending, age of the tea plants, and aging of the tea leaves. I’ll...

The post Podcast 037: The Tea Crane Kickstarter first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . Tyas Sōsen from The Tea Crane has been working on a new tea project. In this podcast we talk about his Kickstarter campaign, organic and natural teas in Japan, how to prepare them, and about teas other than the usual green teas that are being made in Japan. Tyas plans to write a book on the subject, and in th...

The post Podcast 036: Pairing Green Tea with Cheese first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . In this episode I talk with Robert Wemischner, the author of Cooking with Tea , about pairing green tea with cheese. Robert is very knowledgeable about tea pairings, I attended one of his tea and cheese pairing sessions at the World Tea Expo some years ago. This detailed information can’t be found e...

The post Podcast 035: Rishouen Tea first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . I had met Elsa Derrez and Naoki Kagata of Rishouen Tea a while ago, when I visited the company in Uji. Click here to read the post I wrote about it. In this interview we talk about the process of tea blending in Japan, and also about aging green tea. They were also kind enough to send me a picture of the traditional tools...

The post Podcast 034: Oscar Brekell first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . I first met Oscar Brekell in Japan at last year’s Uji press tea tour . At that time, I didn’t know that I was speaking to a famous tea personality in Japan! Oscar appears frequently in Japanese television and has recently released his first book: 僕が恋した日本茶のこと (About the Japanese tea that I fell in l...

The post Podcast 033: 3 Leaf Tea first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . 3 Leaf Tea specializes in matcha. The company sells online, and also in their physical store and café in Auburn, NY. In this episode I speak with Luciana Torous, the founder, about the story behind the company and also about something that I haven’t drank yet: flavored matcha. I’ll be reviewing 3 Leaf Tea’...

The post Podcast 032: The State of the Matcha Market in the US first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . In this episode I talk with Noli Ergas of Sugimoto America about the matcha market in the United States. Among the topics covered are: the current trend regarding demand of matcha, a description of  the different grades of matcha, and the differences between matcha and green tea powder. Matcha...

The post Podcast 031: Japanese Green Tea In first appeared on My Japanese Green Tea . In this episode I interview Kei Nishida, the founder of Japanese Green Tea In . This online store sells Japanese tea in the US, which they source from Arahataen Green Tea Farms in Shizuoka prefecture. In a previous post , I reviewed the company’s Issaku green tea. We talk about the company, fukamushi sencha...