This is the last entry in our “Tea Series.” Today, we take a look at the output of a Gunma-based firm we wrote about relatively recently. The link is here:https://drinkingjapan.org/2026/01/29/the-olive-trees-of-gunma-and-their-oil/. We also turn our attention from matcha to hojicha. There was an academic back in the last century who coined the term “proletarian drift,” or … Continue reading Proletarian Drift in Reverse: Of Hojicha and Unique Olive-Hojicha Tea from Gunma Prefecture →

Tea Party, Meiji Emperor and Empress, Toyohara Chikanobu This is the fourth entry in our “Tea Series.” At the JFEX Winter 2025 exhibition, we had an opportunity to chat briefly with the CEO of Artem, Inc, a purveyor of fine matcha. I asked for two samples, at opposite ends of the price spectrum in order … Continue reading Matcha Blind Tasting →

Chanoyu Nichinichiso, Mizuno Toshikata The type of tea used to produce this temptation in a teacup is called “tencha.” The name is indicative of how it is processed. The first syllable, ten, refers to the stone mill that is used to grind the tea into a powder. Matcha is used in the tea ceremony, or … Continue reading The Lowdown on the Marvelous Matcha →

There are, of course, many kinds of tea, but when most people hear the word tea, they think of what is derived from the shrub Camellia sinensis, the leaves of which can be processed in different ways to produce a plethora of styles. A major factor here is the degree of fermentation (a.k.a., oxidation) to … Continue reading Of Camellia Sinensis and Industrial Espionage →

This is the first installment of our "Tea Series." We have, of course, written about the beverage from time to time. Interested readers are strongly encouraged to read one of our entries from a number of years ago. The link is here: https://drinkingjapan.org/2020/09/11/totally-tea/. Beauty and Tea, Kitagawa Utamaro Okay, they drink tea in Japan. Actually, … Continue reading Tea Time: “Wait in Line, Buster, and There Will Be Only One to a Customer. Understand?” →