2013/07/11

Tea to the world -overcoming the language barrier –

Japanese tea is not only one. There are various kinds: Matcha, Sencha, Hojicha, Genmaicha, Bancha, Mecha, Kukicha, Wakocha…..And even among Sencha, there are some kinds like Asamushi sencha, Fukamushi sencha, Kamairi sencha etc.
 
Happily, those “Japanese teas” gain their popularity outside of Japan, and some teas are exported to the world. But still there are more good teas which haven’t been found in the world market. One of the biggest reasons for farmers to hesitate to export is language barrier. Some medium-sized tea companies might be able to hire employees who speak English. But if they are family farms, it wouldn’t be easy to do so. They have great teas, but hesitate to export because of language problem. What a shame!
 
In order to support those farmers, I sometime work as “a bridge”  between Japanese tea farmers and foreign customers such as tea shops. The other day, another rare tea that I supported as a translator flew to a foreign country. I’m not the one who grows and produce the tea, but I feel happy to see another great tea born in Japan will be loved by people in a foreign country.
 
There are more latent teas. Enjoy more!
 
tea seedling -by T-
 

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