Somen - Summer Noodles-

You may have tried some Japanese noodles such as Ramen, Udon and Soba. Then, have you ever eaten “Somen”? 

Somen are very thin noodles and often served with a light flavored dipping sauce. As Japanese summer is very hot and humid, we often feel like eating something simple. In that case, they are good. Since the taste is very simple, the noodles can go well with anything like meat, veges and egg. So you don't have to worry the lack of nourishment caused by eating only Somen. You can add more nutrition to combat the heat.

Usually, the noodles are white because they are made of wheat flour. But some are colored. The picture shows the one blended with matcha. Somen with hint of Matcha flavor can also improve our appetites.

Matcha flavored Somen (Dried) -T-

My Old Sweet TEA

Regarding tea,  I have been demanding more and more. I knew that. I am excited to try tea made from uncommon or special variety, and produced by a slightly different way or whatever. 

The other day, I had a green tea made in Shimanto, Kochi prefecture. It made from Yabukita, the most popular variety for green, and produced under open-air, which is also traditional way to grow to produce Sencha. In that sense, this is the very standard Sencha. 

The tea wasn't the same one that I used to have, but when I sipped it, it reminded me of my childhood. I don't know why, but  I just remembered the tea made by Mother or Grandmother, which made me feel relaxed. 

I like something special, but I also feel happy to find out the taste that I had been with me.

Shimanto Genryu Cha  -T-

Happy to Sample

It is not easy to convey exactly what you think about “the taste” to others, but at the same time, it is fun to share what you think about it with others. 

Today, I joined a wakocha (Japanese black tea) sampling session to share our thoughts. A tea farmer brought four kinds of his black tea. Together with him, eight other tea-lovers tasted his tea and made a frank comment. As you may know, tea-lovers talk a lot, right?? Some comments might have been harsh on him, but he always says he would like to know frank opinion from consumers in order to improve the quality of tea. 

Like him, more Japanese tea farmers produce black tea earnestly. To be honest, Wakocha wasn't refined enough before, but I am sure more tea has been improved a lot. 

Steep Yourself in Tea

Japanese tea is supposed to be “drink”, but it can be good to “eat” too!

A new restaurant “GREEN TEA RESTAURANT 1899 OCHANOMIZU” specializing in “enjoy eating tea” is going to open in a hotel in Tokyo on August 1, 2014. 

I hear that even cooking oil they use is not just an oil. They use “tea oil”, which means the one that tea is soaked in oil. Also, various tea are to be served in harmony with the dishes. Sounds like enjoying dinner with wine, doesn’t it? When you come to Tokyo, why don’t you STEEP yourself in Japanese tea world? Of course, I would love to try too!

-T-

Web Sites:

 * Hotel Ryumeikan Ochanomizu Honten  http://www.ryumeikan-honten.jp/en/

* GREEN TEA RESTAURANT 1899 OCHANOMIZU : http://1899.jp/ochanomizu/

You Love Tea? TEA LOVES YOU.

Do you keep a record of tea that you had? 

What kind of tea is it? Where did you get it? And how much? Does it have a good body? Do you like the aroma? How is the tea color? ..and such. 

I tried and did once in a while using my PC, but it didn’t last long because I am not a PC person. I mean that I used to write down my impression on the tea on a small notepad while drinking, and type it up on my PC later. But I should've known that I’m not very well organized…

Today I just got an Ochazuki Techo (lit: a tea-lover’s notebook) at a small tearoom in Osaka. It is made just to take notes on tea. You can write how you like and what’s it like. For some tea-geeks, this could be a good record and  happy tea diary.

Personally, I like the cover, especially the bottom part; “TEA LOVES YOU”. Can you see the kettle that tea is been pouring to “V”? It’s cute, isn’t it? This “little teapot, short and stout”, which reminds me of a song "I'm a little teapot", motivates me to open the notebook. How do you like it??

 by CHAEN  - T-

TEA vs COFFEE –Bitterness-

In taste-wise, tea has something in common with coffee. Both have "bitterness", don't they?. Look like the same, but don’t you think they have different bitterness respectively? 

It is not easy to explain the taste, but in Japanese we use different words for them, which are "shibui" for bitter taste of tea while "nigai" for that of coffee. It is completely my opinion, but I feel that tannin-ish taste could be "shibui", caffeine-ish taste is "nigai". 

In English, you may say "astringency “, "pungency “ or whatever other than "bitterness". How would you describe the bitterness of tea? How would you distinguish tea-ish bitterness from coffee-ish bitterness? I am very curious......:-) 

-T-

Make a Wish on a Star - tanabata -

July 7th is a Japanese star festival known as Tanabata (lit: the seven evening), which celebrates the reunion of the lovers of star, Vega and Altair. 

Legend says that they are allowed to see each other only once a year on July 7th, separated by Milky Way except that day. Vega was believed to be good at weaving, and people would think that “I want to be as good at weaving as Vega is.” or “I wish I were as good as her.” So people used to write their wishes on a piece of paper on the day. Gradually, people came to hang the paper on a bamboo branches in hopes that their wishes could reach to Vega in the sky, which is how we celebrate the day now. What have “developed” are...the paper is more colorful, and our wishes are more demanding, ha, ha. 

Wagashi (Japanese traditional sweets) representing “star” is also available during this season to celebrate the day. Wish on a star while looking up to the sky and enjoying Tanabata sweets and tea.

tanzaku (strips of paper with prayers written on them)