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)

Less Sweetness and Less Bitterness

I remember the words below by a Wagashi (Japanese traditional sweets) chef at a traditional shop in Kyoto. 

“Wagashi is supposed to be sweet. In olden times, people took sugared sweets as  special treats because sugar was very valuable back then, and enjoyed sweetness. But now, many say ‘I like this because it's not so sweet!’  I understand people have come to be health-conscious, but as a Wagashi chef, I have mixed feelings to hear that comment.” 

He said this jokingly, but I found an interesting point in his remarks. 

I sometime remember his words when I hear a comment on tea. Some says “I like this tea because it is not bitter.” To me, bitterness is vital in tea. I need good bitterness, which I think gives the complex to the taste. Of course, this is just my thought and I understand everyone has his/her own taste. 

 Peoples' tastes change.  “Something which is supposed to be” is not our favorites anymore.

Assorted Wagashi made by FELTING.
You cannnot eat them..Too bad :-)

-made by "Chaen" tea shop owner-

Let Tea Breathe!??

Black teas like Assam, Uva, Keemun and so on often turn stale when cold. Also, the color become cloudy. 

However, I've found that Japanese black tea known as wakocha don’t. I am not saying all of them, but at least some as long as I have tried. They taste different when cold. Some change even for the better, which is interesting. Do they need “air”? Should I let wakocha breathe like we do so for red wine?? Ha, ha. Luckily, many wakocha remain the color even when cold, so it won't disappoint you by appearance.

Tea is not simple. That’s why I cannot get out of tea. You all agree, don’t you?

Messy!! but a fun sampling time.
See? The color is still clear even when cold.