Deep-steamed sencha served at a tea shop

Hello, everyone! We went to a tea shop, Ochahiko in my town, to buy teas for year-end gift. We got a package of sencha and kabusecha for our tea master (picture on the right). I think it was kind of the same thing we got for the summer gift. We also got gyokuro for our parents.

At the tea shop, they served us a cup of sencha while we are waiting for the rapping. It was deep-steamed sencha. Brewed tea color was dark green, and it was darker than what I usually prepare. I think they used plenty of leaves to prepare the tea. It was strong, but wasn’t much bitter. It had rich green tea flavor and nice umami. I pretty liked it.

Our shop is closing between Dec.30 to Jan.5 for the winter holidays. I’m taking days off, so I won’t update this blog for a while. Thank you for visiting my blog, and I hope everyone has a great new year and all is well with you!! See you in the next year!

Rice cracker, Senbei

Hello, everyone! My today’s snack with tea was Senbei, Japanese rice cracker, which is very popular in Japan. Many people enjoy senbei at their tea time. There is various kind of senbei. The one I had today was kind of thin, but very basic type of syo-sauce flavored senbei. Senbei is crunchy and has nice roasted soy-sauce and backed rice flavor. It really goes well with green tea. I wish you a happy Christmas!!

Bottle of strong sencha

Hey, everyone. I’ve got a bottle of sencha. What I got is O-i, Ocha RICH from Itoen. I have introduced regular O-i, Ocha before. This is stronger than regular O-i, Ocha. I think this is richer in bitterness, and I’m not sure if it has richer umami. The accentuated bitterness softens umami impression. It will be good with sweets or at meals. But personally I prefer regular O-I, Ocha. Have a nice day!

Reasonable sencha

Hi, everyone! When I went to a grocery store yesterday, I found some reasonable teas. They were about 300-400yen / 100g. They were all Itoen brand, and regular, deep-steamed, and matcha-flavored sencha, and hojicha. I haven’t try them, but I think those reasonably priced teas will be appreciated for your daily. I have hard Itoen does some good work producing regular-quality sencha. I want to try them sometime. Have a nice day!!

It snowed on Saterday.

How was your weekend everyone? Here in Seto, it’s been very cold in these few days by a cold wave covered the Japanese archipelago. On Saturday, my MINI was covered by snow. As I mentioned last week, we are doing general house cleaning on weekends. This weekend, I painted preservative on our wood deck. It was tiring and outside was freezin. I was wearing garbage plastic bag (T_T) Sorry there is nothing about tea today...

Removal tea strainer teapot

Hi, everyone. When you look for a teapot for Japanese tea, tea strainer will be one of an important factor to choose a pot. Today, let’s talk about a teapot with removal tea strainer.

Good things about a teapot with removal tea strainer are…
-There is no chance of pouring problems because of clogged strainers like with fixed tea strainers.
-It can prevent continued brewing of the tea by taking out the strainer with leaves when brewed tea still remains in a pot.
-It is easy to clean the strainer.
-It is relatively reasonable.
-These strainers are usually made of metal or plastic, and have fine mesh. So, it can be good for either regular or deep-steamed sencha.

There are some negative points about a teapot with removal tea strainer.
-The brewing space is not as large as fixed strainer teapots. Therefore, it does not brew quite as well as fixed strainer teapots.
-It is not good for preparing few serving. There is space below tealeaves with this kind teapot, and the leaves will not be soaked enough in little water.

I usually use this type of teapot for casual use, like my daily tea at work or at friends gathering. Please think about both merits and demerits of strainers when you look for a teapot. Take care and have a good weekend!

Our master showed us her temae.

Hi, everyone! This morning it snowed little in Seto. It doesn’t snow much here. It may be only several times in a season. I think it used to snow much more when I was a kid. An effect of global warming? I hope nations will reach an agreement at COP15.


Last night at the tea lesson, our master played a host and showed us her temae. It was the second time since Hiro started taking the lesson, and an important opportunity to us to see her temae. I watched her preparing the tea with eager curiosity, and was trying to learn anything from her performance. Her flowing movement was just beautiful and practical. Even attitude of her hands holding the tea bowl was nice and graceful, and different from our uncouth one. I notice that my movement was crude, especially when hitting the tea bowl edge with teascoop to flick off excess matcha remained on it. Our master’s gesture was gentler. I had a lot of things to learn by watching her temae. Have a nice day!

Fish-shaped cake, taiyaki!

Hi, everyone. Today, I had taiyaki, Fish-shaped cake at my tea time. Taiyaki is pretty popular in Japan. The taste is not anything related to fish. The classic taiyaki is fish-shaped pancake stuffed with bean jam. So, it is just a sweet cake. The outside pancake is brown and sweet been past inside is dark gray for the classic taiyaki. But, taiyaki is evolving with times. New staffing came out, something like chocolate, or custard. And now white taiyaki is in fashion! The one I had today was that the white outside was a kind of rice cake, and custard was filled inside. It was so good!! I enjoyed with sencha, which I brewed with high temperature water (about 90C) to bring out rich bitterness. Have a nice day!

Haiyu kannyu sencha cup

How are you doing, everyone? Japanese people have a custom of doing a general year-end cleaning of both the inside and outside of their homes to greet the New Year. I used to do it in the last week of the year, but it has always been kind of stressful. So, we decided to do the cleaning little by little on each weekend in whole December. This weekend, I cleaned the bathroom, and Hiro did the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen (^-^)


The other day, I went to a potter’s studio to pick up new tea cups for my shop. The potter served me nice sencha with the cup. The cup is kannyu finished. Kannyu is cracking on the surface, which is created by difference of coefficients of clay and glaze. The cracking on a brand new piece (on the left in the picture) is not so obvious. As you use the cup the cracking appears more clearly and gives it a stately look (on the right). I think a charm of kannyu is that you can enjoy the gradual change in cracking expression as you use it, and make one-of-a-kind your own piece. I hope I can introduce it in the near future on our shop. Have a nice day!

Flower of the day, Nov 25, 30, Dec 2 and 9

How are you doing everyone? It is a chilly rainy day here in Seto. The maple tree in my back yard shed its leaves.

Tsubaki from Nov 25 lesson.
I like the modest arrangement with small vase and simple flower.
It is subdued , but see how great it looks in tokonoma (alcove)
















The item displayed in tokonoma on Nov 30 was not flower, it was a an incense burner


















Tsubaki again on Dec 2
I think tsubaki is very popular as winter tea flower. The leaves on the branch behind were autumn colored, and add a seasonal flavor.
















Tsubaki with a hanging vase on Dec 9


Have a nice day!

Regular sencha vs. Long (Deep) steamed sencha

Hey, everyone! I talked about Regular and Deep steamed sencha for the last two days. Today I’ll talk a little bit more about them.

Regular sencha
Color: Clear yellow
Taste: Great harmony of umami and bitterness

Deep-steamed sencha
Color: Greener and murkier than regular sencha by particles of broken leaves slipped through the strainer.
Taste: Richer than regular sencha but less bitterness, weaker aroma

These are general perceptions for regular and deep-steamed sencha. But, they are not always true. The tastes depend on area of production, producer, and grade. The picture is for my two minute brewed regular sencha and one minute brewed deep-steamed sencha. I don’t think my deep-steamed sencha has less bitterness than my regular sencha. They are almost the same, but the type of bitterness is different. Or I should say that those teas have different flavor. My regular sencha has rich earthy umami and the bitterness comes after. The straight bitterness and umami come together at the deep steamed sencha.
Popularity of each sencha varies by region. I like both types and have them daily. The process of finding your favorite tea is kind of fun, and I always look for a new tea myself. I hope you try some of these teas and find your own favorite. Have a nice day!

Preparing regular sencha and Long (Deep) steamed sencha

Good morning everyone! Yesterday I talked about regular sencha and long steamed sencha. But my translation of “fukamushi sencha” was not quite correct. I should have said deep-steamed sencha instead of long-steamed sencha. Hereinafter, I call it deep-steamed sencha. Sorry.

Preparing of either sencha
Water: 60-90ml/serving 70-90 degree C (140-194 F)
Higher grade sencha: Use small amount (60ml) and low temperature (70degree C) water
Low grade sencha: Use plenty (90ml) and high temperature (90degree C) water
Leaves: about 2g /serving
The difference for preparing regular and deep-steamed sencha is brewing time.
Regular sencha: 1-2 min
Deep-steamed sencha: 45 sec – 1 min

Usually deep-steamed sencha leaves have more broken leaves and are finer; therefore infuse faster than regular sencha does. And it is better to use fine-mesh strainer for deep-steamed sencha. See that 1 min brewed deep-steamed sencha on the left in the picture is even darker than 2 min brewed regular sencha on the right. I used 70 degree C (140F) water for both here.

What I introduce here is just a standard brewing. You can try different amount or temperature of water, different amount of leaves, or infusing time. You will be surprised by the great potential of sencha. Today, I also wanted to talk about the taste, but maybe tomorrow. See you soon. Have a nice day!

What are Regular sencha and Long steamed sencha

Hello, everyone! Sencha is the most common and produced green tea in Japan. Do you know that you can categorize sencha into two major types? When producing sencha, the tea leaves are steamed about 30 seconds, which is a regular steaming time. This is regular steamed sencha (on the right in the picture). It is called “sencha” or “futsu-sencha”, means regular sencha. Regular sencha does not mean regular quality sencha in Japan. It means regular steamed sencha. It’s kind of confusing, so you need to be careful about it. The other type is long steamed sencha (on the left), which is steamed about twice to three times longer than regular sencha is done. Longer steaming makes leaves more fragile and yellowish. Therefore, Long steamed sencha has more broken leaves and leaves are usually finer. Please look at the label at your sencha package. Does it tell you if it is “futsu-sencha” or “fukamushi-sencha”? If it doesn’t, look at your leaves and compare with the leaves in the picture here. Tomorrow, I will tell you about the brewing and teats of these sencha. Talk to you tomorrow!!

Cold green tea at misokatsu restaurant in Nagoya

Hi, everyone! Yesterday we took a half-day off, and went to an orchestra concert, which Hiro won as a prize from cosmetics. They played some Christmas music and popular songs everyone is familiar, so we could enjoy them very much. They played soft and beautifully sometimes, and sometimes powerful and dynamically. It was amazing to create one musical composition by many players. I thought this live was a kind of performing art!

Before the concert, we had dinner at a famous misokatsu restaurant in Nagoya, Yabaton. Misokatu is deep-fried breaded pork with miso-sauce. Misokatsu there was so-so to me. They served cold sencha in a glass. I like cold green tea with fried meal. Tea refreshes your mouth! Have a nice day!

Tea room with sunken hearth

Hello, everyone! I had another tea lesson last night. Hiro was not feeling well and skipped the lesson. I did a winter-style temae, using a sunken hearth instead of a brazier. I think something special about tea room is the sunken hearth, which an ordinary Japanese tatami room doesn’t equip. The sunken hearth is usually used from Nov. through Mar, and the brazier for Apr. to Oct. We wanted to practice more of brazier temae, so we are one month late of starting sunken hearth. Have a nice day!


I asked my master to be in my picture. It is her first appearance in a while!!
If you want to compare with the summer setting >>> Picture of hirademae setting with brazier

Tasting bottles of Japanese green tea

How are you doing everyone? As I mentioned yesterday, I tried four bottles of major Japanese brand tea. They were different in taste, and all good. I don’t say one is good and another one is bad, it depends on your preference and occasions.


From the left
1. “O-i, Ocha” from Itoen
Color: Light yellowish orange
Taste: Good bitterness, a sense of roasted flavor
2. “Ayataka” from Coca-cola Japan
Color: Darkest in these four, little murky
Taste: Strongest, Full body, bitterness in the after taste
3. “Namacha” from Kirin
Color: Light yellow
Taste: Most mild in these four, mellow and sweet
4. “Iemon” from Santory.
Color: Green -yellow
Taste: Good bitterness, a sense of roasted flavor

I personally liked Namacha best. My wife Hiro liked O-i,Ocha best. O-i,Ocha and Iemon were similar. They both have pronounced flavor, but you can taste the flavor light after you sipped O-i,Ocha, and Iemon has the flavor in aftertaste. Now, I know the difference of these four, so I can choose a right bland at a right occasion.

Namacha: When you want to enjoy tea itself, the sweetness will be nice.
O-i,Ocha or Iemon: At meal, and when you are thirsty, the fine bitterness will refresh your mouth.
Ayataka: For teatime with confectionery, the rich flavor will suit with sweet.

This is my personal opinion. People will have different tastes in these green teas. You should try them yourself! Have a nice day!

Bottles of Japanese-brand green tea

Hello, everyone. It’s in December, now! A tea lover from Singapore told me that they can buy a bottle of Japanese-brand green tea there. It is “O-i, Ocha” from Itoen. It is also popular in Japan. When I found a bottle of sweated green tea in the US about fifteen years ago, it was a bit of shock. But times are changing. As you can find Japanese-brand tea at Singapore, I believe that now more overseas people can enjoy pure Japanese teas.

We of course have many brands for bottles of green tea. When I buy a bottle of tea, I usually choose one what my mood tells me at the moment. I’ve never seriously compared them. So, I thought this is a good time to see what we have in our market now. I got four bottles of major-brand tea, which you can find at any places here. They are standard sencha from major company, including “O-i, Ocha” from Itoen. These 500ml bottle beverages are usually sold at 150yen/each in Japan. I got them at 98yen/each on sale at a grocery store. Is it expensive or reasonable comparing to the price in your country? I’ll taste them and report it tomorrow. Have a nice day!

From the left
1. “O-i, Ocha” from Itoen
2. “Ayataka” from Coca-cola Japan
3. “Namacha” from Kirin
4. “Iemon” from Santory.

I’ll be a qualified Japanese tea adviser!

How are you doing, everyone? I have been studying about Japanese tea to be a Japanese tea adviser, who has overall and essential knowledge of Japanese tea. It is all about tea, history, industry, cultivation and production, science and health, tasting, preparing technique, and so on. Japanese tea advisers can give customers advices at a tea store, or can be an assistant at a tea workshop or a guide at a tea event. I took the exam in the beginning of this month. And yesterday, I receive a notice of passing the exam. Yeah! I’ll officially be qualified as a Japanese tea adviser in coming April. I’m so happy about it. Have a great weekend!

Covering utensils with cloth

Hello, everyone! We had another lesson last night. I have been practicing bon-demae these months. When you bring in the utensils into the tea room with bon-demae, you place a tea bowl set and tea container on bon, a tray, and cover the items with silk cloth, called “fukusa”. I don’t know the reason why you cover with cloth, but I guess covering with cloth might mean that the items are all cleaned and prepared? Or avoiding from dust? There should be some decent reason for it. Have a nice day.

Flower of the day, 6 and 11 Nov

Hi, everyone! Here are flowers from this month lessons.

Hototgis was the flower on 6 Nov.


We had tsubaki on 11.

Our master sometimes gives us the tea flowers after the lessons. We took the tsubaki home and displayed it at our hallway. Isn’t it nice? Have a good day!!

Sweets of the day, Nov 6,11, and 18

Hi, everyone! I haven’t introduced the sweets from this month lessons. Here they are. The first one is from Nov 6 lesson. It was white been paste covered with regular been paste and sweet chest nuts are top of it.
The next one is yokan, sweetened and jellied bean paste. It was salt flavor yokan. Salt flavor sweets might sound weird, but surprisingly it was good. The salty flavor accentuates the sweetness.
I don’t know the name for the last one. It looked like kuri-kinton but it wasn’t. It was white been paste and bits of chestnuts and little too sweet for me. I liked first one most in these three. Have a nice day!

Nakatsugi, container for matcha

How are you everyone? Almost every evening, we go 30 minute walking for exercise. There is a national park called Iwayado in our town. It is a little far and off from our usual walking course, but the park also has illuminations for autumn leaves in this period. Yesterday, we were warmly clothed and went to the park for a walk to see autumn leaves again. It was as nice as Sogi park. The illuminated trees reflected on liver surface was so beautiful.

At this week lesson, we used a different type of container for matcha, called nakatsugi. It is a cylindrical shape container, which is refined I think. I could scoop plenty of matcha easily. It may be because nakatsugi has a flat bottom and holds more matcha than ordinary natume.
Hope you have a good weekend.

Sobayu at a soba restaurant

Hello, everyone! I had zaru-soba (my favorite Japanese buckwheat noodle) for a lunch on the trip to Gifu. It was handmade noodles, and I liked it. Some soba restaurants serves sobayu with zaru-soba. Sobayu is hot water that the noodles were boiled in, and is murky white. After you eat soba, you enjoy sobayu. You add sobayu into soy based sauce for soba, and enjoy like soup or tea. The rate of sobayu and sauce make a difference on the taste. I think people have their own recipe. I like a lot of sobayu with a little sauce, so that you can enjoy soba flavor of yobayu. By the way, the tea served at the restaurant was sencha with tall thick younomi cup. Have a nice day!

Mushroom tea

Hi, everyone! Last night, we went to Sogi Park for night viewing of illuminated trees, which is 25 minute drive from our place. It was very cold but it was worth to visit. The orange and red maple leaves were illuminated by hundreds of lights in the dark park. It was so beautiful and fantastic!! We want to come to visit next year again.

Anyway, I’ll talk about tea. There was a tea set in a hotel room we stayed this weekend. There were a hot-water pot, teapot, cups, saucers and tea bags. And there were some sweets on the table. Green packages in the picture are tea bags of sencha, Shirakawa-cha. I didn’t try them, this time. I had orange package tea, which is mushroom tea. You put the powdered tea into a cup and just pour hot water into it. I think the taste is not like a tea, more like a soup without ingredients. It doesn’t’ have any bitterness as ordinary green tea; just has supper rich umami of mushroom. Yom might not able to imagine how the flavor is like. It is difficult to explain, but if you have tried Japanese soup, called osumashi, I can say that the mushroom tea is similar to osumashi. Anyway I like really it. Have a nice day!

Shirakawa-cha at a hotel restaurant

How is it going everyone? We went to a trip to Gero hot spring resort in Gifu prefecture this weekend. The lunch at a hotel we stayed was pretty good. You could have buffet-style beverages there. I found green tea that you can prepare it yourself with a teapot and beautiful deep green sencha leaves, not a tea bag. The tea was Shirakawa-cha, which is popular sencha bland from this region. We used tea cups to lower boiling water temperature. The brewed tea color was nice light green, and had comfortable bitterness and excellent green tea flavor. This was a kind of sencha I like. Talk to you soon!

Kettle rings and kettle rest

Hi, everyone! I introduced how to rinse a large kettle the other day. When you handle the kettle, you use some accessories. They are kettle rings and a kettle rest. You use two rings to carry the kettle by putting them through lugs on the kettle. You use a wooden frame as a kettle rest at preparation room. Have a nice weekend!

Susuricha

Good morning everyone! Yesterday, I talked about susuricha, and tried it again. This time I used 3g of fine sencha with 15ml of cold water, and brewed it one minute. You might think one minute is too short for cold water brewing, but it isn’t. The plenty tealeaves to the little water brought out amazing flavor. The brewed tea was just few drops, but so delicious. It was very mellow and no bitterness, and totally different from the sencha I usually have. I really like it. I’ll explore more of susuricha. Have a nice day.