I do not intend in this article to draw an endless list of all the Japanese tea cultivars and their family tree, but I will present thus a certain number of cultivars that seem to me essential in this part… Read More ›
cultivar
Japanese tea cultivars
As with wine there are different varieties of vines (grape varieties), the Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, and so on, for the Japanese tea as there are also many varieties (or cultivars ) of tea bushes. Today, three-quarters of… Read More ›
The first 2012 Shincha: Shôju from Tanegashima
Here is the very first shincha of the 2012 season, a super early sencha from Tanegashima 種子島, an island in the southeast of Kagoshima Prefecture. Tanegashima, along with its neighbour, Yakushima 屋久島, kicks off the new tea season every year… Read More ›
Tales about japanese tea cultivars at the foot of (an invisible!) Mt. Fuji
It is a gorgeous November day, over 20°C (68°F) with a beautiful blue sky; the only clouds I can see are those maliciously hiding Mt. Fuji. I am in the valleys in the countryside around Fuji City, visiting Akiyama Katsuhide,… Read More ›