Ryan and Zongjun talk to Ian Chun from tokinari.live to discuss his journey in the tea industry and the work he does to support Japanese tea farmers. He shares the challenges faced by small-scale farmers and the impact of the global market on the tea industry. The conversation also touches on the quality and preferences of matcha, the shift towards ready-made drinks, and the decline of tea culture in Japan.
Japanese Tea Culture
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Visiting Ibi Tea in Gifu ā A Mountain Region Producing Sencha and Tencha
Explore Ibi in Gifu Prefecture, a mountain tea region producing sencha and tencha. Visit the Katsura Tea Cooperative and Shirai Seicha to learn about aracha production, traditional processing, and the...
Hiroko Yamada |
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Ancient Mist Tea ā Visiting Denroku Tea Garden, Home of āTenku no Koraichaā in Kasuga, Gifu
Discover Ancient Mist Tea from Kasuga, Gifuārare zairai tea grown in misty mountain fields. Visit Denroku Tea Garden and explore a 700-year tea tradition.
Hiroko Yamada |
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From Meiji Tradition to the Future: Visiting Nitta Tea Farm in Shirakawa, Gifu
Discover Shirakawa tea, one of Japanās rarest green teas, grown in the mountains of Gifu. This article explores Nitta Tea Farmās tradition, deep-steaming techniques, and evolving approach to modern tea...
Hiroko Yamada |
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Hakone Tea Exploring 2 : TEA FACTORY Joshun-en
Continuing our Hakone tea journey, we visit TEA FACTORY Joshun-en in Hakone Itabashiāa beautifully restored space where history meets modern design. From organic, pesticide-free tea cultivation to a behind-the-scenes look...
Sachiko Murata |
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Hakone Tea Exploring 1 : NARAYA CAFE
As autumn deepens, the Kanto region is coming alive in full color with vibrant foliage everywhere. During this beautiful autumn season, we visitedĀ Hakone, one of Japanās most beloved travel destinations....
Sachiko Murata |
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What is Soba Tea (Buckwheat Tea)?
Have You Heard of āSOBAā? Soba is a plant from the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae, genus Fagopyrum). The seeds from this plant are ground into flour and used to make soba...
Sachiko Murata |
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Tokushima Prefectureās Awa Bancha featured in NHK documentary
Starting at 17:25, the documentary shares the process of making Awa Bancha in Tokushima Prefecture, a type of fermented folk tea made in certain Kamikatsu and Aioi VillagesĀ in the region....
Ian Chun |
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Discover: Teas of Tokushima Prefecture
Tokushima is a prefecture of JapanĀ located on the island of Shikoku. When one thinks of Japanese tea, Tokushima is probably not the prefecture that comes to mind, especially when one...
MoƩ Kishida |
Japanese Recipes
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A Japanese Halloween Dessert: Hojicha & Black Sesame Mousse
Discover a gentle Japanese-inspired Halloween dessert made with hojicha, fragrant black sesame, and warm spices. Creamy, aromatic, and softly autumnal, this mousse is a beautiful way to enjoy the flavors...
Sachiko Murata |
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How to Make Chilled Matcha Soba for a Refreshing Japanese Summer Lunch
Discover a refreshing Japanese summer lunch experience with tokinari.live. Learn how to recreate this seasonal meal at home, featuring chilled matcha soba, yukari onigiri, warabimochi, and cold brew green tea...
Sachiko Murata |
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Japanese Green Tea Lemon Butter Pasta
Japanese Green Tea Lemon Butter Pasta is a simple, flavorful recipe that combines the richness of butter and Parmesan with fresh lemon and loose leaf Japanese green tea. Whether you're...
Sachiko Murata |
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Green Tea and Kinako Breakfast Parfait
A simple breakfast parfait with a gentle Japanese twist. Creamy yogurt layered with refreshing green tea and comforting kinako, a roasted soybean powder, makes for a light yet special morning...
Sachiko Murata |
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The Essence of Spring: Homemade Sakura Salt and Sakura Butter
The First Signs of Spring Although the days are still cold, little by little we can feel spring approaching. As the plum blossoms finish their season, the next flowers to...
Sachiko Murata |
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Crispy Genmaicha and Hojicha Oat Biscuits
These quick to make oat biscuits combine a buttery flavour and crispy texture with the toastiness of genmaicha or hojicha (depending on which one you choose). Perfect enjoyed on their...
Sara Kauppila |
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From Our Barista to you: Yunomi.Cafe's Tea Soda Recipes
After sharing our drink recipes at Yunomi.Cafe :From Our Barista to You: Yunomi.Cafeās Iced Tea Latte RecipesĀ From Our Barista to You: Yunomi.Cafeās Signature Tea Drink RecipesWe would now like to...
Sachiko Murata |
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From Our Barista to you: Yunomi.Cafe's Signature Tea Drink Recipes
In our previous blog post, we shared the iced latte recipes we serve daily at our Yunomi.Cafe in Tokyo. Today, we're delighted to introduce two of our signature crafted drinks:...
Sachiko Murata |
Professional's Guide to Japanese Tea
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Yunomi Matcha Grades & Categories
tokinari.liveās system for grading matcha and separately defining terminology for different types of powders that others are claiming to be matcha. Categorization (and establishing terminology) allows us to specify what...
Ian Chun |
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Single Cultivar Matcha Bundle from Osada Tea
Tasting single cultivars without it being blended is a great way to improve your knowledge if matcha (and tea) but only useful if it comes from the same producer who...
Ian Chun |
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Lemon in Cold-Brewed Green Tea: What Changes?
Something I Noticed While Testing a Recipe Recently, while I was testing a new recipe, I came across something interesting, and I thought it might be worth sharing with tea...
Sachiko Murata |
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How Matcha Storage Temperature Affects Quality
5 minute read To read the Japanese version, please click here.Ā We recently asked our science team to investigate how matcha storage temperature and duration influence quality. They reviewed scientific...
StaffYunomi |
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What do the terms āmukashiā and āshiroā mean in the names of matcha products from traditional brands?
The Art of Matcha Naming in the Centuries Old Matcha Industry: Unraveling the terms āShiroā ē½ and āMukashiā ę In the world of traditional Japanese matcha, the terms Shiro and...
Ian Chun |
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Fukamushi sencha and how it differs from a regular sencha
As its name implies in Japanese, fukamushi sencha is deep steamed tea. āFukaiā (Japanese: ę·±ć) means deep and āmushiā (čøć) means steamed. This is exactly how fukamushi sencha is processed,...
MoĆ©Ā Kishida |
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Looking for a matcha whisk? Here are some tips
Matcha is becoming known globally, with its attractive lush green color and health benifits.Ā In Japan, the traditional tea ceremony, chado, was initiated in the early 12th century as a...
MoĆ©Ā Kishida |
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77th National Tea Competition in Japan
Here is a little bit of tea news from the homefront (Japan). Just last month, from the 22nd to the 25th of August, the 77th National Tea Festival represented by...
MoĆ©Ā Kishida |
