June in tea country.

Big boss man (Taku-chan) went to Japan earlier this month to hang out with the tea farm gang.

June at our tea farms, is essentially, a relief... Because the new crop tea has been picked, shipped, and sold. It's very hot and humid, but it's also very peaceful.

He took some nice photos, so I thought that it'd be nice to post them...

These are photographic evidence that Japan is NOT like what most people think (re: Tokyo nightscape, Harajuku girls, bullet trains, monsters). That stuff only happens in the big city... Okay, I lied about the monsters.

Countryside = old buildings.

This particular ryokan (a traditional bed & breakfast) that he stayed in, it's seriously spectacularly old.

So old that they still have fire pits (oh, how 19th century!) and tetsubins (cast iron tea pot).

So old, they still have paper doors.

Annnnd, it's so old that they still preserve their own food. It's slow food/locavorism at its finest, Alice Waters would be so proud!

"nannies must never smell of barley water"

So I just found an article on The Kitchn (one of my favorite blogs out there!) about lemon barley water - the official drink of Wimbledon - and it just struck me fancy. Doesn't it sound just refreshing? I mean, barley tea (mugicha) is already one of the :most: popular summer drinks in Japan, so why not oomph it up a bit with a splash of lemon and a touch of sugar?

Anyhow, I made a batch by throwing in 2 bags of the Maeda-en Mugicha into 1 quart-sized pitcher, filled to the brim with water. I let that steep for, oh, about an hour, and into this dark brown tea, I squeezed in a whole lemon's worth of juice and 2-3 tbsp of honey. Then I corraled the sales team into The LAB and appointed them as taste testers. (The poor guys, they were also the taste testers during my cupping training.)

The verdict?

Well, the boys didn't like it (you should have seen the scowl on their faces), but I did.
It's definitely different. This mesquite drink is actually quite delicious - I can totally imagine myself sipping on this on the poolside (a splash of rum would be nice too - I'm thinking Oronoco!). If you're the type to enjoy Mo's Bacon Bar from Vosges (like me), or the bacon chocolate crunch bar from Animal, then it's for you.





Till next time!

Random Musings: A Series Of Liquids

via MattBites

Something that I found on the interwebs earlier this week, from one of my favorite(est) food photographers, Matt Armendariz: an illustrated analysis of his daily fluid intake. How much you drink of what is something that you don't really think about everyday (Matt's number 1 is wine at 86%, water at less than 1%). It's something that makes you go hmmmm...

So I made one too!

Naturally, working at a tea company means that I have an endless supply of fresh tea, and thus I drink ridiculous amounts of tea. But I can't forget that large soy latte I get everyday from my neighborhood coffeehouse either...

What does YOUR daily fluid intake consist of?

Shin-cha Tasting: Little Tokyo, June 20th!

We will be doing our last Shin-cha tasting of the year!
Come out to Nijiya @ Little Tokyo, Los Angeles from 10AM to 6PM Saturday June 20th, to try out the 2009 New Crop teas.
This year's brew is sweeter in comparison to past years' and pairs wonderfully with sweets, so you might want to stop by the confectionary shops in the plaza too! Nothing spells out z-e-n like a cup of good green tea paired with a fresh-off-the-griddle imagawayaki (red bean filled griddle cakes)!

Quantity is very limited... Just an FYI :-D



Nijiya Little Tokyo
124 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles CA 90012

Tranquil Tea Lounge Grand Opening: This Friday, June 5th!!!

We interrupt this program with a quickie announcement!

Our friends, Tranquil Tea Lounge is having their grand opening ribbon-cutting event tomorrow (Friday June 5th) at their brick-and-mortar store in downtown Fullerton!

I stopped by this afternoon, and all I can say is... *wow*.

Tranquil Tea Lounge is in the heart of beautiful downtown Fullerton, and the store is very beautiful. Very modern and chill, with an artsy flair. The menu features some signature tea drinks (matcha smoothies, oh my!), a light eats menu, and some desserts. They also have a retail section with everything tea related - teawares, tea beauty products, tea snacks, I mean everything.

So come on down and show Jon and Michellee some tea-loving support!

Follow Tranquil Tea Lounge on Twitter.
Visit their Myspace= (and flip through their construction photos - quite entertaining, actually)

*****************************

Tranquil Tea Lounge
106 W. Wilshire Ave.
Downtown Fullerton
(Just around the corner of the Shabu Shabu store)

Tea Tasting This Weekend at Marukai Pacific, Gardena

We will be holding a tasting demonstration at Marukai Pacific this coming weekend!

Come sample some of our best sellers from the Blender's series: Gyokuro, Sen-cha Reserve, Genmai-cha (with Matcha), and Houji-cha... Our tea-man, Shingo will be serving throughout the event, so if you have any questions on how to brew the different types of tea, feel free to throw them at him. Plus, it's free, and why would you want to miss a free tasting demonstration?

When: Saturday, June 6th & Sunday, June 7th 9:00AM to 6:00PM
Where: Marukai Pacific 1620 W. Redondo Beach Blvd., Gardena, CA 90247

Matcha & Soy Jelly with White Zin Syrup

Matcha and soybeans were made for each other. Or so I think.

I've always had a strong dislike for soymilk, until I had a sample of our O-cha Latte at the World Tea Expo - our Premium Matcha, soymilk, and a wee bit of sweetner was all it was - and now I'm a convert. No wonder it was a popular drink at our Green Tea Terrace cafes!
Since becoming a convert, I buy soymilk for the sole purpose of making O-cha Lattes at home, and everytime I get a matcha latte at any coffee shop I ask for soymilk instead of my usual fat-free milk. Yes, I think I'm good about meeting my daily protein and isoflavone minimums thankyouverymuch (plus I eat tofu a lot, being that I'm asian and all).
Soy milk's simple, natural sweetness seems to heighten the sweet and savory of matcha, which ends up being magic. Delicious magic.

So, you'd think that this recipe would only come to me naturally. Matcha magic drizzled with White Zin syrup (which is great on chilled stone fruits too): it's very gentle at the beginning and the ends with an exciting tartness. The half and half gives it a nice, rich texture too, almost mousse-like.

Matcha & Soy Jelly with White Zin Syrup
Makes 4 servings

For The Syrup
1 cup White Zinfandel
6 tbsp sugar
a pinch of cinnamon

Combine ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil. Let it evaporate until it condenses to about 1/3 of the original volume. Remove from heat and let cool. Set aside.

For The Jelly
1 cup unsweetened soymilk
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp food grade matcha (like our Shiki Matcha)
1 gelatin packet (approx 7g)

Empty gelatin packet into a plate and sprinkle some water over it, and let it soak.
Bring soymilk,and sugar to a gentle boil. Sift in matcha and whisk it in, until well combined. Then whisk in half and half. Whisk in gelatin until completely dissolved.
Pour into a small container and refrigerate for an hour. Take a spoon, and swirl around (some of the matcha sediments to the bottom, and this makes nice swirlies). Then refrigerate for another 3 hours.

To remove from container, put the container in a warm water bath for about a minute. It'll slide right out. Cube, plate, and drizzle wine syrup over. Top with some strawberries and enjoy!