Articles

Shikoku tea garden Sakawa Kurohara Kochi

Tea Hunting in Shikoku

The once much better-known tea from Kōchi prefecture is now disappearing. On Shikoku Island more than anywhere else in Japan, the aging population struggles to maintain its craft. The market keeps shrinking every year and what youth remains on the island shows no interest in trying to revitalize it. Being a tea farmer on Shikoku is hard work and pays very little money. Nonetheless, there are still pockets of hard-leathered individuals making a living out of it.
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Marie Serreau tea bowls

Meet the artist: Marie Serreau

INTERVIEW WITH MARIE SERREAU - "Even when I was little, I had already established that clay would be my medium: as far as I can remember, I've always been making little figurines, flowers and other poetic sculptures from clay. I've been a ceramicist since 2002. I like to say I am both a ceramic artist and a humanist. I try my best to add smiles to my daily life."
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Ureshino tea garden

Ureshino tea

Ureshino has become somewhat of a hotspot for tea tourism in recent years. That is, in part, due to the region holding the title of “birthplace of Japanese tea”, and also because it is home to a special green tea production that’s been winning awards left and right over the last decades.
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Josiane Védrine Jugs and Vases

Meet the maker: Josiane Védrine

INTERVIEW WITH JOSIANE VÉDRINE - " As a small girl, I liked watching potters throw at the wheel and I've always thought one day I'd do that too. But it took me a while to get there. I first took recreational classes here and there for a long time. And then one day, I decided that would be my craft."

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Japanese tea overview

Japanese tea overview

Sencha, gyokuro, matcha, hojicha, genmaicha... what do they all mean and what do they taste like? I often receive questions about various Japanese tea families, how they are made and what's their difference. Enough at least to justify putting up a quick reference guide as a form of general answer.
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shincha japanese tea header

Shincha - Japanese spring tea

The name shincha (from Japanese shin - "new" and cha - "tea") does not refer to a specific tea or even a given style of tea. Rather, it designates teas made from the year's first harvests. The shincha appellation itself isn't regulated and its exact meaning often varies from one producer to another.
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Manon Clouzeau gaiwans exhibition blog post

Exhibition : Manon Clouzeau

Specialized in the making of bowls, Manon Clouzeau developed a rare affinity for this form. Blessed with acute sensitivity and focus, she provokes playful variations in each and every piece to find unique points of balance between moments, gestures and emotions.

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sheng pu-erh tasting session header

Describing taste - part II

This article is the second of a two-part series on how to best describe the taste of tea. While I discussed in the first part how I like to present my teas and approach description in general, here I'll focus on tea vocabulary and how to build up your reference library.
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