An Overview of the Commodity and its Trade in Japan from 538 AD to 2024 AD Jack A. Ryan Obubu Intern #180 Foreword About the Author and Introduction This work is a brief primer which focuses on the commodity and trade history of tea in Japan. The impetus for the writing of this document stemmed […]
Hello, I’m Holden (Intern #179). Getting the chance to work on a tea farm is a unique opportunity, so naturally I wanted to make as much tea as I could. At first I wanted to make post-fermented teas like awabancha since that seemed like an interesting project, however, after trying awabancha I learned I didn’t […]
Introduction Madeleines is a type of French small sponge cake, with a characteristic shell-like shape. For the French author Proust, in “In Search of Long Time”, the madeleine represents how blocked memories can involuntarily be invoked. With this matcha madeleine recipe, we hope to bring back your memories and experiences from the tea fields, or if […]
By Jason McLoughlin – Intern #178 Beekeeping, primarily for honey production, has a long and varied history around the world and began around 10,000 years ago with evidence of beekeeping in ancient Egypt, China and Greece amongst others. In Japan, the oldest record of beekeeping can be traced back to the 7th century in Nihon […]
-My long visit at Obubu- I’ve been at Obubu for just about two weeks – gone too fast – my experience of Obubu has been one similar to the anthropologist conducting participant observation, where each day brings new experiences and realisations, grateful to be allowed into a community and have the chance to take part […]
The following blog is about some specialty teas I decided to use, one of which Obubu has and another I was able to enjoy and learn about while in Japan. These two teas are Sakura tea and Awabancha. For the first specialty tea that I decided to use was sakura sencha which is a blended […]
In this blog post I decided to make sodas with Wakoucha or Japanese Black Tea and Kyobancha. You can learn more about Wakoucha here in the Introduction to Wakoucha : Japanese Black tea blog. I noticed while looking at the different projects that past interns have made and was captivated by one called Iced Shiso […]
I was lucky that my grandparents served me both sencha (Japanese green tea) and wakoucha (Japanese black tea) every time I visited them in Japan. But as I grew up in New York, my encounters with these teas were reserved to their home for the most part, and the global popularity of the two types […]
For this blog I decided to make green tea or sencha soda as Japan is known for green tea. Blog post What’s in a Name? Part 1: Matcha, Tencha, and Sencha. It discusses the differences in all of these different teas and what I will be using as the main teas in this blog. With […]
Hello, to all those who love tea and also those who also happen to love soda. I am Jocelyn intern #176 at Obubu studying Biological Systems Engineering specializing in Food Engineering in university and while being here at Obubu I found a new love for tea and hope to share with you all a fun […]
First, some introductions and pleasantries Hi, this is Amanda, one of the interns at Obubu. Interning at Obubu has come with many surprises, one of which is learning that black tea is also produced in Japan. Japanese black tea or more commonly referred to as wakoucha has quickly become one of my favourite teas. I […]
Tea is one of the cornerstones of Japanese culture (and history). Perhaps the most well-known of these are the Japanese green teas: sencha (煎茶) and matcha (抹茶). Matcha especially has seen a global meteoric rise in fame in recent years as matcha lattes, smoothies, and various sweet treats. Did you know that Japan produces other […]
At Obubu, it is often said “Many things happen. Please enjoy”. If you are lucky enough to spend time here, you will understand what is meant by this. There are many moments of serenity within the chaos, and it’s important to note this chaos is quite benevolent. Obubu-san has doggedly refused to stop growing and […]
What is the difference between Abandoned tea and maintained tea? Why is there abandoned tea, and what does it take to maintain it? Hello! I’m Jordan, intern #172! Here’s why I am interested in abandoned vs. maintained tea fields. It all started on an Obubu tea tour, where I noticed some overgrown tea bushes, more […]
Hello, I am Kyle, a high school student from South Korea. During summer break, I volunteered at Obubu tea farm for a week (second week of July) to experience tea farming and learn more about tea. I luckily participated in a lot of exciting activities including weeding, harvesting, and tea processing. On my first day […]
Hey there fellow tea lovers, my name is Till, Intern number #175 and I am currently taking part in a 3-month internship at Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms, where I have the once in a lifetime chance to explore the ways and means of Japanese tea production, including plant care, harvesting, machine processing, as well as […]
After making the Hojicha White chocolate cheesecake we tasted 4 different teas to find the perfect pairing. Sencha of the Forest GlowWakouchaSencha of the WindKyobancha Here’s the results: Sencha of the Forest Glow A high grade, unshaded, spring tea with naturally sweet, umami taste. Undertones of orange and cinnamon can be detected. Harvested in May, […]
At first glance, handmade tea is very intimidating. In Wazuka, hand-picked and hand-rolled tea are the most expensive senchas in Japan. Because of its high price, only the masters are allowed to touch the tea during this process. Nevertheless, you can make your own handmade tea at Obubu, and it is actually quite simple. Whether […]
A natural phenomenon as spectacular as the sakura of springtime is the coming of the Japanese autumn leaves, or kôyô (紅葉). Japanese forests are transformed with bright red, orange, and yellow foliage, and the star-shaped leaves of the momiji or Japanese maple trees, are exceptionally breathtaking! Wagashi artisans incorporate these vibrant colours into their creations, […]
Bonjour ! Ici le stagiaire #171, Patrick ! Pendant la semaine à Obubu, nous étions occupés soit à encadrer, soit à conduire des visites de thé, soit à niveler. Le week-end, tout était possible. Nous, les stagiaires, avions un accès facile à certaines des villes les plus extraordinaires du Japon : Osaka, Nara et Kyoto. Si vous vous sentiez très épicé, vous pouviez faire [...]
L'été au Japon peut être intense, c'est le moins que l'on puisse dire. Les températures élevées et la forte humidité sont brutales. Néanmoins, nous voulons toujours manger des wagashi, bien sûr ! Voici donc mon petit guide pour apprécier les sucreries japonaises en été. L'été appelle des sucreries qui évoquent des images rafraîchissantes. Les wagashi d'été ont tendance à être plus légers [...]
Les wagashi (和菓子) sont des friandises traditionnelles japonaises qui sont généralement accompagnées de matcha. Il existe différents types de wagashi, qui se distinguent par leur forme, leurs ingrédients et leur mode de préparation. Parmi les exemples les plus populaires, citons le Namagashi (生菓子), le Daifuku (大福) et le Dorayaki (どら焼き). Pendant le cours de fabrication de wagashi Obubu, Ishida-san nous a appris à créer le Namagashi, qui est généralement servi pendant les fêtes traditionnelles [...]
Bonjour, je m'appelle Lana et je suis la stagiaire #167. Je suis arrivée dans les fermes de thé Wazuka et Kyoto Obubu à la toute fin de l'hiver. J'ai donc eu la chance de voir la nature se réveiller et les oiseaux commencer à chanter. L'un de mes co-stagiaires a mentionné que nos Kukichas étaient nommés d'après les [...]
Vous avez peut-être déjà eu le plaisir de boire un Hojicha Latte (si ce n'est pas le cas, je vous le recommande vivement !) Et si vous êtes comme moi, et certains de nos autres stagiaires, vous aimez sucrer légèrement votre latte... Au lieu d'utiliser du sucre, pourquoi ne pas essayer de préparer un sirop simple avec du thé Hojicha, à la place du prochain [...]
Au printemps, le Japon se couvre régulièrement d'un manteau rose. De fin mars à début mai, les cerisiers en fleurs ornent les paysages du Japon, tandis que les sakura s'épanouissent dans tout le pays. Les sakura n'étant que brièvement en pleine floraison, ils sont célébrés pour leur magnifique rappel de l'impermanence et des changements saisonniers. En [...]
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