Before Obubu
My tea story actually does not start with tea at all and is a bit messy.
I come from a country whose gastronomic background is pretty solid and stubborn, leaving little to no space for new discoveries.
However, my journey starts with food. I attended a degree in food science and food cultures at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, a small town in the heart of the Langhe region, that is basically the Wazuka of wine production in Italy.
My greatest passion has always been food, and during my studies I had the opportunity to understand how it is a tool that shapes economies, politics, cultures and traditions of a population.
During the most amazing and strange years of my life I started making my way into hospitality, working in fancy kitchens, thinking I wanted to be a chef but, instead, I was really destined for something else.
I took part in trips that allowed me to explore different countries through their food productions and traditions: I participated in a rice harvest in Thailand, made tortillas from scratch with the Maya community in Mexico, and toured a tea plantation in Kenya.
The more I was experiencing cultures through food, the more I was falling in love with the idea of making it my life job. It was from that trip in Kenya and from a friendship formed with a colleague from China, that I started to get into tea.
However, tea was never the plan itself. I think that, very similar to coffee, there are many heavy tea consumers around the world that are so passionate about this beverage to make it their whole entire world. Therefore, I started asking myself some questions.
I eventually had a closer encounter with tea during my thesis research, which analyzed more in depth concepts of Japanese Food Philosophy and Aesthetics. Then, I graduated and the Obubu Assistant Manager Program was the perfect opportunity to develop more skills in the tourism area, experience the Japanese countryside and really understand what is the deal behind this consuming passion for tea.
During Obubu
I eventually ended up not only understanding why tea draws you to it so much, but also becoming a part of that community. I was studying, working and drinking tea everyday for ten months, and even when I was not I would find myself scouting tea houses and producers around Japan..
Obubu was so much that I honestly don’t really have words to express everything that happened here.
At Obubu I learned how to deal with “danger works”: finding yourself driving a seven-seat car on a narrow way to a field is an experience that really alters your brain chemistry.
At Obubu I learned that without teamwork nothing is possible: sharing precious moments as well as challenges, is the most formative experience that could happen!
It’s not accurate to say that Obubu changed me, because it didn’t. It’s more accurate to say that Japan has been, and always will be, home—meaning a place that puts you at ease and makes you feel safe enough to confront yourself and explore every part of who you are.
That’s the greatest gift the world can give you: being the cradle where you can stumble again and again and still get back up a million more times; being the witness to your own discovery, watching you from afar through the eyes of its people, through tea fields with endless bushes, through its colors and shapes. Obubu didn’t enrich me, but it helped me find my own richness.
Videomaking & Editing
One of the most interesting passions I started to develop more here at Obubu has been the creation of visual content in many different forms, from graphic design, to professional shootings for teas, and passing through videomaking.
I found this last branch to be the most attractive to me! There is still a lot to improve, but getting to know more about editing tools and how to address the creative ideas through them has been the most precious discovery!
I have always been a lover of the World Wide Web, a tool that allows you infinite creative possibilities! Therefore, I put a lot of my passion in the management of Obubu social media accounts, updating and incorporating useful tools to make it better and better! Everything at Obubu is managed by a small group of people, between staff, AMs and Interns: each of them contributes to improve the system little by little, making it even more valuable and precious.
As a result we started consistently posting and improving our content, sharing more about Obubu’s story, missions and services. We reached the 13.5k followers goal on the Instagram page, having started the year at 10k followers!
Matcha factory & Matcha tour
During the first part of the year we started building up and experimenting with the new matcha grinding factory, a huge achievement for Obubu!
After testing and gaining more consistency with the management of the factory, we started trials and organization for the new matcha-themed tour for 2026! Together with staff and Interns we scheduled the tour and tested out different ways to conduct the tour, curating presentations, scripts and graphic content to promote it to our guests!
Capturing and Enjoying Japan
One of the things that is keeping me anchored at Obubu and in Japan is how this place makes me feel. In the silent and narrowed streets of the countryside, in the temples and shrines that change colors as seasons go by and in the futuristic buildings that host gastronomic events, I find my comfort zone.
Each day off the tea fields was an opportunity to study the streets of Kyoto, the ways to stunning shrines in Nara prefecture or jumping in weekend road trips to Lake Biwa or Mie.
During my time in Japan I have seen so much and yet never enough. Having the possibility to really explore this area, by doing things and visiting places authentically has been the most fulfilling part of the journey.
Ten months at Obubu could constitute a research thesis itself, a whole book. I guess that is why I felt inspired to put this experience on paper. As my AM Project I collected pictures from some of the most amazing artists I have met during my time on the farm and put them together in a fancy looking photobook, or, as I love to call it, a “Tea” table book.
After Obubu
Just like before and during Obubu, life after is a blank page to fill with more growth experiences! I will keep pursuing my career goal, putting to work all the skills that I gathered during these incredible months here.
For the time being, I will go back home to recharge the batteries with friends, family and Mediterranean food, but more adventurous awaits!