Hey! I’m Doug. Intern #216. My experience at Obubu was about connection, devotion, & growth.
I joined Obubu as both an escape and next step on my journey with tea. I had been a software developer before this. A stable job with steady income and I was good enough to stay employed amongst the AI craze – however I lacked fulfillment. The future my career was moving towards wasn’t one I wanted to live in. The feeling had been with me for a few years before my good friend Kenji told me about Obubu. I was very resistant to joining at first but thanks to his gentle reminders and my spiteful attitude towards tech I made the leap.
I wasn’t prepared for how long the jump was!
It took a few sleepless nights of worry, a couple of bleary days of anxiety, early morning walks to the nearby shrine, lots of fun hangouts and a couple of yoga sessions (Thanks Marusya!) before I landed. The ground now beneath my feet I could focus on working at Obubu.
The first half of spring aligned with Obubu’s main tourism season! This meant we needed to hit the ground running on tea tours both as brewing assistant and presenter! My cohorts and I took to it with vigor. We drank teas every morning together; testing each other on which teas we liked, and were constantly offering support with cleaning and setup. The drinking proved useful when it came time to answer customer’s questions. With time we were able to taste the difference between shaded and unshaded teas and even the different shaded teas. It all proved very valuable when needing to answer guest’s questions. Which is the best part of the tea tour! Everyone always had excellent questions that would push me to learn more. On top of that we get to hear their experiences of Japan! As fun as it was to be in front of the crowd I found my most enjoyable work in the background.
The cafe is a hive of activity! The ensemble is usually three people all working together to prepare the day’s meals by lunch. As we all grew more accustomed to the recipes & timing, a rhythm would emerge between us. Within a month the cafe went from lots of chatter and questions to a silent choreography of the day’s work while jamming to each other’s playlists. There was a week where I got to work in the cafe for 5 days (#cafeleader)! The consecutive days really allowed me to practice and perfect cooking. .I think the greatest act of service can be found when the work involved is invisible to those that get to enjoy it. It was very satisfying seeing people enjoy the food we worked hard to prepare. As fulfilling as cafe work was it only provided a drop of what I got to experience working in the field.
Just put me out there. It didn’t quite matter what the work was: weeding, trimming, harvesting, or clipping being in those tea fields was amazing. I worked under the shading in Kamo field with Ambre accompanied by the pitter patter of rain and birdsong. I crawled along fields weeding and prepping the soil for baby tea teas. I worked hard under the hot sun moving heavy bags of tencha from the field to the truck! Through it all I would wear my grandpa’s work shirt: a green button up connecting me to home, where I will be returning once this internship completes..
My home town is not too spiritually distant from Wazuka. Hard working people, farms, ranches & trucks. I’m hoping to build a tea house there to introduce some softness and space to a community that has a strong backbone. I don’t think tea will be immediately picked up. In fact I think it will be slow going however I do think it’s possible. At Obubu I learned how an idea can change the world, but an idea isn’t enough. Hardwork, dedication and perseverance are the waters needed to grow an idea into a community. I’m excited to plant my own seed; I do hope you’ll visit.
Obubu has been a great nesting ground. Thank you Hiro, Akky and Matsusan for putting together the twigs that made the nest. Thank you to the mama/papa birds within Staff: Kayo-san, George, Pau, Miwako, Katrina, and Akayo-san.
A super thank you to my fellow hatchling Ching, Riikka, Laura, Katy, Glenda & Kenji; I couldn’t have asked for a more welcoming, open and supportive group.
Shout-out to my family, the greater tea community, and especially The Eternal Art. Y’all are the tree that has held me and leant me the space to explore and wind up here. I needed all of you guys.
I’m excited to fly into my future aloft with the joys, memories, and connections I’ve made here.
