Before Obubu:
My first encounter with tea was a whisper of a memory tucked into my early childhood. I grew up with tea in the form of Indian chai; everpresent amongst conversations with friends, family events, late nights full of charts, books and spreadsheets. I encountered Japanese tea a few years ago. One afternoon, after having lunch, my friend and I decided to walk into a tea shop that was nestled into a cozy street nearby. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the aromas of Japanese senchas and Chinese oolongs. The owner directed us to some of his personal favorites, and after browsing for a bit, we settled on a few teas. It was a snowy day, so the tea shop was relatively empty, which led us to converse with the owner. We asked him questions about his life, how he had found his passion for tea, how his journey had panned out. While we spoke, he brewed us samples of multiple different teas; this was where I tried my first sencha. Although short, that interaction was serendipitous, and it left me curious to expand my knowledge on teas. I have cherished that moment since, it has cemented my dream to open a space where people can seek shelter from the busy, accelerated lives they lead, and bond with others over a cup of coffee or tea.
Around that time, I found out about Obubu through a friend who had been an intern, Jocelyn (Intern #176). Jocelyn had invited us to a tea tasting at her apartment, and while she described her experience, she served us some wonderful teas that I had never had access to before; it opened my eyes to a new realm of the tea world.
I applied to Obubu a year later, during a time of burn out, when I felt tired of living the same day over and over again. I knew adventure awaited me and I was correct!
During Obubu:
I virtually knew nothing about Japanese teas before coming and decided to keep an open mind to the internship experience. Over the span of my internship, I learned about Japanese teas and tea tourism at an exponential rate at Obubu and before I knew it, I could recognize cultivars, tea roasting or shaping methods, regions associated with tea and estimate its flavor profile. My batch and I came to Obubu during its busiest season: Spring. I was overwhelmed and excited by the amount of information that came our way. I started by learning, assisting and hosting tea tours, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of getting to know my guests, their connections with tea and their interests. Harvesting came next. I spent a lot of time in the tea fields harvesting and trimming. Any fear of bugs and insects was conquered, essentially after two weeks in the fields. Harvesting was my favorite part! Even though I would consider myself a night owl, I was excited to wake up early if it meant rides on the back of the keitora in the morning, the multitude of teas and snacks to discover during chabako time, and getting into a flow state while harvesting with Akky-san. I enjoyed cat-naps on top of the pile of bags we harvested after a day of hard work, emptying bags at the Tencha factory, and the joy that processing nights brought everyone at Obubu. Notable mentions include shincha tastings, group trips my cohort took to the supermarket Plant, dinner (plus a sweet treat!), and omiyage that people brought back from their trips around Japan. I also really liked exploring Japan on my days off, squeezing in as much sightseeing as I could, while trying to relax on my trips. Overall, I discovered some great eats, coffee and tea on my adventures. I made new friends, cherished memories (shoutout assisting Katrina’s habibi staff lunch!) and learned a lot about myself.
After Obubu:
After Obubu, I will continue my education in graduate school, but my journey with tea will not end there. I hope to incorporate tea into my daily life, host gatherings with friends and family, and create spaces where conversations and connections can grow around tea. I eventually plan to travel to other parts of the world that make tea and learn about their processes.
My favorite part about this internship was getting to meet people from around the world. Learning about the lives they led before Obubu, I realized how different we all were in our paths, and yet we had managed to meet in the same space, at the same time, all thanks to tea.
