I’d always heard the legends about winter being the “quiet season” for tea farmers—when tea bushes lie dormant and the fields, along with the tea tours, rest under the chill of the colder months. Well… my winter turned out to be anything but quiet. It was still very much genki—lively, bustling, and packed with exciting activities. In fact, I might even say it felt busier than autumn, thanks to all the tea-related shenanigans we dove into.
Spring in Wazuka comes suddenly. Our Sakura trees took what felt like forever to blossom, with trees in nearby Uji and Nara beginning to burst with pink and white weeks before the ones that overhang the river that rushes through Wazuka town. The cold hung on until early April, and the cool mornings that trickled […]
This month, interns Zehra (#196), Garance (#199), Izzy (#200), and KD (#201) had the chance to make their own Wakoucha! They harvested Yabukita leaves each from Blue Forest Tea Garden, divided the leaves into 4.75kg each, and each created their own unique batch of Japanese black tea! While the general steps for processing black tea are […]
Hi everyone! Tran here, former intern #141, now back as assistant manager #12! It’s been two years since I’ve completed my internship and as you know, “many things happen” at Obubu and boy has many things happened indeed. This first month back was a little bit of me just reliving my intern days, mostly doing […]
Izzy Intern #200 From the UK Instagram: izzys_tea_notes The Idea For my project, I had the idea to create a tool that would help people decide on a tea, this could be deciding which one to buy from the shop, or just which tea to drink reflecting the mood of your day. It would ask […]
Do you need help choosing your next brew? Then you are in the right place. This is Zehra (intern #196), and for my our intern project at Obubu, I teamed up with Izzy (intern #200!) to create a short, fun quiz to help you discover which Obubu tea to try next. The idea came to […]
Hello everyone! My name is Garance (Gahonceee) and I am intern #199 here at Obubu. Spring batch from April to July :) If you ask anyone here at Obubu, I hate dates. I do not like making plans in advance, I don’t like planning in general. Specific times or any future commitment make me anxious. […]
“Tea Eggs,” sometimes called “Marbled Eggs,” are a beloved Chinese snack that has been enjoyed for centuries. Over time, the original recipe has evolved with many adaptations, making this savoury treat popular around the world. In this post, I’ll share my take on this classic snack using Japanese tea instead of the traditional Chinese red […]
Being here at Obubu, you meet all sorts of talented, inspirational people from around the world. Whether they be guests or interns, you learn and can grow so much from each other. I used to be seen as the annoying kid who always asked too many questions. However, growing up, I started seeing my innate […]
Hello! This is Cara, intern #189. My background is in food science with an interest in sustainability! In my eyes, sustainability is a practice of being mindful of our consumption of resources. As the saying goes, reduce, reuse, recycle! In this post we’ll be exploring the world of dyeing! That is, dyeing with upcycled tea. […]
Hi everyone, welcome to my first AM blog page! So excited to be writing it finally! Presentations first! I’m Marilena, AM #11, I’m from Italy and I came to Obubu just after my undergraduate program. I graduated in Food Science, and during my studies I had the opportunity to meet a friend from China that […]
Alexandra #193GermanyInstagram: @xalexty With this post, I want to share a little bit about my sourdough journey here at Obubu and also, I want to share with you three recipes that I invented during my time here. Since the day I baked my first sourdough loaf in my life, something changed. I didn’t just fall […]
On May 4th, Obubu hosted a handpicking event for the Kansai Tea Competition! Obubu staff, assistant managers, interns, and volunteers plucked fresh spring tea leaves from one of Akky-san’s fields in Monzen. Together, they picked 45.73kg of tea leaves, which were driven straight to the factory behind Wazuka-cha Café. Here, under the close supervision or Akky-san, […]
Helloooooo everyone and welcome to my first Assistant Manager blog! My name is Nicole and I am Assistant Manager #10 at Obubu. I was born in Aotearoa, New Zealand, lived in Australia for twenty-one years, then in Iceland’s Westfjords for a year, and then back to Aotearoa and then finally, here I am in Wazuka, […]
Bio: Hozan Tanii, a third-generation potter based in Shigaraki, is recognized as one of the leading innovators of Shigaraki-yaki ceramics. Born in Nara Prefecture in 1953, he is the kiln master of Tanikan-gama (谷寛窯), a workshop originally founded by his grandfather in Shigaraki during the early Shōwa period (1926–1989). In 1995, he built Shio-gama, the […]
Hi! My name is Mia, and I’m Assistant Manager #9 at Obubu! Welcome to the first chapter of my blog series about my time here. My interest in tea stems from time spent enjoying tea with my family. This interest grew as I explored tea through art, incorporating it physically and thematically into my work […]
May 1st of this year marked the first harvest of Obubu’s new tea, and it happened to fall on Hachijyu-Hachiya, the traditional 88th night of spring. The tea we picked this time was the Yabukita cultivar, grown in the Shimojima area in southern Wazuka. Joining the harvest were Obubu’s president Akky-san, Saya, Tran, Chihiro, and […]
Joshua Caleb Ang #188 Singapore Instagram: @josh_lloyd_wright The Idea Having tea business cards was an idea by the exceptional Miwako Kita and Hirokazu Matsumoto, and was previously the responsibility of each intern to print and pack. However, most either did not have the time or were unaware of how to print and pack them. Therefore, […]
My beautiful people! Eva here, winter intern #187! I am not yet colloquialy known as spoon lady, but I do one day hope to be. Back home, making different spoons and utensils out of wood was one of my favourite pass times and coming here I was super interested in learning more about the process […]
This season started off with black tea. At least that is how it was supposed to start, given it was off season the results were mixed. There had been a previous attempt a couple of weeks before but with unfortunate results. This time to give us the best chance we had we hand picked tea, […]
Soft cheeses, with their delicate textures and buttery flavors, call for equally refined tea pairings that enhance their richness without overwhelming their subtlety. Let’s explore the perfect infusions to complement these melt-in-your-mouth delights. Rocamadour PDO & Kabuse Sencha Small but mighty, Rocamadour is a soft cheese from the Southwest of France. It is made from […]
Hello everyone, Alix here (AM #6) ! In this blog I am writing about my experience of my last quarter at Obubu, which seems a bit surreal after such an amazing and intense year. Winter is the most quiet period in terms of activities at Obubu since there is little to no farming and tourism […]
Cooked pressed cheeses, like Comté and Gruyère, develop deep, caramelized flavors through careful aging, making them an exciting partner for a well-chosen tea. Let’s dive into the best pairings to enhance their savory-sweet complexity. Abondance & Natural Okumidori Matcha Why not swap out your wagashi for (w)Abondance ? This pressed paste cow’s raw milk cheese is […]
As the first signs of winter creep into the valley, the landscape slowly transforms into a serene tapestry of soft whites and deep greens. Wazuka takes on a quiet beauty during this time and this winter has been no different. The mist rolls through the hills, tea bushes are dusted with frost and mountains are […]
Known for its pungent aroma and tangy bite, blue cheese can be an intimidating yet rewarding choice for tea pairings. The right brew can balance its intensity, mellow its saltiness, and highlight its complex flavors, let’s find out how! Bleu des Causses PDO & Natural Sakura Sencha As its name suggests, Bleu des Causses is […]