Japanese Tea: a Comprehensive Guide

Obubu is proud to say that our international department lead – Simona Zavadckyte has recently published a book about Japanese tea. The book is called Japanese Tea: a Comprehensive Guide and includes a wide range of topics about Japanese tea: from history and culture, to cultivation and processing, to different tea kinds and how to […]

Japanese Tea Masterclass in Hague on 25th November, 2017

The Hague continues to be our favorite spot! All thanks to the International Tea and Coffee Academy here, that has the most amazing students. This year we came to hold another Master Class on Japanese tea, and 12 people decided to join, almost all of whom we met for the first time.         […]

Tea Time in Paris on 22nd November, 2017

After 5 years Obubu team returned to Paris. We stopped here on the very first Obubu’s Europe Tour and have not had a chance to come back since. So it felt like it was time to visit Paris again. This time we did not plan any specific event ahead of time. However, a new tea […]

Japanese Tea Workshops in London 18th November, 2017

London is always bubbling with tea, and so going there always feels like coming home. This year we could add some strength to the collaboration with the UK Tea Academy, led by Jane Pettigrew; and went to hold two events at their seminar room in Westminster Kingsway College. The day started with a Sencha Workshop […]

Japanese Tea Workshops in Berlin 16th-17th November, 2017

The stop in Berlin this year was the first for Obubu. We really wanted to come once we have heard about the creation of the Berlin Tea Academy. The Berlin School of Coffee has already been around for a decade. In the group they also have their own coffee roaster, coffee and tea shop; and café. […]

Japanese Tea Events in Madrid 13th-14th November, 2017

This year the Obubu Europe Tour starts in Madrid. With the help of our friend and Obubu internship alumni Anna, we were able to hold two events about Japanese tea: a tasting event and a workshop. Welcomed again by the Japan Foundation in Madrid, we introduced Japanese tea to Japanese culture enthusiasts in Madrid. Because […]

Tea Ware: Modern Western Tea Wares and Japanese Tea

More and more individuals are becoming enchanted by the Japanese tea room and ceremony service. Chado (the Japanese tea ceremony) searches for finesse in simple movement, and showcases elegance and purity in form. When coming to Japan, it seems as if these qualities are inherently ingrained within the lifestyles of the people. Coming to Japan […]

Tea Ware: Chawan, Houhin, and Kyusu

There are many ways to make tea, and just as many kinds of teapots. Today we’re going to talk about the three types of Japanese tea ware we use most often at Obubu: the chawan, houhin, and kyusu. Chawan  茶碗 Chawan, or tea bowls, are used together with bamboo whisks for making matcha in the […]

The 88th Day: Spring tea picking tradition!

Hachijuu-Hachiya, the 88th Day  八十八夜 The 88th day of traditional Japanese calendar, which falls right around May 1st or 2nd, is famous as an important date for farmers, and especially tea farmers. For several hundred years, the 88th day has been considered the best day to start the spring tea harvest. Those tender new shoots […]

Tea Cultivars: All About the Plant!

During tea tours, we are often asked whether there are different types of plants for different teas. Read on for the answer!   Tea Cultivars A cultivar is a group of plants that have been bred by farmers for desirable characteristics. Cultivars can be more or less suited to weather conditions (frost hardy or early […]

Exploring Wazuka: Shrines and Temples

Shrines and temples are everywhere in Japan, from the huge buddha at Todaiji in Nara to tiny Jizo statues along roadsides, and Wazuka has its own collection of beautiful cultural sites, several of which are part of our hiking tea tours. Tenmangu Shrine The picture at the top of this page is of Tenmangu, the […]

Japanese black tea

Introduction to Wakoucha: Japanese Black Tea

As we’ve seen in the “What’s in a Name?” blog series, Japan is famous for producing green tea in great variety. There’s sencha, tencha, matcha, gyokuro, kukicha, bancha, genmaicha, and houjicha. These have been central to Japanese production for hundreds of years. However, if we look beyond green tea, there is even more delicious tea to […]

What’s in a Name? Part III: Bancha & Hojicha

Are you ready for part 3?! Here come bancha and hojicha!  Bancha  番茶 The character for ban includes the characters for rice and field, and refers to a turn or a number in a series. Bancha is usually translated as coarse or common tea, and is made from mature leaves picked in between the four main harvests […]

What’s in a Name? Part II: Gyokuro & Kukicha

Welcome back to our blog series on tea names! Today, we’ll cover gyokuro and kukicha.   Gyokuro  玉露 Gyokuro, meaning “jewel dew,” conjures up an image of morning dewdrops collected from rare jade, and the tea liquor is a vibrant green color to match. Gyokuro is famous as a luxury tea; it’s harvested just once […]

What’s in a Name? Part I: Matcha, Tencha, and Sencha

Hello everyone! This week’s post is the first section of a series on Japanese tea names. If you’ve ever been curious why a tea is called by a particular name, this is the post for you!   Tea  茶 Perhaps the most important word on this list is cha, or tea. The Japanese character has its […]

Organic Tea: A Brief Overview

Today’s post is about organic tea. What makes a tea organic? What are the implications for farmers and tea drinkers? Is organic tea better? What does “organic” mean? The term “organic”, referring to farming, came into use in the 1940s, referring to a balanced relationship between plants, soil, and nutrients. However, since the 1960s, the […]

Wazuka: 800 Years of Tea

Today’s post is about the history of tea in Wazuka, the beautiful hometown of Obubu, where all our teas are grown. Chagenkyo, Wazuka’s nickname, means the home origin of tea, or Teatopia, as we like to translate it. In fact, Wazuka has cultivated tea since the Kamakura period, over 800 years ago, when Japanese green tea […]

Japanese Tea Workshops in Barcelona 10th-11th March, 2017

This was our third time to visit Barcelona and all thanks to Mateo – the Cofounder for the Hidden Café Barcelona. Introduced by Mateo this year we could also collaborate with the Spanish Coffee Institute that organizes coffee courses and training. Barcelona seems to be mesmerized by Matcha, so one of the events was a […]

Japanese Tea Events in Antwerp on 17th-18th March, 2017

Our event in Antwerp was probably the most unique this year – it was a unique collaboration between Japanese tea and Japanese style chocolate. Invited and supported by Marc from Royce – Japanese chocolate maker in Belgium and our tea club member, we could spend two days in Antwerp. The events also had a different […]

Japanese Tea Events in Oxford 6th March, 2017

Oxford is one of those places that you want to come back again and again. Especially that we get to hold our tea events at one of the oldest universities – Oxford University. All thanks to James Thirlwall, the founder of Chayou Tea and Elixir Living Tea, who lured us to Oxford during our second […]

Japanese Tea Workshops in Madrid on 8th-9th March, 2017

Madrid surprised us again by how many people wanted to learn about Japanese tea! With the help of our past intern Anna Poian and our friend tea sommelier Charo as well as the support from the Japan Foundation in Spain, we could visit this bubbly city for the second time. This year we had three […]

Japanese Tea Workshops in Milan 12th-13th March, 2017

We love going to Milan, as we are always very warmly welcomed by Barbara and Steven, who run La Teiera Eclettica tea house. Being part of the Italian Association for Tea Culture, they have cultivated a tea community in Milan for long years. So we are always greeted by a full house and immense curiosity. […]

Japanese Tea Event In Copenhagen 16th March, 2017

This was the first time for Obubu to visit Copenhagen. That is all thanks to our friend and the founder of the Sing Tehus – teahouse in Copenhagen. She came to visit us in Wazuka last year and has been our tea club member since. We held an event about Japanese tea and about 20 […]