Meeting Toshiyuki Matsubayashi of Asahiyaki by #145 Jia En

Overlooking the Uji River, Asahiyaki is a pottery studio and gallery shop presently headed by its 16th successive generation of potters and has a rich history of 400 years. For the first time, the studio held an exhibition, ‘Asahi Yaki 423 Exhibition’ that featured works from all its 16 generations. Through the exhibition, one could […]

Painting Two Countries with a Chawan by #145 Jia En

As someone who picked up ceramics as a hobby over the last two years during the pandemic, I was enamoured by Japan’s long pottery history and the relationship between tea and pottery. I decided to interview the ceramic craftsmen who built some of the chawans (matcha bowls) that Obubu uses for tea tours and carries […]

Life of an Obubu intern, 151 Itsaya Blog#1

[2023年 06月 TO 08月] Hi I’m Itsaya! I’m intern number 151 at Obubu and I will share a little part of my history! I’m from France and I dreamed of coming to Japan since 6 years ago! I have a degree in Japanese. I learned the Japanese culture, history, and literature at university. I also […]

The (not so) Secret Life of An Intern – May 2023

Hello desu! This is Jia En and Sarah reporting live from Obubu. You might have seen us trotting around Obubu’s instagram account over the last three months, from March till June. We had such a fun time preparing and helping out in this year’s Spring harvest. But it is almost time for us to say […]

Assistant Manager blog Jean [2023.06月]

Konnichiwa! Jean here to tell more stories about Obubu Tea Farms. May was busy with the spring harvest. But June is time for the summer harvest. So exciting! We prepare the harvesting machine and tea bags to collect the tea and interns and I often ride at the back of the truck. Riding in the […]

Assistant Manager blog Jean [2023.05月]

Hello everyone! It’s Jean again. On my previous blog post, I shared about my arrival at Obubu in Japan and everything I’ve been up to on my first month. We are now at the end of May, and it is time to share with you some of my adventures. May is the month of the […]

Building the Houjicha House

“If today we can enjoy Obubu as it is, it is thanks to all the work of those interns who arrived before”. The words of George got stuck in my mind, as the car embarked on the steep climb across the fields. It was my second day at Obubu Tea Farm, and together with my […]

Assistant Manager blog WJ Justin [2023.02月~03月]

Hello everyone! It’s me, WJ Justin! Coming back with updates from February to March. It feels like time flies so fast! February and March passed in a flesh! How was your February and March? Well, for me, I think it was very intense with a lot things happened at Obubu. And, I would like share […]

Assistant Manager blog Jean [2023.04月]

Hello everyone! My name is Jean, and I am working as an Assistant Manager at Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms in Wazuka. I am also a former intern at Obubu. You are presently reading my first blog post! Yaaaaaay! This blog will be about my life in Japan and what Obubu has been up to. You […]

Hojicha Nama Chocolates

Hi everyone! This is Tran, intern #141, otherwise known as Obubu’s resident professional baker! During my time here at Obubu, I hope to be able to share with you recipes of my baking using Obubu’s tea powders and I hope you’ll enjoy making them as well as eating them! As today is White Day here […]

Assistant Manager blog WJ Justin [2022.9月~2023.1月]

  Hello everyone! Welcome to my first blog! I’m Justin and you can call me Woo Jae also. Right now, I have been working as an ‘Assistant Manager’ since September last year. So, I’ll be uploading a blog each month, showing you guys how Obubu is, what we’re up to and giving you guys some […]

Wazuka Water : The Prime Water Experiment

Over the last several posts we’ve tested four of Obubu’s teas from all over Japan and all over the world. At least as much as one can do with eight waters, but it does illustrate an important fact. Depending on the water used to brew tea, the flavour of the tea can be drastically changed. […]

Solan & Suntory Water Experiments

Hi! The Tea Potato this week! And nothing has caught on fire. We will always consider that a win. The Waters We have something special today for water. No, it’s not the Suntory Natural Mineral Water. Don’t get me wrong, it is a fantastic water. But we’re constantly dealing with Japanese water in these blog […]

Acqua Panna & Kuju’s Water Experiments

Hi! It’s the Tea Potato again and welcome back! Today is a very exciting day for me in terms of water, so we’re going get right to it. The Waters The two waters we have for your tasting pleasure today are Aqua Panna, a natural mineral water from Tuscany, Italy and Aso Kuju’s Natural Mineral […]

Matsu-san and Alex speak with Wazuka's town mayor.

People of Wazuka: Wazuka Mayor Tadao Hori

As a town with an over 800 year history of tea cultivation, Wazuka is a special place. We are lucky to have a mayor who also thinks brightly about Wazuka’s future. Recently, thanks to Matsu-san from Obubu Tea Farms, we were able to speak with Wazuka’s mayor, Tadao Hori-san. The mayor knows this place very […]

The chief abbot of Shouhouji drinks coffee while smiling.

People of Wazuka: Shouhouji Head Abbot Tetsudo Ozeki

Shouhouji is one of Wazuka’s beautiful temples, known for its red fall leaves. Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with its abbot, Tetsudo Ozeki-san. I was able to learn a lot about the deep history between Buddhism and tea. While drinking delicious tea out of teaware that Ozeki-san had made himself, we had this […]

Tea Adventures of Current Interns

Justin, Patrick, Katrina, Hannah, Alex, and Satomi-san here! During our internship, we went on several trips and tea-related festivals and events, both individually and as a group. Being located in the Kansai region, there are countless possibilities for discovering many different places in Japan. In this blog, we will tell you a little bit about […]

Crystal Geyser & O.S. 99 Experiments

Intern Tea Potato here with even more water experiments!   The Waters The two waters we’ll be experimenting with this week are Crystal Geyser and Onsen Sui 99. Crystal Geyser comes from the United States of America. There are several different springs from where the water is sourced, so it’s important to check the bottle […]

Toshi-san cuts into a daifuku mochi with a knife. He is standing in his factory.

People of Wazuka: Toshi-san

Japanese sweets and tea are often served together. The connection between Obubu Tea Farms and Midoriya’s Toshimasa-san also runs deep. He often brings us delicious mochi to eat while we drink tea together. That’s why our intern’s have given him the endearing nickname “Mochiman”! Recently, we were able to speak with him about tea, sweets, […]

Online Tea Education – Different Types of Japanese Tea and Brewing Session

During this hour long course we will look at the different kinds of Japanese Tea and where in Japan they come from! Brief Introduction History of Tea in Japan An Introduction to many types of Japanese Teas Brewing 2 Rare Japanese Teas – brew with us! Q and A session 「令和2年度第3次補正事業再構築補助金により作成」

Online Tea Education – What is Aracha and Brewing Session

During this hour long course we will start with an introduction to Aracha and its place in the Japanese Tea world. Aracha Defined History of Aracha Aracha Today – How it’s made from farm to cup Brewing 2 Types of Aracha – brew with us! Q and A session 「令和2年度第3次補正事業再構築補助金により作成」

Online Tea Education – How is Matcha made and Brewing Session

During this hour long course we will start with an introduction to Matcha Production and it’s processing before moving on how to prepare Matcha. History of Matcha Current Situation of Matcha Matcha Production Guide – How it’s made from farm to cup How to Brew Matcha – brew with us! Q and A session 「令和2年度第3次補正事業再構築補助金により作成」

Online Tea Education – Intro

Course Topics Available Topics How to Brew the Perfect Cup of Japanese Tea, Sencha How is Matcha Made & Brewing Session What is Aracha and Brewing Session Different Types of Japanese Tea and Brewing Session Course Format The course duration is 1 hour. Hosted online virtually via Zoom with instructions on how to join emailed […]