AM Maren’s spring return

Warm tea greetings to the worldwide Obubu family from Maren, previous intern #156 and now Assistant Manager #18!

I’m excited to be back at Obubu for 2026 after having previously interned here in the summer/autumn of 2023. My experience then was largely shaped by waves of summer heat, weeding days in the tea fields, and an unexpected construction project in the form of Obubu’s cafe. It’s amazing to return now after two and a half years to see the space we built then transformed into a functional (and still evolving) event and cafe space!

Interns at Obubu get to be involved in all aspects of day-to-day operations, from farming and processing tea to all of Obubu’s customer-facing tourism offers. But as Assistant Managers, we’re able to take a lead in shaping some of this programming as well. Between my time as an intern and now, I’ve worked in several roles in tourism and education, in both the tea industry and others. These experiences have given me a fresh perspective on operations at Obubu, and an eagerness to contribute in ways I wasn’t able to as an intern.

As there are a few of us Assistant Managers on the team, we’re able to share responsibilities so that each of us manage aspects of the work that plays to our strengths and interests. With my background in education (tea and otherwise), I am responsible for Obubu’s educational programming, and I also write the monthly newsletter and coordinate blog posts and website updates. I really enjoy transforming complex, nuanced topics into bite-sized, digestible forms, so working on projects like revising the JTB course for interns, developing matcha training for other tea farmers, and even capturing the niche parts of our day-to-day farm life for newsletter subscribers has been very rewarding.

3 highlights from this spring:

• Watching different tea cultivars bud at different rates, with Wazuka’s green shades changing by the day
• Making micro-batches of pocket tea every time I take a tour group to our Monzen tea field
• Meeting Obubu legends at George and Moe’s wedding in April

3 things I look forward to this summer:

• Completing my first full harvest season, and building out my understanding & context for a full cycle of tea harvest and processing
• Watching the rice field in front of the Obubu office flood and grow
• Getting to know everyone on the farm better

Seasonal non-standard brewing recommendation: Sencha of the Wind 2-day cold brew

• 5g Sencha of the Wind
• 750ml room temperature water

Keep refrigerated for 2 days before drinking! The long infusion time really pulls out a lot of brothy sweetness for a thick, full-bodied texture, with very little bitterness or astringency. Great for a punchy afternoon refresher on a warm farming day.