We’ve been playing around with recipes recently using other tea powders — somehow straying away from the commonly used Matcha as we want to explore the unique flavors and qualities of the lesser known wakoucha, houjicha, sencha, and genmaicha powders. However, it should also be known that Matcha comes in multiple grades out there that […]
One fine day, at noon, while Mikie and I were talking about the next recipes to come, we asked George and Moe, whom we were sharing table with, whether they had any idea of dessert. With a sparkle in the eye and a mischievous smile, George suggested, with his British accent : « well, I do […]
As a person who is fueled with sugar, I have a special place in my heart (and tummy) for sweets. However, living in the countryside (which is awesome btw), it will probably take a lot of time and distance for me to get my sweet fix. Oh noooo. What to do?! Simple. This calls for […]
What to do when it’s raining outside and you have free time ? Baking of course ! Today’s treat : matcha ganache tart ! This was a first trial, and finding the balance between sweetness and the subtle bitterness of matcha was quite a challenge. Got this idea one morning while talking with Hiroe, Akky-san’s […]
There are five main activities you will be involved in during your time at Obubu as an Intern. How many hours you will do of each will be determined by the season and weather. Field work Days with Akky-san: these will most likely be your most memorable days at Obubu; Akky is a character […]
by Mikie Mitsuhashi Summer days in Japan are hot – really hot (and humid). Then there will be days that it will rain pretty much every single day of the week. But you know, ice cream is good for all sorts of weather. Especially for a sweet tooth like me, there is not a bad […]
By Giedre Trumpiene Hello, tea lovers! This is Giedre. An exciting time of the year in a tea world, right? Amazing freshly pressed sencha aromas and flavours fill the air here in Obubu. This Friday, to switch things up, I would like to talk about what happens after brewing the tea. Sometimes it is so […]
By Giedre Trumpiene Hello! This is Giedre. I am continuing my non-traditional tea brewing methods and tools adventure! In case you have missed my previous tea brewing experiments click here: brewing with Siphon and brewing with Chemex. This week I would like to review three different cold brew methods. Cold or ice brew tea is […]
By Giedre Trumpiene Hello again! This is Giedre. I am continuing my non-traditional tea brewing methods and tool adventure! This week I would like to introduce you to the coffee brewer- Chemex. As well as, one of my favourite Obubu’s tea – Wind sencha. In case you missed the first part of the article and […]
By Giedre Trumpiene Tea has thousands of years of history over which many different forms and brewing techniques have been developed. Interestingly, unusual brewing techniques and tools foreign to our current times can be read about or seen in museums – it is a great testament to the lengths that tea has evolved over time. […]
Kai’s Kitchen Fine Teas and Brownies Greeting friends. Well this is it. We’ve come a long way, but all good things must come to an end eventually. But don’t think that just because this is the last Kai’s Kitchen post, I didn’t want to make one last satisfying dish for you all. We’ve run […]
Kai’s Kitchen An entree Steeped in History What’s good y’all? Welcome back to the 5th installment of Kai’s Kitchen! Well ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between – we have arrived at the main course. We’ve had an appetizer, soup, fish, salad, and now we have our entree! For something as important as […]
Kai’s Kitchen Roasted Rice and Leafy Greens Welcome back all! Welcome back to another mouth watering installment of Kai’s Kitchen! This week we are going to go for something a little lighter and more refreshing. The next dish we have is a palate cleanser, but is still deep and complex in flavor. […]
1 Fish, 2 Teas Kai’s Kitchen Howdy all! We are back at it with more tea cooking, and this week I’ve found something very cool for you all. We are moving on to the later courses of our meal, so time for something a little more filling. We had amuse bouche (appetizer) […]
Kai’s Kitchen Soup and tea? A matcha made in heaven! Buenos Dias friends! This week we are continuing our 6 course meal with something sweet and refreshing. After our first dish (Kabuse Parm Bruschetta), we are shooting for something a bit lighter, but still satisfying, so this week we have a light […]
Kai’s Kitchen Bake, Brew, and Fry; Ways to cook with tea! Hello all! Here in Wazuka things are getting a little crazy. One of our founders, Matsu-san several years ago organized a town wide event called Chagenkyo Matsuri (or TeaTopia) where people from all over the area get together to talk tea, […]
Kai’s Kitchen Nothing more appetizing than a good appetizer Hello all! Welcome back to Kai’s Kitchen. This week we kick things off by leaning a bit into the savory side of things. Japanese Tea is very well known for its insane umami flavor. Umami is a word overused and not very well […]
Kai’s Kitchen Not Just for Brewing The world of tea is a deep and ancient one. Japanese tea stretches back to the 9th century when a Buddihist monk brought the tea plant (Camellia Sinensis) back from China and planted it in Kyoto, Uji. From that point, Japan has had tea ingrained into […]
Have you tried a Matcha ice cream, Matcha cookies or even a Matcha smoothie, yet? I bet you did! Matcha is going crazy all over the world in recent years. Not only because of the color of this famous tea powder, but also due to its many health benefits. What, if we told you that […]
Obubu organizes Tea Picking and Rolling Events 3 times a year to celebrate Japanese tea harvesting seasons. This event is one of popular activities for tea lovers from all over the world. We believe that is because we have welcomed over 90 interns who love Japan and Japanese tea; and who always warmly […]
Kyobancha is a green tea that is unique to the Kyoto region. I was fortunate enough able to experience this tea from farm to cup, and I wanted to share it! Kyobancha is a large leaf green tea that is roasted. The leaves are large because it is made from the leaves that survived during […]
For the last two weeks, I have talked about matcha tea ceremonies, matcha tea utensils, and now it is finally time to talk about matcha itself! In this post I want to break down how the tea is made. First and foremost, to create a baseline, it is important to first explain aracha and […]
Last week, I had a chance to see a tea ceremony and try portions of it out! This week, I thought that it would be interesting follow that post up with the teaware used during the ceremony, as well as give some tips on whisking matcha! As part of the tea ceremony event, we tried […]
As part of my trip to Japan, one thing I wanted to experience was a tea ceremony! Luck would have it that last Sunday in Wazuka, the town Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms is located in, had one! This will actually be part one of my three part mini-series on matcha. Matcha has become […]
Last week, I wrote about shaded (Kabuse) green teas and I said that I would talk about unshaded (Roji) teas this week. However, I realized that it actually might be more useful to talk about harvesting seasons and why they are important, purely because most plants around the world are left unshaded in order to […]