Category Archives: Japanese Tea

Is Japanese summer that bad?- AM blog by Mari (#11) [Summer 2025]

Everyone tried to warn me about the Japanese summer and every time I would respond with confidence: “I am from Italy, I will be fine”.  It was not. Summer has always been the strangest period of the year, full of very high ups and very low downs and…this year also was no different! Still, summer […]

The Report Of Activities In Obubu Tea Farm by Haruki

Background I was born in a tea-producing region and currently work at a Japanese tea store.I believed that the internship program at Obubu Tea Farm could offer some clues to solve problems such as “labor shortages” and the “increase of abandoned tea fields” that have been great problems the tea industry, so I decided to […]

冬: Assistant Manager Blog by Katrina [Winter 2025]

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.

Tea Calendar

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. […]

May Tea News: Handpicking for Kansai Ichi! 🌱

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, […]

Hachijyu-Hachiya Shincha: An Interview With Akky-san

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 […]

Tea Business Cards by Josh 🍵

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, […]

The World of Wooden Tea Utensils

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 […]

Soft Cheese and Tea Pairings

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 […]

Assistant Manager Blog by Alix [Winter 2024]

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 Cheese and Tea Pairings

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 […]

Winter in Japan – Assistant Manager Blog by Mac

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 […]

Blue Cheese and Tea Pairings

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 […]

秋: Assistant Manager Blog by Katrina [Autumn 2024]

Hey hey, Katrina here! I am back! In autumn 2022, I joined Obubu as an intern (#138), and while I was volunteering at the sister project Ikedoki in Higashi Sonogi last year, also made a brief return to Wazuka, where I had a great time getting involved in the construction shenanigans during the renovations of […]

Uncooked Pressed Cheese and Tea Pairings

When you think of cheese, you probably think of wine and bread as good foods to pair it with. While these are, of course, great options, one of the products that pairs surprisingly well with cheese is tea ! There are many ways to pair tea and cheese but here are some of my personal favourite […]

Assistant Manager Blog by Alix [Autumn 2024]

Hello everyone! Welcome to my third blog about my adventures as an Obubu Assistant Manager! Autumn in rural Japan is the season of higanbana (red spider lilies), persimons, chestnuts, beautiful fall colours everywhere, and cooler weather (we finally brought out kotatsus in Obubu house!). It was also my third quarter at Obubu, marking my transition from […]

An unexpected party – Assistant Manager Blog by Marcello [Autumn 2024]

My name is Marcello, and I’m from Italy. I recently joined the Assistant Manager Team as its 7th member. I studied at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Piedmont. But my passion for tea started at an early age while I lived in the UK. As well as drinking it daily I also went […]

Awabancha Adventures in Shikoku

As the golden colors of autumn spread across the Japanese countryside, there’s a special kind of magic that happens here at Obubu in the fall. This season marks a time of both reflection and preparation. It’s a period of transition—where the heat of summer slowly gives way to the crisp, cool air of autumn. With things beginning […]

Soul of autumn (秋の魂)

Catch the soul of the seasons Through flowers, poems and wagashi … In a book to feel season changes and experiment what Nagori (名残) and Natsukashii (懐かしい) are. Nagori is nostalgic feelings about things or situations that ended or that is ending. Natsukashii is also nostalgic feelings about happy memories which can warmth your (the) […]

Assistant Manager Blog by Alix [Summer 2024]

Hello everyone! You might have read my Spring Blog about my first quarter at Obubu. If you are interested in learning more about what assistant managers get up to in the summer and what I did in my second quarter here, keep reading! Summer in Japan is no joke: 37°C at 80% humidity is what the […]

2024 National Hand Rolling Competition experience

Hello, staff member Pau here. On the 14th of November, the National Hand Rolling Competition was held in the city of Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture. As per tradition, the Wazuka Hand Rolling Preservation Society participated, representing Wazuka in the competition. If you missed the news, last year’s team, consisting of Kenta-san, Simona, and our very own […]

Imagining Tea

Here at Obubu, we often say: “Tea is freedom”. And while it usually denotes the flexibility of brewing parameters, and the subjective nature of how we perceive taste, I think this saying serves to remind us to explore the deeper potential of tea. Tea is more than a drink; it’s an invitation to pause, to […]

Assistant Manager Blog by Pau [Summer season]

After the spring harvest, we had a bit of a downtime from extensive fieldwork like harvesting. Soon after, we switched to farming mode again to prepare for summer harvest and also had the chance to do some deep cut trimming in our somada field, where we harvest our kabuse sencha. Usually, tea bushes get a […]

Tea History in Depth

An Overview of the Commodity and its Trade in Japan from 538 AD to 2024 AD Jack A. Ryan Obubu Intern #180 Foreword About the Author and Introduction This work is a brief primer which focuses on the commodity and trade history of tea in Japan. The impetus for the writing of this document stemmed […]