Singapore
Intern #188
29 Jan 2025 – 24 Apr 2025
Instagram: @josh_lloyd_wright
Hello tea world! I am Josh from the tiny sunny island of Singapore!
I am the fifth Singaporean, but the first Singaporean male, to intern at Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms!
Knowing Obubu
I have known Obubu as a Tea Club member since May 2019 and fell in love with Japanese tea after visiting the tea fields of Ujitawara and Wazuka in 2016. I longed to intern and visit Obubu one day. However, I was previously busy with National Service, school, and work opportunities. Hence, I did not have the time.
During COVID-19, I had the opportunity to better connect with the staff members and other Tea Club members through Zoom. In 2021, Obubu acquired a new secluded tea field and organised a tea field naming competition for their Tea Club members. This competition was one of the many exciting events held during COVID-19. Mike Rohr from Switzerland and I won this competition, and this new tea field was named: Aoi Mori no Chabatake 青い森茶畑 (Blue Forest Tea Garden). Our award was delicious gyokuro from Aoi Mori processed by each staff member!
Avant Obubu
I did Aeronautical Engineering in school because I wanted to join the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) after enjoying my 2-year mandatory conscription in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). However, immediately after graduating, I was offered a managerial position at a Singaporean tea shop, Hvala Pte. Ltd.. Hvala specialises in Japanese tea and pastries and has several outlets in Singapore. I had previously worked as a part-time staff member of Hvala for 4 years while I was still schooling. Hvala wanted to embrace loose leaf tea and tap into the high-end tea market to compete with established brands like TWG, while still focusing on Japanese tea. Therefore, we created a new brand called Ingen Kyoto. Named after the Japanese monk Ingen Ryûki (隠元隆き), formerly Yinyuan Longqi, who popularised senchado in Japan.
Creating this new brand and running this new tea house was a great opportunity for me. It exposed me to a huge variety of rare Japanese teas from remote tea farms and award-winning teas that I would have never had the chance to sample otherwise. It also exposed me to the tea business in Singapore and taught me how to build an enjoyable and motivating workplace environment for my staff members. Sadly, my time with Ingen Kyoto was not long-lived. We had countless ups and downs, and eventually, I left the company in late 2024. On a brighter note, I now have the time to do something I have always wanted, to intern at Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms!
Working as the manager of Ingen Kyoto, 2024
Over the years, I have also embarked on several tea-related trips. Apart from Japan, I’ve been to Alishan, Taiwan in 2013, Darjeeling, India in 2022, and The Nilgiris, India and Munnar, India in 2024. It is fascinating to observe and study different tea-growing regions around the world and how they differ so greatly!
Pendant Obubu
Having visited Japan countless times in the past, adapting was relatively easy. The great thing about Japan is that, whether you are in the city or the countryside, public transportation, convenience stores, and good infrastructure are present. Even though I do not drive, almost everything in Wazuka is less than a 30-minute walk away.
As if fated, I came with the best co-intern I could hope for, Eva Kene. It was just the two of us for Slot 1 of 2025 (29 Jan—24 Apr), and after the first few days, I knew we would work great together. There was an intern dormancy period before we came, and our assistant managers (AMs), Sarah (Mac) McDaniel, Alix Kergutuil, and Katrina Maslova (Katrina Wild) guided us through our daily activities at Obubu. Staff members like the exceptional Miwako Kita and the helpful Hirokazu Matsumoto (Hiro-san) worked closely with us during the first month. We mostly constructed the Factory and Obubu House, trimming tea fields, and conducting smaller groups of tea tours during our first month. All of which were enjoyable, and work never felt easier!
During our second month, Sarah (Mac) McDaniel and Alix Kergutuil were graduating, and consequently, we received four new AMs. Nicole Griffin was one of those new AMs, and I got to work closely with her on intern selection and many other tasks. The other three, Tran Nguyen, Marilena Gambardella, and Mia Tsuchida, were also great colleagues, and we have shared multiple convivial moments.
♫ Phantom of the dance floor come to me, sing for me a sinful melody… ♫
Lady Gaga
During this time, Lady Gaga also just dropped her latest single, Abracadabra and studio album, Mayhem. She definitely kept the whole Obubu dancing for our lives.
Our third month was mostly spent conducting huge tea tours, kyobancha harvesting, shading the tea fields, and focusing on our intern projects. We also welcomed a new batch of seven interns for Slot 2 on 17 Mar 2025 and became their senpais. Thank God Eva Kene is an incredible cook, and she proudly almost single-handedly prepared the food for all three dinner parties that we had to organise. I was a proud runner, event organiser, dishwasher, and entertainer for all three dinner parties. We are most definitely the king and queen of show business!
Après Obubu
I am still unsure where life will take me after my Obubu internship experience. However, one thing I know that I definitely must get is my driving license. I am very thankful to have formed meaningful relationships with several people here at Obubu, and I will always cherish my time here. Although three remarkable women impacted me the most: Miwako Kita, Katrina Maslova (Katrina Wild), and Eva Kene.
Travel Rendezvous
The great thing about working in Japan is getting to experience it in all its glory with your friends and colleagues. During our days off, we travelled around the country, and some of these were my most memorable experiences in Japan, even though I have already been to Japan countless times!
Obubu, see you again very soon!
Warmest regards,
Joshua Caleb Ang
Français 
English (UK)