It's All About Tea

Overall there are two main types of tea ceremonies in Japan: an informal tea gathering chakai, and a formal tea gathering chaji. Chakai is a more simple tea gathering which will include some sweets and thin tea (usucha). While chaji is much more formal, usually including a full-course kaiseki meal followed by sweets, thick tea (koicha), and thin tea. A chaji is often times around four hours long, with guests taking small breaks to walk around in the garden by the tea hut.

Aside from the two main types of tea ceremonies there are also many other kinds of tea ceremonies which are held in Japan depending on the occasion, season, and time of day. (Read more)

Which tea is the best substitute for coffee? Whether you're cutting back on caffeine or looking for a smoother energy boost, here are the teas we recommend – from bold black teas to matcha and pu-erh.  (Read more)

The Japanese tea ceremony follows two main concepts — wabi sabi and ichigo ichie. Wabi-sabi, although hard to define literally, is a concept centered around the appreciation of imperfection. While ichigo ichie is an idiom meaning “one time, one meeting” and emphasizes the fact that each and every meeting is special in that it can only happen once. (Read more)

Chinese vs. Taiwanese oolong. This is a tricky topic. And for the most part, it will depend on the specific type of oolong. Of course, oolong was originally born in China, but the growing conditions and skills of the farmers allowed for Taiwanese oolong to quickly catch up to China’s quality within a couple centuries. (Read more)

...It wasn’t until much later on, in the year 1191 that tea really started growing as a culture after being reintroduced by the Zen priest Eisai, who brought the seeds to Kyoto - the capital and cultural center of Japan at the time. (Read more)