I stepped into this whole tea thing because I wanted to do tea pairing, so it started out strictly as a flavor endeavor. Then the world of real tea is so vast I can’t get enough of it, so I…
About a month ago, I learned that Longjing (Dragon Well) is the sweetest tea with the highest theanine content among green teas. My experience with green teas, minus the Korean sejak(*), has been less favorable than with the light oolongs,…
In my mind, green teas are more monotonic and oolongs are more multi-flavored, greens are lighter and oolongs are roastier. I can tell the category of tea from the type of gaiwan/pot that we use at Teance, the water, and…
Sesame mochi is different from the other mochis. The coat is hard and chewy. The black sesame filling oozes out as I press the fork down. The filling, salty, sweet and resembling wet sand, is addictive. It’s a wonderful mochi.…
The third pairing of mochi and Japanese green tea. Perfect! Yes, finally a mochi that goes perfectly with sencha. Yomogi (Japanese mugwort), julienned into tiny strings and mixed with the mochi dough, gives the mochi a clean, refreshing taste, which…
The tea purists will never forgive me, but I’m not a purist. I like to experiment. This tea studying thing started as me trying to learn as much about tea as possible to pair it with food or to cook…