02.03.07
Enka Podcast #2
Just added a second enka podcast, listen to it here:
01.23.07
Karigane Gyokuro
For those interested in gyokuro, or for those who tried it in the past and didn’t care for it much, you may want to take a second look at our latest green tea, karigane gyokuro “Asa-Giri.”
Yes, we did have another Uji green tea called “Asa-Giri”, I made the decision to discontinue carrying it. Why? It had too much in common with several other green teas that we carry, which is why I feel that it didn’t go over very well even though it was quite good. Faced with 3,000 perfectly good tea envelopes with “Asa-Giri” printed on them, I decided not to waste them. This new asa-giri and the old asa-giri have nothing in common.
A bit about the green tea. This tea is a blend of gyokuro leaf and gyokuro stems. There were several grades of this product, we chose the highest quality. While you can taste the typical gyokuro flavor, it also has a tartness too it and is more complex. The liquor is also a bit thick and less clear than regular gyokuro, and has a beautiful green color when brewed correctly.
Brewing - this is brewed exactly like regular gyokuro. I use 10 grams of leaf in about 300ml of hot water, with teapots and two cups thoroughly pre-heated. I brew at 55-60c (131-140F) for 2 minutes.
Readers of this blog may save $2.00 on this product by using coupon code 12307 when checking out, limited one per customer. Expires February 5th, 2007.
01.17.07
New Enka Pod Cast
Back when I was in college, I mostly used enka as a language learning tool because the slow and clear pace of singing was easy to understand. Enka is a somewhat traditional type of Japanese folk song and is often referred to as “Japanese Blues.” While mostly poplular with the over 50 crowd, it’s not uncommon to hear young people sing it in karaoke bars. Most younger Japanese hate to admit they like enka but nevertheless, there are numerous television shows featuring young people singing enka. Everyone seems to agree on one thing, however - enka singers are usually very good vocalists.
I get a lot of requests for enka from all over the world. This was a result of an experiment I tried a few years back when I put an enka album on Live365. They wanted too much money and it was somewhat of a hassle so I quit but the requests continue to come in. For that reason, I have decided to make my own enka pod casts.
Our first podcast consists of 15 enka songs, enjoy!
01.04.07
Green Tea Videos
I just finished a second green tea video which shows green tea production in Uji. The first video is an overall breakdown showing the harvesting and processing of green tea. The second video is geared towards gyokuro and matcha. After seeing the gyokuro and matcha video, you will most likely have a much better understanding of why gyokuro and matcha are special, and also why they cost a lot more than regular sencha. Basically, there is a lot of work involved and that extra labor costs money.
There is also a third video showing pretty much the same thing except this one features us and one of our growers. This was taped in October of 2005 in cooperation with The Discover Channel. Here is more information on The Discover Channel green tea documentary.
RSS
