Tea at Home

On May 1st, Maya and Teru Kono from Roots and Craft Tea Roasters gave a wonderful demonstration via Zoom on how to brew different varieties of Japanese tea, as well as creating tea lattes and cocktails. They also gave an informative presentation on the process of tea cultivation.

They began with an introduction of the tea plant and its various growth stages, ideal growth conditions, and how different varieties of tea are created depending on the fermentation and preparation. This led into an explanation about their company, Roots and Craft, which works with small organic tea farmers in Japan to provide sustainable teas to the world. After this, they gave demonstrations on how to make sencha and hojicha, as well as a wide variety of blended drinks (non-alcoholic and alcoholic) made from this tea. They concluded with a live demonstration of matcha preparation, followed by a Q&A.

The audience, a good amount of whom were tea enthusiasts, was engaged throughout the event and asked many questions about organic tea in Japan and tea brewing. Thanks to the efforts of Maya and Teru, as well as the staff of the Japan Society, the event was a delightful experience where everyone could learn about making tea as well as support a local Bay Area business.

We are grateful to Maya and Teru for taking the time to share their knowledge of tea with us and we hope that all who attended got a delightful “taste” of Japanese tea!