By Kristan Obeng
Rishi Tea is bringing a Japanese tea master to the U.S. to share a traditional method of tea brewing and etiquette in a ceremony called Sencha-do.
Tadao Yoshikura (first name unavailable) is one of the oldest living tea masters from Obaku Kofu Ryu, a Sencha-do school in Japan. He travels the world performing Sencha-do ceremonies, and his next stop is in Las Vegas, for the 2010 World Tea Expo. Yoshikura will be conducting the ceremonies in Rishi Tea’s booth at the Expo.
Joshua Kaiser, founder and tea buyer for Rishi Tea, said Yoshikura “has more than 40 years experience. He’s humble. He’s unique in guiding people without being formal.”
Four guests at a time will get to watch Yoshikura brew four styles of green tea called gyokuro (“secret garden” in Japanese), cold-brew sencha, hot-brew sencha and bancha. The teas will be paired with Japanese sweets.
No kimono is required for this relaxed tea ceremony. Attendees can enjoy Sencha-do in their usual clothing while they use unique tea ware and learn distinct pouring methods.
Sencha-do isn’t well known in America. Kaiser attributed this to Americans being long-time tea bag brewers, adding “Most people are familiar with Cha No Yu.” This Japanese tea ceremony uses Matcha powdered green tea, whereas Sencha-do uses a loose leaf-tea that is common in Japan.
“Sencha-do is important, because it’s one of the fastest growing in the specialty green tea segment in Japan,” Kaiser explained. “Now that more green tea from Japan is coming over to America, more people are willing to learn about it.”
He added that green tea is gaining popularity as more people learn the health benefits and flavor profile.
Kaiser said he wants attendees to learn to brew Japanese green tea properly to taste the true flavor. “Everyone is welcome.”
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