Spoonfuls of Sunshine- Chado Tea House Newsletter May 2025
3-2-1-GO ... 2025 Shincha has arrived
It's hot and sunny in Vancouver. According to the forecasts we have seen, we are in for a very hot summer.
It is springtime here in Canada, and in Japan, it's not just time for Spring; it is time for Shincha—the first teas of the 2025 harvest.
We are very happy to be in the tea business. We know we are not working the land or deciding how to process the crop, but we feel connected to the whole process. We look forward to this time of year when the tea ‘wakes up’ from its winter sleep, the plants pump flavor into the leaves, and the farmer harvests them for the first time in a given year.
We do not want to get all soppy on you, but:
It seems that every day, we wake up to some new issue facing the world. We like to remind ourselves that whatever happens, the tea grows and does its thing, and the farmers don’t rush it; they just let nature work its magic, then process the crop and make it available to stores like ours.
Shincha 2025 tea is now available, and new tea arrives every other day.
For the Matcha lovers out there, the first 2025 Matcha will not be ready for a few more months, likely not before mid-July. The leaves for this year's Matcha tea will be picked soon, but after initial steaming, cooling and drying, they are left to rest before being ground into Matcha. This resting period enhances the flavor of the finished product.
The Matcha shortage is still gathering pace, and we are hearing that some of the people who were introduced to the wonders of Japanese green tea via Matcha lattes are now getting a taste for other teas like Sencha and the ever-more-popular Hojicha. We have placed our orders and reserved supplies, but we are told that organic tea supplies may be tight this year. We are working with our suppliers to ensure our old favorites and some new teas are coming your way.
New 2025 Crop, Two Old Favorites Return
Other 2025 teas are on the way. Kirari, Kiwami, and Mecha are next week; ManRyo, and others are due in early June, so please stay tuned.
SHINCHA Special Edition - Sencha - Diamond Leaf
This first-class Sencha is among the first teas from the 2025 Spring harvest. We are happy to say it is now available.
We proudly present this perfect Premium Sencha tea from the south of Japan, Kagoshima prefecture.
This tea has the perfect balance of richness and umami, which combine to produce a wonderful burst of flavor fitting for the first tea of spring.
The lingering sweetness, the subdued color, and the fresh aroma all combine to leave you with a satisfying lingering taste.
Special Edition - Sencha NAMA Premium
This is the most grassy-tasting Sencha we have.
This is a Fukamushi or deep-steamed tea production method. In the case of this tea, the lowest temperature setting for the steam is used; some teas are steamed with steam under pressure at a higher temperature. Processing the tea leaves at a lower temperature than typical for Sencha retains the grassy freshness of the taste.
This tea looks good and tastes better! If you are looking for grassy Sencha, please try this one.
Only a few weeks ago, this tea was growing in the fields in Kagoshima.
Kome Banare.
Japan is experiencing ‘kome banare’ – rice separation.
The Japanese love their rice, but not as much as they used to. In the 1960s, the average Japanese person ate well over 100 kg of rice yearly. That number is now down to about 50 kg. The reason for this? There are many opinions, but the main culprit seems to be toast.
Not too long ago, a Japanese household would eat rice four or five times a day. For breakfast, they typically had rice with grilled fish and miso soup—now, many of them opt for toast. The reasons are usually a lack of time and changing tastes.
We are pretty sure the average busy family in Japan does not use this toaster in the morning, but this expensive, single piece of bread at a time is pretty cool and popular in Japan - Mitsubishi TO-ST1-T Electric bread oven.
Every time we go to Japan, we notice more bread shops. Bread in Japan used to be not that great, but now, as you walk down streets in small towns, you are less likely to see a rice shop and more often see an artisan baker—it would be nice if there were room for both.
Growing up, I had porridge every day for breakfast; I hated it with a vengeance. My mother persuaded me to eat it so I would grow up with big muscles like the guy on the box – well, I didn’t, but I am not sure I can get a refund now. Porage/Porridge pretty much disappeared as I got older. Still, it has made a big comeback now. A few years ago, I was in the UK and visited a supermarket, and there was a whole aisle dedicated to porridge – mostly it is now called oatmeal, which probably sounds more trendy. Still, it will always be porridge to me, so who knows, perhaps the same will happen with breakfast rice in Japan.
Tariff Update:
We are based in Canada, and the tea we sell is from Japan. So far, we have not received notice that our shipments to US customers have incurred tariffs at delivery time.
For many years, we have shipped products using Section 321, a part of the customs system that excludes small shipments from incurring duties and tariffs.
Section 321 was recently removed as an option for products with countries of origin in China and Hong Kong; this change has not been applied to Canada or Japan. We will let you know if we are informed of any changes. If you have any concerns about your shipping, please let us know.
We will not contact you asking for additional payments; there are reports of widespread scams relating to these issues affecting many online businesses.
We hope you enjoy the spring and the new vitality it always signals, perhaps with some brand new 2025 tea!