New Visions in Japanese Tea

If you've listened to our Talkin' Matcha episodes you'll recognize the name of Tyas Huybrechts. Tyas has been a blogger and tea ceremony instructor based in Osaka and Kyoto, Japan, and we're delighted to welcome Tyas back to Talking Tea to chat about his new venture, The Tea Crane, a company focused on chemical-free Japanese tea. Tyas shares his views on how the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has impacted the taste and aroma of Japanese teas and influenced the preferences of tea consumers.  Tyas is also an instructor in the Enshu school of Japanese tea ceremony, and we discuss his vision for spreading an awareness and understanding of tea ceremony through emphasizing the role of the guest in tea ceremony education. More about The Tea Crane, including information about its programs, workshops and classes, can be found at its website, http://www.the-tea-crane.com/ and on its Facebook page.   For more information on Talking Tea and updates on new episodes, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/talkingtea. To inquire about being a guest or having your organization featured, please email us at [email protected]. Have something in mind you'd like to hear discussed on Talking Tea? Leave us a comment on Facebook or on our Libsyn episode page, or email us. Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @Kensvoiceken.    This podcast features music from "Japanese Flowers" (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.   Photo of tea farm in the mountains of Nara Prefecture, Japan, courtesy of Tyas Huybrechts.