The number of kids hosted at the Aadharboot school for disabled children in rural Nepal has been growing; kids fit quite tightly in the single classroom that is available. We are raising funds to build a second classroom through a Silent Auction. 100% of the money raised will be donated to Aadharbhoot.
Date: Sunday June 25, 2023, 12pm - 6pm
Location (in store only): O5 Tea Bar, 2208 West 4th, Vancouver
In our latest trip to Nepal, we had the pleasure of meeting the children and teachers of the Aadharbhoot Primery School (Sustha Manasthiti Shrot).
This wonderful community provides education and opportunities for kids with disabilities from rural communities all over Nepal.
With very limited resources and a lot of hard work, the folks at Aadharbhoot built one of the most heart warming projects we have seen.
Watch school teachers and kids at work and play!
MASTERPIECES AUCTIONED!
We are very thankful to Robert Stickney and Dianne Cacchioni who are donating some masterpieces for this cause.
Dianne Cacchioni is a highly accomplished artist who lives and works in Vancouver, Canada. Dianne is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a B.A. in Fine Art as well as a graduate of the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Visual Arts majoring in Photography. In the last twenty years, her work has explored the world of photography, both historically and conceptually as well as alternative techniques including painting with photographic emulsions, and hand-making large sheets of paper. After studying with Zen brush master Ari Tomita (student of Japan's National Treasure Shiryu Morita,) for the last ten years she has been exhibiting and selling her brush paintings. Her Haiku series of the seasons and other books represent this collaboration of photography and painting.
Robert Stickney is a good friend and artist based in Vancouver, BC. After receiving a degree in architecture from the University of Manitoba and a BFA in ceramics at Lethbridge, Robert became fascinated with Japanese aesthetics. This led to a lifelong exploration of the culture and world of Japanese ceramics. Since retiring from teaching, Robert has focused on creating tea-ware, wood firing at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby, BC. Robert is often an honoured guest at our tea bar.
Other items on auction:
We will have a few surprises, including art pieces donated by family and friends, and a tea tasting at your home (or our bar) catered by Pedro Villalon.
Process:
All items auctioned will be on display, at our tea bar, starting Friday June 23 (noon).
The silent auction will open on Sunday June 23, 12pm. You may place a bid on any item (and see the list of previous bids by other folks).
You may come back to the tea bar throughout the day to check if your bid is winning; you may, of course, choose to raise the bid if someone else is on track to get your favourite item.
We will announce the winners at 6pm. Please leave your phone and email so we may contact you.
Thanks!
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ASSAM WILD CULTIVAR
LATUMONI, UPPER ASSAM, INDIA | 27.7°N 94.9°E
DREAM
A BLEND OF BUTTERFLY PEA FLOWERS, LAVENDER & MINT.
Once again, we're featuring our Thai butterfly pea flowers this week.
If you missed the blurb about the grower in our last couple of newsletters, here it is again!
We source our hibiscus flowers from a sustainable, female-run community made up of multiple farms (each of which produces a few kilos of flowers per year) in rural Thailand.
Because the harvesting of flowers is fairly easy, the community is able to employ a number of people, including the elderly and folks with special needs, who may not otherwise be considered easily employable.
Why this tea? Yoshida San decided to express the unique, beautiful character of an oftentimes blended tea cultivar. The result is a gorgeous drink, with notes of celery, kale and almond butter.
]]>The cultivar: Uji Hikari (宇治ひかり) originated in the Kyoto region. It is used primarily for gyokuro and matcha, often blended with other cultivars.
Why this tea? Yoshida San decided to express the unique, beautiful character of an oftentimes blended tea cultivar. The result is a gorgeous drink, with notes of celery, kale and almond butter.
The Grower: we love the Yoshida family in Uji. They’re kind, warm hearted, and have been making tea for a few hundred years. They know what they’re doing.
This tea was stone ground on April 2019 and flown to Vancouver.
Please try a bowl at our tea bar! We’d love to whisk one for you. If you live far away, please check our online store. We ship through Canada Post, Expedited Parcel, and deliver to most places in North America within one week.
Find it here! https://www.o5tea.com/collections/matcha/products/uji-hikjari
Ganoderma tsugae is a type of polypore fungus that favours hemlock trees. Harvesting the fungus is best cut from the base leaving an inch so it gives the opportunity for the fungi to continue growing.
These mushrooms have been dried and cut for more convenient use; they are significantly lighter than fresh mushrooms.
Brewing suggestion: simmer 5g of mushrooms in 500ml of water for 8 minutes; decant and serve. You may add another 500ml of fresh water and get a second steep.
Yang Si (literally Yang 'Number Four', as he was the fourth child in his family) grew up caring for the ancient trees in his family's groves. In 2009, he invited a perfect stranger (Pedro, who was hiking in Nannuo) for lunch at his home; squatting by the fire with the whole family and drinking some rustically crafted yet insanely delicious tea, Pedro decided to somehow link his life to this mountain and tea. He stayed there for a few days and climbed down the mountain with a 20kg tea sack.
In 2010, Yang Si invited Pedro to harvest and handcraft more tea in the mountain. This rustically crafted tea from wonderful old trees is said harvest.
Yang Si, unfortunately, passed away in 2013. He is missed.
2010 Ban Po Lao Zai
TYPE - Raw (Sheng) Pu Er - 生普洱
ORIGIN - Ban Po Lao Zhai (半坡老寨), Nannuo Shan, Yunnan
CARETAKER OF THE ANCIENT TREES - Yang Si 杨四 (RIP)
HARVEST DATE - 03.2010
Gyokuro, unlike sencha, is traditionally not released as 'shincha' (new tea, freshly picked, handcrafted, and released in spring). Like tencha (the base for matcha) it is allowed to mature (i.e. mellow down) a few months. These teas, however, are difficult not to drink right now! We'll do our best to hold on to a pack or two to drink in 6 months and report the evolution.
ABOUT THE GROWER:
Yoshida San is one of the most meticulous tea artists that we’ve met; the family has been making tea over roughly 300 years, and this is reflected obsessive attention to detail. In recent years, Yoshida San has launched some single cultivar and two cultivar blends that we are very impressed with.
After knowing Yoshida San for 6 years and enjoying some outstanding tea from this most generous family, we learned (through a mutual friend) that his uncle was certified as 'Cultural Heritage of Uji'. Yoshida Kisaburo was the 14th generation of tea artisans in the family; he was recognized because of his 'temomi' (tea handcrafting) technique. We also learned that Yoshida San's temomi tea was presented to the Emperor on the first year of Reiwa.
We have a VERY limited amount of this tea. Using hand-picked young leaves (1 bud & 2 leaves) and kneaded for hours on charcoal heated, traditional gyokuro table, Yoshida San crafts batches of no more than 700g of this tea.
Suggestion: after brewing your tea, EAT the leaves. You'll be happy you did.
TASTING EXPERIENCE:
Liquid poetry; a lukewarm brew that takes you on a trip through Yoshida San's tea fields in Oguracho (Uji) in spring. It is a particularly floral gyokuro with the richness of grilled asparagus.
CULTIVAR:
Uji Hikari (宇治光) is an unregistered cultivar; it is mostly grown in the Kansai region as a prime ingredient for shade-grown teas (kabuse, gyokuro, matcha). In matcha and gyokuro blends, it is often included to add a crisp, green edge.
ORIGIN:
Ogura Cho (Uji), Kyoto, Japan | 35ºN 136ºE
BREWING GUIDE:
We hate to sound corny... but we highly recommend take your time while brewing this tea. The following steps gave a stunning cup a few minutes ago.
TEMOMI GYOKURO
This tea is a gem, handcrafted by a man that is registered as 'Cultural Heritage of Uji'
TASTING EXPERIENCE:
...is not easy to express. There are clear notes of green walnuts and a long lingering aftertaste of green peach. However, the happiness after drinking this tea is difficult to describe.
CULTIVAR - Samidori
SHADING TIME - 32 days
HARVEST & HANDCRAFTING DATE - 04.05.2021
LOT SIZE - 700g
BREWING GUIDE:
We hate to sound corny... but we highly recommend take your time while brewing this tea. The following steps gave a stunning cup a few minutes ago.
A celebration of Spring, by an artist with a most educated nose.
Nothing represents Shizuoka like fresh, ultra-vibrant (oftentimes deep steamed) green tea, cherry blossoms and Mt. Fuji. In times of peace and turmoil, they are constant reminders of the beautiful things in life.
On top of being a talented tea grower, Osada San has one of the most educated noses we have ever encountered. He is a multiple award winner at Japan's National Tea Tasting Competition. He is also ranked as an '8th Dan' Tea Taster.
In this most unusual spring, Osada San designed two sakura shincha for O5. He chose two lots (one yabukita, one koshun) that represent the soil of Shizuoka, and enhanced them with locally sourced sakura leaves and petals. The result is very different vs. tea that is scented with alcohol or oil-based flavours; both teas are fresh and vibrant, with elegant hints of cherry.
Sakura Shincha | Koshun
Expect the mellow, naturally floral mouthfeel of 'Shizuoka's gentle cultivar" and a delicate-yet-lingering aroma of sakura.
Sakura Shincha | Yabukita
Expect the intense chlorophyll and balanced astringency of Japan's most famous cultivar with a most enjoyable, subtle-yet-lingering aroma of sakura.
About the Tea Artisan:
Oishi San's tea factory was established in 1940, a very turbulent period in Japan's history. The company has flourished; Oishi San owns tea fields in the region, but also sources leaves from a wide diversity of micro-farmers, finishing the tea at his facility in Yame.
OISHI'S 2021 SAE AKARI
Micro Region:
Minami Kyushu, Kagoshima, Japan.
Cultivar:
Sae Akari (さえあかり) is one of the youngest cultivars; it is the result of crossing Z1 with Saemidori. We only first encountered Sae Akari a couple of years ago, tasting some interesting samples from Gifu that offered intense sweetness (apple notes) and minimal astringency, at the expense of umami.
In this case, Kagoshima soil worked differently, as umami is definitely a feature of this tea.
We recommend steeping this tea with water at 65 Celsius; ice brew (mizudashi) also yields stunning results.
OISHI'S 2021 SAEMIDORI
Our first micro-lots of 2021 shincha are in!
Grown in the warmer, volcanic soils of Kagoshima, these leaves are among the first that we've loved this year from Japan.
Experience:
Notes of young pine needles & steamed kailan; intense umami reminiscent of shade-grown tea.
Micro Region:
Minami Kyushu, Kagoshima, Japan.
Cultivar:
Saemidori (さえみどり) is a popular cultivar in Southern Kyushu, where it thrives in the warmer climate. It was created by crossing Asatsuyu (which has a very desirable flavour but low yields) with Yabukita cultivars; it was only registered in 1990. Saemidori and is used mostly for sencha; however, it can also produce very attractive gyokuro and matcha.
We recommend steeping this tea with water at 65 Celsius; ice brew (mizudashi) also yields stunning results.
MATCHA SHAN RYU 山龍 - SC GOKOU
Our latest addition from Yoshida San's gardens. Like Un Ryu, it was designed as an everyday treat; but it works quite well for koicha too.
This has recently become one of our favourite cultivars from the Kansai region.
Gokou (ごこう) was propagated from a ‘zairai’ (seedling) tea plant that grew in Uji in the 1950’s. With dark, rich colour and monster umami when grown in shade, gokou is a fairly popular cultivar for gyokuro and kabuse tea; it is, however, surprisingly uncommon for matcha.
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Vibrant yet soothing, gently floral & earthy, this beautiful tisane tastes like Quebec in the spring. Or in Geoff's words... it's like chamomile's cooler, more interesting cousin.
We purchase our elderflowers from some lovely folks over in St. Bernard De Lacolle, Quebec, where they were the first in the region to grow them (despite the plant being native to Quebec).
Elderflowers have a long history of not only being used as a medicinal tea, but also of being related to magic and fairies.
Our best-selling ooling, a vibrant, organic matcha for everyday use, and handcrafted Daifuku Mochi.
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This fruity GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid) oolong is crafted with organic tea leaves grown at low altitudes (450m-500m) in the well-known tea region of Ming Jian.
The tea cultivar is Jinxuan, first recognized by Dr. Zhen Zhe Wu (local tea legend) in 1981; it is sometimes called 'milky oolong' because of the smooth texture and sweet, buttery mouthfeel that it produces.
GABA oolong is produced by withering the leaves in a nitrogen chamber; this causes the tea leaves to produce a higher concentration of GABA.
This humble yet well-crafted tea is particularly fruity; it is also VERY DIFFICULT to over steep.
We recommend, however, not trying to do so.
Asatsuyu Matcha By Oishi San
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This is a vibrant, organic matcha for everyday use. Highly recommended if you enjoy your matcha americano style (2 shots of matcha & 3oz-4oz hot water), or if you want a super-green tea that will harmonize with oat or almond milk.
Grower:
Oishi San’s grandfather started this tea enterprise in 1940, a very turbulent time for Japan. He was dedicated to the production of old-school tea, using leaves from his family’s gardens. The enterprise remained old school until 1978 when he finally purchased machinery and refrigerators to produce the style of green tea that is so popular in modern Japan,
Today, Oishi San has one of the most sophisticated devices we’ve ever seen to micro-mill tencha into matcha. We think you will find the texture and vibrancy of this tea very pleasant.
Cultivar:
Asatsuyu (あさつゆ) is a relatively old cultivar, identified in the 1950’s. It is known for its vibrantly green colour, relatively low astringency, and rich umami; because of its vibrancy (even when unshaded) it is sometimes called ‘natural gyokuro’. Asatsuyu’s ancestors were ‘zairai’ tea trees from southern Kyushu Island.
Asatsuyu is not the most prolific of Japanese cultivars; because of this reason, it is not one of the most widespread cultivars. In Kagoshima, arguably the region with the most people, Asatsuyu represents less than 10% of the yearly tea production.
Recommendations:
This month’s tea has particularly intense herbal notes; for a traditional brew, we recommend:
- Add 8ml of cold water to 2g of matcha and create a homogeneous blend with your chasen.
- Add 45ml of water a at 70° C (cooler than for other teas) and whisk vigorously to create rich froth.
- Enjoy as is (if you like stronger tea) or slowly add another 20ml of hot water, without affecting the froth.
The tea is also delicious on iced sparkling water (2g / 240ml), or oat milk (3g / 240ml).
Handcrafted Daifuku Mochi
Daifuku-Mochi (大福餅) or Daifuku (大福) literally means "great luck/fortune/happiness" mochi, is a Japanese confection consisting of a round mochi/ rice cake stuffed with sweet filling. The most traditional filling is anko (sweetened red bean paste), but this valentine’s edition features mochi with modern twists with 3 different chocolate ganache fillings. Share the happiness with loved ones!