O5 Tea School

Featured article

2 hours ago

This is where the featured article excerpt will display.

BUTTER FOR TEA? DISCOVER TIBETAN DARK, BRICK TEA

May 29, 2024

Written by Pedro Villalon

Tea is an integral part of Tibetan culture; young and old consume tea (usually with butter and pi...

TEA SCHOOL | Musings on Matcha, Spring 2021

September 21, 2021

Written by Pedro Villalon

MIND-BOGGLING FACT: You need 100kg of fresh tea leaves to get 10kg of competition-grade matcha. W...

TEA SCHOOL | Gifu, An Under-Appreciated Origin

September 21, 2021

Written by Pedro Villalon

Gifu's Shirakawa Guchi is a fairly unexplored yet fascinating Japanese tea terroir.
North of Nagoya, not far from the battlefield of Sekigahara...

MUSASHI - Handcrafting and Brewing an Iconic Tea from Mimasaka

August 10, 2021

Written by Pedro Villalon

TASTING EXPERIENCE
A juicy, full bodied dried fruit with a toasty finish, reminiscent of hojicha.

THE HANDCRAFTING PROCESS
Kobayashi San harvests tea leaves in the hot and humid days of summer; the tea bushes have a mishmash of larger leaves (half the size of your hand) that have been growing since early spring, and some younger ones that sprouted more recently. Kobayashi San harvest both leaves and small branches, all of which will impart a distinct flavour to the tea.

These leaves are boiled in cauldrons over a wood fire; the water used for boiling is carefully collected. Smelling these tea leaves as they boil is on the bucket list.

History of Green Tea - Pan Fired Loose Leaf Tea and the Ming Dynasty

July 21, 2021

Written by Pedro Villalon

We define ‘green’ tea as tea that is unoxidized; the leaves preserve their natural green colour, just as if they were freshly picked.

History of Hunan Dark Tea, Kernels

July 13, 2021

Written by Pedro Villalon

Learn about the process that creates the complex, slightly smoky, and unarguably ‘fermented’ taste of this tea!

Charcoal Finish Firing | Coaxing Lingering Sweetness and Aroma in Gyokuro

May 25, 2021

Written by Pedro Villalon

Finish firing (火入れ) is a most important process when crafting Japanese-style, steamed green tea. Not only is it important to reducing moisture content (thus preserving freshness for longer), but as our friend Jared from Jagasilk says, finish-firing 'develops the sugars and curb the tannins.' By the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, it was already a well-established custom.

Yiwu, the Origin of the Tea Horse Road

April 20, 2021

Written by Pedro Villalon

Yiwu (易武), a historical town in Yunnan’s Mengla County, often called the ‘Origin of the Tea Horse Road’.

Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain 黃山), Special Tea Origin

April 20, 2021

Written by Pedro Villalon

Some of the most important teas from one of the most important mountains in China.

What is White Tea?

April 13, 2021

Written by Pedro Villalon

WHAT IS WHITE TEA? Like so many concepts in a universe as broad as that of tea, many people disag...

What is Matcha? Brief History and Basic Facts.

April 6, 2021

Written by Pedro Villalon

Learn about matcha! What is it? How did it start? How is it made? Is it hard to prepare?

We have the answers for you!

What is Green Tea? How is green tea made?

March 6, 2020

Written by Taryn

We are exploring all there is to know about Ujicha (green tea from Uji, Japan). We have tea from two growers of the region: Tsuji and Yosida. Learn some cool stuff about tea with us!