Jamba Juice to serve "heavenly" tea

The news from Jamba Juice is that its upcoming lineup of hot beverages includes "Heavenly Green Tea," made with matcha green tea, cane sugar, and vanilla.


I look forward to tasting one, although I will probably ask them to hold the cane sugar.


And with a bottle of vanilla extract, we could all make our own Heavenly Green Tea.



A farmhouse and its tea field. (Taken by yours truly in Kumamoto, Japan.)


—Mellow Monk

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Green tea ice cream—from scratch!

The Hindu gives us a simple recipe for scrumptious green tea ice cream.


The recipe appears in the 2nd half of the article, so if you do not see it above the fold, do not despair — simply scroll down a bit. Trust me — it's worth it!


This recipe calls for matcha, and although our own is currently sold out, the grower has shipped more, so we will be restocked soon.



This home-made ice cream looks blissfully yummy.


—Mellow Monk

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A matcha recipe double feature

Marvelous Girl gives us luscious-looking matcha green tea chocolate truffles, while Serious Eats shows us how to make matcha tea leaf shortbreads.


This, unfortunately, comes too late to use our own matcha, which is currently sold out.


More is on the way, however.



"Daddy's little baby loves shortnin' shortnin'. . ."


—Mellow Monk

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Green tea made with spring water

The residents of Aso (whence Mellow Monk tea hails) are so proud of their deliciously health natural spring water that the city installed public drinking fountains dispensing this natural spring water, free for locals and visitors alike.


In the picture below, we made some cold-brewed matcha using this water, an empty soda bottle, and some of our powdered green tea.


It was, needless to say, delectable . . . and so easy to make: Just add matcha powder and water, then put on the cap, shake vigorously and—voilà—a bottle of delicious, healthy, thirst-quenchingly cool matcha.



This fountain is named "Katarai no Shizuku," which can mean "murmuring drops" (a reference to the water's sound) but can also mean "water for talking" (referring to how a drinking fountain brings people together) or even "lover's vow water" (which would play well with honeymooners visiting the town).


—Mellow Monk

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Teaching the yout' the calming art of tea

A nice story about a tea ceremony teacher and her pupil—who said she used to be stressed out "like a spinning top"—demonstrating sado to a group of 8th graders in Pittsburgh.



Learning a skill—mellowness—that will come in handy later in life.


—Mellow Monk

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NHK matcha documentary

Thanks to YouTube user Imarvanriet for tipping me off about a well-done NHK documentary on matcha. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is part 1:





—Mellow Monk

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Evolution of Japan's tea ceremony

The Japan Society has an excellent essay on the evolution of Japan's tea ceremony.


As pointed out in The Book of Tea, the Zen monks who brought tea to Japan from China brought the powdered form, as this was the most common way in which tea was prepared. However, this practice was lost in China after the Sung dynasty there was overthrown by the conquering Mongols in 1281.


In short, the matcha used in the tea ceremony, which you can still enjoy today, represents a snapshot of tea's distant past: Time travel in a cup.



Frothed matcha with a piece of wagashi is a typical welcome treat at Zen temples even today.


—Mellow Monk

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