Sakura flower

—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Optimism and self-control

Optimism — maintaining a positive view of the future — can not only improve your mood but also your health by boosting your immune system.


Also associated with positivity in life is self-control, which all of us can find in short supply sometimes. But studies are finding that you can get an immediate boost in self-control through self-affirmation — simply thinking about your own positive traits.



Whenever I drink green tea, I reflect on how it connects me to the wonderful place where it is grown. And that fills me with positivity — and optimism and good health.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Baachan and her cat

Miyoko Ihara's photos of Fukumaru the cat frolicking with Ms. Ihara's grandmother, Misao, have been published as a collection.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Yaezakura

—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Secret path to a private hangout

Now this would be a wonderful day: taking a leisurely walk through the forest to a cool, quiet seaside hangout. So here are the visuals you need to make that journey virtually during a nice leisurely green tea break.








—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Kokura Castle in a cloud of sakura

We just received this — a photo of Kokura Castle, previously misidentified as Kumamoto Castle.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Green tea, flowers, and scones

—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Photos galore—nature and Japan

Greg du Toit's nature photos are simply amazing, especially if you like animals.


And some of the shots in this collection of Japan photos are wonderful, too.



A lovely photo from James Justin's Japan 2009 collection.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Frost-fighting fan in a tea field

This photo, taken in the orchard of one of our tea artisans, shows a fan that protects the leaves from frost.


The fans rotate slowly, generating only a slight breeze, but that is enough to stop frost from forming on budding leaves.


This is especially important in early spring, when the daytime warmth wakes the plants from their winter slumber, but temperatures can still drop low enough for frost to form in the wee hours.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

There will be peace in the flowery valley: two mellow photos

I stare long enough
and I am in the valley
warm green tea in hand








—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Tea fields surrounded by the Mt. Aso caldera

In the background is Gairinzan, which means literally "outer rim mountains," as in the outer rim of a crater. Technically speaking, the Aso valley is a caldera, not a crater. In fact, the area's volcanic soil is one of the secrets of its delicious green tea.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

The spring tea forecast—looking good!

Our tea artisans in Aso report that the winter there was a typical one climate-wise, and the tea plants are emerging from their dorman period in excellent condition—healthy, vibrant, and ready to yield up their succulent leaves for us soon.



That's Nekodake in the background.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

More of mellow Usa

Yesterday's post didn't do the place justice, so here are more photos of Oita's Usa Shrine:














—Mellow Monk

blog feed, facebook, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Beautiful lightning and a big red sky

Click on the pics below to mellow out to the magnificent originals.








—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

On location in Kumamoto and Kagoshima

Here are a couple of photos of the director and cameraman filming the green tea documentary — "Kyushu, Where Japan's Green Tea Grows" — that I helped out with and which featured a couple of our tea artisans.


To the see the beautiful scenery and lovely people filmed in this most mellow part of Japan, you can watch the finished documentary online.



In the Kuma district of Kumamoto.



In Chiran, in southern Kagoshima.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Mellowing at Toji Temple

This photo of Kyoto's Toji Temple — part of an excellent collection — makes me feel as if I am there.



I imagine myself there, sitting on a nice cold rock at the pond's edge, sipping a cup of hot tea, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of this magnificent place.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Such a beautiful water lilly

—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Tokyo, off the beaten path

Purojitsu.com user John Hyperion has posted photos taken on a recent trip to Japan, including some places off the beaten path.



I am not sure where this is. If anyone does, please share your knowledge with us.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, tweets, videos

Share |

Sunrise over a tea field

A screen capture from "Kyushu, Where Japan's Green Tea Grows."





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Xitang, land of mellow

Xitang seems like such a peaceful place.



One of the canals for which Xitang is famous ... and mellow.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Mellow drive into a Tokyo sunset

Click to mellow out to the big pic.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Japan photo book

Artist and designer Annie Riker has put together a photo book documenting her "recent trip to the visually rich country of Japan," which you can preview at Blurb.com.



One of my favorite spreads from Annie's book.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Photos from a mysterious flower show

If you are reading this you are a witness to Mellow Monk history: This is the first time I have ever posted something I received by accident.


A mistyping of my address fated the photos below to arrive recently in my inbox. I didn't recognize the sender's name nor that of any of his other recipients, but I do like the photographs, although all I know is that they were taken at a flower show in Japan; I don't know where or when they were taken, or by whom.


If you have a clue that would help solve this mystery, please let us know.


Then again, the mystery somehow enhances the beauty of the flowers.











—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Mt. Akagi in all its panoramic glory

In these panoramas, Mt. Akagi and Kiryu City in front of it look a lot like the Aso Valley, but with a lot more buildings.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

A day in Lake Toya

Ronald Tan documents what must have been a mellow day at Hokkaido's lovely Lake Toya.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Interviewing the monk

Here's a photo of the monk featured in Part 2 of our green tea documentary being interviewed by the film crew.


Helping the crew is our tea buyer (lower left), who served as interpreter, guide, travel agent, driver, and interviewer.



caption


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Awa dance festival photos

Jeff Henig has taken some excellent photographs of the Awa-odori festival in Tokyo.



For the full festival effect, you need to hear the music, too.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Mellow like a rock garden

A nice, mellow photo from Christian Houge's Okuriomono series:





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

It's official: green tea drinkers are mellower

Once again, science proves something we already knew—that green tea drinkers are mellower.


To be more specific, a study showed that people who drink at least five cups of green tea per day are less likely to suffer from psychological distress.


This finding, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is just one of the many results gleaned from the "Ohsaki cohort," a group of over 40 thousand people in Japan whose health was monitored over many years.



A nice mellow grove of bamboo. Photo taken in Aso.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

The Monk makes the local news in Aso. (Well, his grower does, anyway.)

One of Mellow Monk's growers was featured in Kōhō Aso, the city of Aso's official monthly newsletter.


As you can see from the accompanying photo below, the story describes a visit by a French TV crew to film some footage for a documentary on Japanese green tea.


The director first learned about this grower from a previous European documentary about Japanese green tea, which also featured one of our tea buyers on a trip to the area.



Cover caption: "Tea fields in Sakanashi [a district of Aso City]."



The story (in the middle of the page) reads: "Filming for a documentary, to be shown across Europe and in parts of America, on Japan's green tea was carried out in the tea fields and at the tea mill of Koji Nagata, who runs a tea enterprise in [the] Miyaji [district of Aso City]. The program, which is being produced by France's national TV network, aims to show that the tea that is widely consumed in Japan is not the matcha of tea ceremonies but [ordinary] Japanese green tea."


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Tea grove on a hill

Taken in Kuma County in southern Kumamoto Prefecture.





—Mellow Monk

blog feed, reviews, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Tea time

—Mellow Monk

blog feed, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Hachinohe beach

Here is a photo of a beautiful beach in Hachinohe, Japan.



As you gaze at this photo—click for the larger version—imagine you are sitting on these rocks, enjoying a cup of green tea as you take in the sounds and smells of the ocean. Having an actual cup of green tea in your hands will help enhance this mellow-inducing mini-meditation.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Wet leaves

Submitted for your approval—wet tea leaves in Aso.


This tea bush was located in the garden of the tea instructor who appears in part three of the documentary our tea buyer appeared in.


This is also the pic we used for our Twitter background.



A visual haiku.


—Mellow Monk

blog feed, teas, twitter, videos

Share |

Get mellow—get outside

To truly recharge your emotional/spiritual batteries, it's not enough just to take time away from work—you have to go outside.



One of the sights that awaits you outside—if you come to Aso. (We took this photo on the way to the top of Mt. Aso.)


—Mellow Monk

Clickables: Blog feed • Teas • Twitter • Videos

Share |

Hydrangeas

Here's a photo taken in Aso this summer of a huge bush of flowering hydrangeas.



Click for the big pic.


—Mellow Monk

Clickables: Blog feed • Teas • Twitter • Videos

Share |

Green tea exposed

This picture shows a Mellow Monk grower uncovering his kabusecha. Once the covers are removed, it's a race against the clock: Too much sun will undo all the catechin-stimulating, flavor-enriching good that the 2 weeks of shade did.


Our Shaded Leaf is just such a tea.


The labor-intensive nature of kabusecha makes a higher price than other senchas pretty much unavoidable. But you will definitely taste the difference in the richness of exquisite aroma and flavor.


Some things, Grasshopper, are worth paying extra for—unlike, say, leather bucket seats.





—Mellow Monk

Clickables: Blog feed • Teas • Twitter • Videos

Share |

Lily for a day

Photographed in Aso, a Thunberg's daylily:



Courtesy of Yomiuri Shimbun.


—Mellow Monk

Clickables: Blog feed • Teas • Twitter • Videos

Share |

Magnificent blue koi at Maruoka Castle

—Mellow Monk

Clickables: Blog feed • Teas • Twitter • Videos

Share |

Our tea master feeling like a movie star

Here's a shot that someone from Aso city hall took of a French crew filming a Mellow Monk tea master for a documentary about Kyushu.





—Mellow Monk

Visit our tea page
Watch our videos
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to this blog

Share |