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Sakura flower

—Mellow Monk

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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

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Japanese art at Scholten

Scholten Japanese Art is a gallery offering art both old and modern, both two- and three-dimensional, from prints to netsuke.



Scottish artist Paul Binnie's Asa ni Namida (Morning Tears).


—Mellow Monk

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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

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Where the stardust twinkles online

Kira kira means "twinkle" in Japanese, as stardust does, and KiraKira Waypoints is your own personal canvas where colorful stardust dances as you direct it — perfect for a green tea break.



You drag the small circles to redirect the flow of stardust.


—Mellow Monk

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Yaezakura

—Mellow Monk

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Green tea cookies and cream

Delicious magazine has a "tried & tasted" recipe for green tea ice cream and Seattle Weekly a recipe for green tea cookies. Both recipes, incidentally, call for matcha, not tea bags.



We would love to see pictures of the fruits of your culinary labors.


—Mellow Monk

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Seven Cups cruises the canals of Nanxun

Seven Cup has posted some wonderful photos of their trip to the ancient city of Nanxun, China.



A house situated on the city's famous canal.


—Mellow Monk

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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

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Kokura Castle in a cloud of sakura

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





—Mellow Monk

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Green tea, flowers, and scones

—Mellow Monk

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The wait is over — matcha is back!

We have just received a shipment of our Matcha Style Powdered Green Tea from the grower in Kumamoto.


Our deepest apologies for the wait. We appreciate your queries asking when it would be back in stock and your comments on how much you enjoy the tea. That really filled us all here with good feelings.



Back by popular demand.


—Mellow Monk

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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

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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

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