08/27/2025
It's been a long summer, and a long wait for this year's new teas, due to the worldwide matcha boom causing havoc in this year's tea supply and pricing. I appreciate all of your patience as I've tasted nearly a hundred teas this summer to find and make new selections to offer. I'm happy with the results, and most all new teas have now arrived. There are a few stragglers that are expected in during the coming few weeks, so please watch the website for more new teas.
For now, we have several new teas from all over Kyushu (Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Kumamoto, and Saga Prefectures); Shizuoka Prefecture (Asahina, Fujieda, Honyama, and Kawane); Sayama Teas from Saitama Prefecture, and Tosa Tea from Kochi Prefecture. Plus, we also have some new teas from areas that are not very well-known even among tea drinkers in Japan; Nakaisamurai Teas from Nagano Prefecture, Sashima Teas from Ibaraki Prefecture, Goka Teas from Higashishirakawa in Gifu Prefecture, and a long-time favorite of mine, Murakami Teas from Niigata Prefecture, the most northern area of mid-scale tea production in Japan. While we have both green (Sencha, Gyokuro, etc.) and black (WaKoucha) teas from all-regions, our new Sashima Teas also include some great black teas that are much more Oolong-like in character. I hope that you'll be able to try them all. Shop all teas at www.charaku-tea.com
Unfortunately, this year I was not able to source many of the teas that have become favorites over the years. However, the good news is that there are so many great new teas to try, and I hope that you enjoy tasting them as much as I have.
We also have lots of new Tea Wares and Tea Accessories in stock. Some previously sold out items have been restocked, but we have lots of new pots as well. In addition to a fine selection of Tokoname-ware Tea Pots, we've also added Banko-ware (from Mie Prefecture) and Hasami-ware (from Nagasaki Prefecture) items.
As mentioned in my last announcement, Matcha prices are on the rise, with auction prices this spring and early summer sometimes doubling, or more, from the prior year's prices. I still have some Matcha inventory stocked up at previous pricing. When this is gone, slightly higher pricing will go into effect. Nobody hoarded (like many tourists are doing in Japan), and I so very much appreciated that. My tea friends are the best!
One more word on pricing: Tariffs. Ugh! While I had worked hard to get all of this year's teas in before the August 1st deadline, and then smaller shipments in before the August 29th de minimus exemption cancellation deadline, it was just not possible on the Japan shipping side. While it has been painful to pay these ridiculous fees that are not helping anyone in this industry, I also can't see spreading that pain around to people who just want to drink good tea from other countries. So, I'm not passing those costs on to customers for as long as I can, and hopefully the politicians will come to their senses and get rid of them in the future.
One final piece of tea-related news. The former (XV) head of the Urasenke Tea School, Daisosho Sen Gensh*tsu (sometimes referred to by his Buddhist name, Hounsai) passed away on August 14th, at the age of 102. While I am not a formal Chado (The Way of Tea, aka "Tea Ceremony") practitioner, I do have great respect for the mission that Hounsai spent much of his life pursuing through his platform as the hereditary leader of the largest tea school in Japan. He very much internationalized The Way of Tea, and also promoted a philosophy of "Peace through a bowl of tea." For his efforts, he was recognized by the Japanese Government (the first person of tea to receive the Cultural Order of Merit), the French Government (awarded the Legion of Honor), the UN and UNESCO, Rotary International, and the list goes on and on. If you look him up on-line, you will see many memorials and resources about his interesting life and many accomplishments.
If you feel so inclined, the next time you raise a cup or bowl of tea, please keep "Peace" in your heart and in your mind, in recognition of not only Dr. Sen Gensh*tsu's legacy, but also to acknowledge of all the people past and present who have worked to bring the special gift of tea to us to enjoy today. It crosses cultures, religions, and borders, and will hopefully bring some inner peace to those who drink it, and social peace to those who share it.
Yours in Tea, and Gassho,
Tatsuo Tomeoka
Charaku Fine Japanese Tea / WaSabiDou
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