How to Take Care of Your Chasen (Bamboo Whisk)
When we first started JagaSilk, we used to carry $20 chasen (bamboo whisks) and didn’t think too much of it. Until we started to get higher volume clients. We started to see the whisks fall apart at a faster and faster rate. On top of that, we were made aware that our supplier was buying […]
What is the “Best” Way to Brew Your Tea?
This question gets asked a lot and there really is no one true answer. Culture, context, preference, experience; all play a role in the direction that answer takes. JagaSilk is mostly a wholesaler and we often help new specialty coffee shops set up their tea programs. The needs of a cafe are generally focused on […]
Finish Firing Tencha for Maccha in a Tea Roaster
Over the past several months we have been researching and utilizing the tea roaster we brought in earlier in the year. We started the process with sencha, using aracha (unfired tea meant for sencha) provided to us by Mr. Takaki in Fukuoka Japan. He was a gem and has been incredibly accommodating whenever we visit […]
Who Grows the Tencha for Our Maccha: Feature Farms
When sourcing tencha for our maccha (and any tea we bring in) we strongly believe in choosing to work with small farms that produce carefully and are good stewards of the land that they cultivate. We have built up great relationships with many farmers over the years, but we will be focusing on three families […]
Our Kombucha Program
When we ferment our kombucha we like to focus on the tea and the honey. The industry norm is to build a canvas and then add flavours in a kind of “shrub”, but we started our program with the idea that good tea will shine through and does well to be the main event. “We […]
Temperature and Tea
Temperature control. Why does it matter? It’s a good question and we once we continue to explore. There is no right answer. “Temperature variations of as little as 10°C can make a big impact .” With maccha, we find that depending on the region, the temperature variations of as little as 10°C can make a […]
Tea and Terroir
Terroir is such an interesting concept. This idea that we can sense, perceive, the energy of a place through that which is grown there. This idea that there are background notes shared between different farms in the same area that come through in the cup. Popularized in wine, there is a rich hundreds (if not […]