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 […]
Milling Maccha: The Quest for Fresh Tea
Since October 2018, we have been milling our maccha in house here at JagaSilk. It has been challenging, always a learning journey, and forever rewarding in terms of flavour, medicinal integrity and relationship building. The Importance of Fresh Milling Very early on in JagaSilk’s history, we realized the importance of fresh milling. We noticed that […]
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 […]
How We Choose and Use Accoutrements for Maccha Preparation
When you put careful thought and intention into your maccha, your tools are an integral part of the process. Here’s how you can evaluate and use the proper tools to prepare maccha. Choosing Your Chasen What is a Chasen? Chasen are bamboo whisks used for blending maccha green tea. The delicate shape, coupled with the […]
How to Choose the Right Maccha
To qualify as a maccha, the leaves of camellia sinensis need to be grown under shade, harvested during the first harvest, steamed and dried flat, then deveined and destemmed before being milled into a fine powder. As a result, even though maccha is a powdered green tea, not all powdered green tea is considered maccha. […]
The Health Benefits of Maccha
What is Maccha? Maccha is green tea that has been shade-grown, de-veined, de-stemmed and painstakingly stone-ground into a fine powder. You consume the whole leaf, healthier and concentrated. To qualify as green tea, the tea must be mechanically processed within a day of harvest. This freezing of the enzymes prevents the tea from “withering” (also […]
Maccha or Matcha?
So how is it spelled? Maccha or matcha? The question begs to be asked, doesn’t it? Is it spelled maccha or matcha? The answer to this question took some research and some digging. It started with Miyuki, co-owner of JagaSilk, born and raised in Japan, intuitively writing “maccha” when transliterating the word. However, local companies […]
Our Hopes
We are JagaSilk, specialty importers of maccha green tea and its tools. We are based out of Victoria, BC, Canada, and believe in beauty, balance, and ethical business. Our goal is to act as nodes of knowledge for the maccha world outside of Japan. This means that what we learn often shifts or augments the […]