welcome to this new blog, all about Japanese black tea !
Before we start I want to explain why this blog is created, and what I expect from it.
In the winter of 2018-2019 I started my training as an ITMA tea sommelier. After two exciting days in London under the auspices of ITMA Tea Master Stijn Van Schoonlandt, the follow-up programm started, involving tastings together with Laura, my fellow student, a very nice lady with excellent tastebuds, and a series of assessments. One of them was to write a paper.
As a beginning lea lover it's not so easy to find a topic. So much seems to be already written, so many people wrote about tea with a lot more background and experience, travelled to and visited tea-making areas, and I felt a bit unsure (this is an understatement). But more or less by accident, a curiosity-induced order of some Benifuki from Hotsoup in Holland and an order from O-Cha in Japan, I discovered a tea about which not a lot seemed to be written. So little in fact that most encyclopedia or books about tea don't even talk about it. Yet it exists. And I loved it. So there was my topic.
I am now a half year further and have tasted many Wakoucha's, and I am still bedazzled by what I learned and continu to learn. I am sometimes disappointed, sometimes bewildered, but very often extremely happen because of what I taste.
So here we go. I will share tasting notes and my ideas about Wakoucha and how its future might look. Because this is a tea-story that is not yet fully written and of which nobody knows the end. And I have the audacity to think that i might help this baby develop a bit more.
And for those who do not know where the name comes from: Wa means Japan, kou means red and cha means tea.
I am looking forward to meeting you, and I hope that from time to time you will drink a cup from this wonderful tea and be happy.
Kou Cha, or Red Tea
