Tiger Mama Express

Organic Japanese Green Tea




Aloha!! Greetings from the Big Island of Hawaii from Tiger Mama Express, distributor of select fine organic Japanese green tea.

Organic Japanese green tea has been around for a long long time, but fairly unnoticed on the world market. It is a very precious product still grown by a handful of dedicated tea farmers spread throughout the mountains of Japan.

One is Katagi-Kokaen in Asamiya, southeast of classic Kyoto, near the famous pottery town of Shigaraki. It is the oldest tea farming area in Japan, tea cultivation in the area dating back over 800 years. This birth place of the finest organic green tea lays amidst misty mountains and valleys where the Shigaraki river runs through, it's climatic condition wonderfully suited for fine tea growing. This is further nurtured by organic composting, depth plowing after the harvest, and an eco-balance achieved through the introduction of friendly insects such as praying mantis, spiders and bees into the environment to control parasitic bugs. Katagi-Kokaen offers a wide variety of fine tea from Sencha to edible green tea to ceremonial Matcha with thorough dedication to the ancient process and a very affordable price.

Another tea farm is called "Annapurna Farm" which is situated near volcanic Mt. Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture in central Kyushu, the southernmost large island in the Japanese chain, just north of the subtropical Okinawan archipelago. It is owned by my dear friend, Masaki-San, an eco-philosopher and author of two books. He has been growing organic tea for the past 25 years now, putting his eco-philosophies to practice in his fields. He produces just one kind of tea ~ Sencha. His medium grade Sencha is grassy and sweet and very easy to prepare. Both pictures on this page are from his farm and the mountains surrounding it.

The third producer of fine organic Japanese tea that Tiger Mama Express represents is Murata-en. They are also located in Kyushu near the rich soils of the Mt. Aso area. They are not growers themselves but manufacturers of excellent Japanese herbal tea. Their specialty is Ban-Noh-Cha (Wellness Tea), which I fell in love with while visiting my family in Japan. It deeply reminded of folk remedies I drank in my childhood. It is very mellow and smooth, fine for an everyday tea.

Please come join us in the circle of tea.
Annapurna Farms, Kyushu, South Japan
Tips on the Experience of Green Tea

For Preparation:

Generally, for the preparation of green tea, a low temperature (60-70 degrees) is best, while for roasted tea, a hot temperature (80-90 degrees) is better. Pour only the amount of hot water that you like to drink at one time. Then pour the tea into a cup and drain the remaining hot water completely from the tea leaves so that you may re-infuse later and enjoy a second cup as good as the first.

For Preservation:

Tea tastes best when it is consumed within a year. It is important to properly store the tea, sealing the original bag with a clip and refrigerating upon opening, so to preserve the original quality and taste of the teas. Storage in a sealed cannister can also be effective. Unopened tea can be stored in a deep freezer for a few years and still retain its quality.

About Green Tea:

The nutritional value of organic Japanese green tea is much talked about. It is especially known for Catechin, which is the source of the bitterness in green tea and has anti-bacterial properties as well as is an anti-oxidant. It is also known to reduce both cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Green tea is also rich in
vitamin C as well as is a low stimulant. It is most treasured in Japan. And loose tea is special in that it is both more economical and environmentally friendly than the use of tea bags, which are often bleached and have been known to cause allergic reactions. Used loose tea may be used as an excellent compost or dried in the sun to stuff in pillows. Often people wrapped up in busy life styles say they cannot be bothered with loose tea, but it is important to remember tea is for "slowing down" and "awakening to a tender way of life" as the Japanese have traditionally held it to be.

I would also like to introduce a genuine insight from "The Book of Tea," published in 1906 by Kakuzo Okakura. "It is hygiene, for it enforces cleanliness; it is economics, for it shows comfort in simplicity rather than in the complex and costly; it is moral geometry in as much as it defines our sense of proportion to the universe."


Thank you,

Utae Suzuki
Proprietor
Tiger Mama Express
266 Kamehameha Ave.
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Tel: 808-640-1432
Fax: 808-969-6905

tigermamaexpress@yahoo.com
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www.dragonmama.com