Going to Japan / Recommendations
I will be traveling to Japan (Tokyo / Yokohama) on business and would like to purchase some tea. Any suggestions (stores / loose leaf teas) would be appreciated.
Seconding this call for recommendations, as I have Japanese family-in-law and fully intend to either stock up when we go visiting, or politely request to be brought back to the UK :)
(As well as our usual mass order of interesting pocky and tarako pasta sauce for me)
I was in Tokyo for 2 months this year and here is my opinion: Ordering online from Yunomi is the best route for Japanese teas. I spent roughly $1150 on tea while I was there (700 on a group order) and found Yunomi to have a superior selection which is authentic.
Basic stuff will always be basic. But what I look for is the different farmers who have some unique attributes to their crop. Yunomi also has a HUGE selection for Japanese teas. As for a quality comparission, there may be a lot to look into to make my opinion. As for 1st Flush aShincha, Lupicia has a crazy hookup in Japan in which is only sold in Japan ( I have sent emails a few times trying to make them break the rules), but Yunomi provides a great service with all the information. I purchased shincha in Tokyo for $15 to $28 a bag with no information in English which was almost gambling. Yuuki is the hook up on Japanese oolong though. Stores in Tokyo only sell roasted oolong from Japan sadly :/
Also, the deals Yunomi has such as the tasters and what not make them quite friendly for someone who is new to Japanese teas. Again, a lot of this is my perspective.
If you are in Ginza area there is Ippodo and a Cha Ginza store.
http://www.ippodo-tea.co.jp/en/shop/index.html
Also, I would recommend going to Shinjuku. All the department stores have a food level in their basement floor. There will be many booths set up that sell tea from all different stores and they offer samples as long as you look like a buying customer. If you like Lupicia teas they have a location in the Keio department store food hall. The price of the teas are cheaper in Japan especially if you are converting US to Yen right now.
The Narita airport also has a tea shop that is from Kyoto if you need any last minute teas.
Depachika.
Whether you are in Ginza, Shinjuku, Nihonbashi, Shibuya, Yokohama, or any other major shopping area in Tokyo, you will find a plethora of specialty teas shops, Eastern, Western, European, Japanese, etc in the basement floors of large department stores. They will also have teas at reasonable prices at the grocery/supermarket section as well.
If you go to Chinatown in Yokohama, you should find tea stores selling a large variety of Chinese and Taiwanese teas. You can find a full selection of Chinese/Taiwanese teas, green, blue, brown, black, red, etc.
If you can read Japanese, then there are websites listing cooperative tea stores selling all kinds of Japanese tea throughout Tokyo.
http://www.tokyo-cha.or.jp/shop/area.html
If can’t read Japanese, then try using the google translation function.
Use the words, 茶、東京 and search. It will bring up all kinds of tea related stores, tea ceremony, tea salons in Tokyo. Again, try using the google translation function
頑張って！
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