Tea Diaries: 2025 Spring Updates
Reflections
I've been meaning to share an update this spring, and today feels like a good day for it. May 1st marks Hachijū hachiya" (八十八夜), the 88th night since the start of spring on the traditional Japanese calendar. It’s a special time in tea culture, marking the first harvest of the season. I couldn’t let this moment pass without commemorating it, of course, with my favorite cup of 88th Night. It tastes like white peach skin to me. I got the pleasure of visiting Terumi-san last year to try it as soon it was finished. This moment was especially meaningful because she loves sharing not just how tea is grown, but how it’s prepared and brewed.
Tea feels like a time capsule to me. Depending on how my schedule aligns, I may not be able to enjoy it with her person at the same time this year, but I can still drink the tea and feel the fond memories of it. Isn’t that magical?
I really can’t believe we’re already almost halfway through 2025! As we reflect on this moment, it gives us a chance to assess the direction our tea selection is heading and how it aligns with the evolving world of tea:
Our tea garden’s Mainichi sencha won’t have a 2025 harvest this year. Don’t worry! It’s a good and exciting thing for us. After four years, it's time to deeply prune the trees for healthier growth in 2026. It marks the completion of a full tea cycle in our garden, from cuttings to this moment. It’ll also opens up space for new senchas, which I’m really excited to introduce later.
Yoshi-san’s matcha will be on our shelves soon! If you remember his special event visit back in January, he produced a limited batch of matcha for us, and I couldn’t be more grateful. You can read more about him on my post here. I still think about his passion for tea and the care he puts into how people experience his tea is something I truly admire.
Ammy, our long-time partner in Chiang Rai, has started producing pu’er in cake form, so we’ll have some fun new shapes and sizes to offer soon. I also look forward to our customer favorites each year of our Chiang Rai collection. Look at the incredible leaves this season.
More Vietnamese tea coming! It’s always a fun challenge to pick which ones to feature because we get such unique offerings. Sadly, last year’s typhoon affected the jasmine flower yield, so the 2025 batch will be limited, but we’re still able to support our partners in other ways. I’ve personally grown so connected to Vietnamese tea through my family, and every new harvest feels like a piece of home.
Our 2025 tea tour details will be released this week. For those of you who’ve been waitlisted, you’ll be the first to hear the news and have an opportunity to sign up. The tour will feature a few new locations, meet amazing tea farmers, and of course, lots of tea. I’m looking forward to it!
We’ll be working on making special blends like Ingat, Pandan Waffle, Sticky Rice Pandan back on our shelves in celebration of AANHPI month.
Spring always feels like a whirlwind of activity, but it also reminds me of how wonderful it is to slow down, sip great tea, and connect with all of you. No matter how we handle the day-to-day, I’m always excited to share more tea, especially with tea pets.
Cheers,
Amy (& Sylvester)