Support for a Small Teashop

It was nearly pure luck I stumbled upon the small Seattle based shop of Charaku-Tea. I only learned about Charaku because it is owned by the same person who runs Wasabi-dou a ceramics gallery featuring a variety of artists, both Japanese, and American Ceramics ( though those inspired by Japanese styles).

I apologize if this reads as an advertisement, but if there is one thing I like to do is support small businesses whenever possible. I do believe small businesses are the heart and soul of this country, and should be frequented when ever they do a quality job that sets them above the much larger operations.

Why do I like Charaku-tea?  Not only have I found their teas on the affordable side of things, I am incredibly impressed by the level of detail given on each tea they offer.  With every bag of tea comes  little card stock business card which gives a wealth of information that only true tea lovers would love.  It includes things such as harvesting location ( down to the city/ town), the cultivar of the tea, along with all the more typical details on  the tea.  It also includes recommended brewing procedures ( though experienced people should follow what they are accustomed to in my own opinion).

Not to mention it includes some of the nicest presented packaging I have seen from Japanese vendors.  But lets get onto the tea....

While I often find their steaming designations on the heavier side of things, as in the fukumushi I have from them is quite incredibly heavily steamed, while the asamushi is borderline chumushi.  Even the Gyokuro seemed slightly heavier steamed than most gyokuro I am used to.  But that honestly doesn't matter as I have found the tea incredibly enjoyable the whole way through.  Granted I have only had 3 of their teas, but two of them have been finished, one I am half way through.  The only one that seemed slightly off, was easily overlooked.  It was an Organic tea that while it was sencha was extra harsh on the stomach if you had not eaten prior to brewing.

So I encourage anyone looking into buying some Japanese teas into giving Charaku-tea a look.  Heck also check out their teaware offerings and Wasabi-dou at the same time!