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Matcha is made from the entire leaf of the green tea plant and therefore has more beneficial plant compounds, nutrients and minerals than green tea. Give your days some zest by incorporating this amazing tea into them!

The way you enjoy your matcha is up to youーeither as a drink or as a savory dish! Explore, experience, and enjoy!

To celebrate our upcoming Matcha-inspired February Nourishing Essentials Care Package, we've partnered with Japanese Green Tea Company, two time winner of the Global Tea Championship, to give away their Premium Matcha Bamboo Whisk (Chasen) and Scoop Set to two (2) lucky winners!

You've likely heard of matcha and sencha and know that they're a type of green tea, but you may not know the how they differ (as it turns out, quite a bit!). We're here to uncover the similarities and differences with the help of our friend, Kei Nishida, author and founder and CEO of Japanese Green Tea Company. 

The ubiquity of dashi (だし, 出汁) in Japanese cuisine goes to show how versatile of an ingredient it is. Dashi is the main stock of choice and can be made from several ingredients: kombu (dried kelp), katsuobushi (dried skipjack/bonito tuna flakes, iriko or niboshi (dried anchovies or sardines), and dried shiitake mushrooms.

Japan has many New Year’s traditions involving food and I was fortunate enough to experience several of them while living there. Although I find myself craving freshly pounded mochi and boxes of osechi as New Year’s Day approaches, there is one dish that is simple to prepare and easily at hand: toshikoshi soba (年越し蕎麦)

Toru Hirasaki helped nurture the pumpkin industry in Hokkaido by creating a business to process, package, and market "hull-less" pumpkin seeds grown from a special pumpkin variety bred in Hokkaido. Through trial and error, Toru learned how to harvest the seeds from this unusual pumpkin variety and to package the seeds to ensure freshness. In the process, he helped introduce the joy of eating pumpkins seeds to Japan!

I have no experience doing anything with scallops except eating them. After visiting Hokkaido, the northernmost prefecture in Japan, to a tiny town called Yakumo, I can now confidently call myself the “best worst amatuer” in scallop farming.

In the snowy mountain town of Shimizu in Tokachi on the island of Hokkaido, the Morita family has been farming for over a century. A-Net Farm produces Japanese red beans known as azuki, which are a mainstay of Japanese desserts but are a difficult crop to grow. And while most red bean paste is made into a sugar paste known as "an", this unique no-sugar added red bean paste uses fermentation to bring out the natural sweetness the beans.

Kōji is the powerful little microbe responsible for many Japanese foods including miso, mirin, shōyu, and sake. It's an extremely versatile ingredient and an integral part of Japanese cuisine.

Four hundred years of tradition behind Goishi Tea were rescued by the Ogasawara family, the last remaining family of tea masters. The Ogasawara family stubbornly protected and maintained the methods behind this rare fermented tea. Nowadays, a single group of 7 farmers produce this tea, lead by the seventh generation descendent of the Ogasawara family. The tea takes over two months to produce and undergoes not one - but two! - fermentation processes. Enjoy the unique flavor of this exquisite tea.

Washoku is Japan’s unique culinary identity and traditionally focuses on achieving harmony, both in the pairing of ingredients and the creation of a harmonious eating experience. It is in this emphasis on harmony that some of the foundational elements of washoku can be best understood.