All You Need Is Tea, Tea Is All You Need… Iyemon Cha That Is

You say tea, I say chai, and the Japanese say cha, but we all know that it’s good for you, and as long as it’s Iyemon Cha Japanese Green Tea, it’s Zen-heavenly good. With the stylish launch party at the de Young museum on Tuesday, Suntory and Calistoga Beverage Company officially introduced their emerald-green product to the citizens of San Francisco and beyond. Master green tea blender Ryozo Toniguchi from Kyoto demonstrated his art in selecting, roasting, grinding, blending and brewing the most delectable tea on Earth, and Leslie Sbrocco, a television host of PBS series “Check Please,” hosted the evening. Although not a famous traditional tea ceremony per se, the tasting demonstration was quite an educational experience. Presented in wooden boxes, there were several varieties of precious green and brown dried leaves, all smelling differently, yet heavenly, and the guests readily engaged in grinding those leaves to create a famous powdered matcha tea, used for the actual tea ceremony. Tasting tea is like tasting wine (or, now we know it—olive oils, chocolates, oysters—you name it). You quickly develop a taste, find your favorite, and become an amateur expert, and so you reach the point of no return. There is no way you would consider bagged sawdust or a pale chamomile brew ever again for your tea consumption. The only bottled tea in the world, containing matcha, Iyemon Cha, imported from Japan, is 100% certified organic, unsweetened, and ready to drink. It is known for its anti-oxidative, anti-bacterial, anti-hyperglycemic, and anti-hypertensive action, and who could ask for anything more? Look for more info at: www.suntory.com, www.fukujuen.com, and www.calistogawater.com. Photo by Yuri Krasov: Ryozo Taniguchi leads a guided tasting.