It may be a little known fact, but 1 November was "National Tea Day" in Japan. This date was selected as it is said on this date in 1791 that the first Japanese person tasted tea at an official tea party in Russia.
To mark this year’s National Tea Day, Twining Japan held a seminar at the British Embassy in Tokyo. Michael Wright, Senior Blender/Buyer for the company, gave a fascinating lecture on tea, including its manufacturing, blending and tasting. The event was over-subscribed by the trade, with over 70 people from high-end hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes being the lucky people to obtain seats. The UKTI Japan team helped support the event by providing consultancy advice prior to the event as well as supporting the event on the day.
An unusual slant to the event was offered by the participation of Mr Ishigaki, the, winner of a cocktail competition accredited by the International Bartenders Association in 2005. He worked with Twining to develop a number of original Earl Grey tea cocktails. These cocktails were well received by the attendees who enjoyed tasting them at the reception which followed the seminar. Some examples of the cocktails for readers of the UKTI blog to try at home are:
1) Summer Cocktail (for a 140oz tumbler) - Campari 30ml, ruby grapefruit syrup 10ml and some Earl Grey tea
2) Winter hot cocktail - Gold rum 30ml, strawberry syrup 10ml, hot Earl Grey tea 120ml and a sliced orange
Twining Japan was established in 2007 through a joint venture with Kataoka & Co Ltd. Twining Japan is constantly developing original products for the Japanese market, such as instant teas, chilled ready-to-drink teas etc to meet local consumers’ demand. Developing tea cocktails with Mr Ishigaki helps to expand the market for tea and to reach new consumers.
Mariko Hasegawa
UKTI Japan
mariko.hasegawa@fco.gov.uk