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Nio Teas

a close up of a bamboo brush on a plate with words above it that read do you need this whisk?

Do you need this matcha whisk?

The bamboo whisk is the best tool for preparing beautiful, foamy bowls of matcha tea. The bamboo bristles produce a much thicker foam than metal and they are completely silent. While it is possible to make matcha without it, we highly recommend you get one if you really want to get the best possible matcha experience.

the 5 reasons to drink kutcha info on white background with green text and diagram

Tea Plant

Matcha Bowl

Why should you drink kukicha?

There are 5 reasons why you should drink kukicha tea. This tea is made from the stems of the tea plant, so it is lower in caffeine, higher in minerals and it has a subtle flavor with notes of straw. If you want to try it, you can find some great ones one our website nioteas.com.

green tea and matcha are the main ingredients in this recipe

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Good green tea food pairings - Matcha and Wagashi

This is a traditional green tea food pairing used in the Japanese tea ceremony. The wagashi is offered to the guest as a gift and to set the theme for the tea ceremony. By eating a sweet alongside your matcha, you smooth out the bitterness without disrupting the flavor.

four different types of latte on a white surface with the names below it and their labels

4 Types of Green Tea Lattes

There are 4 different types of delicious green tea lattes you can make depending on the weather and your mood. You can use either matcha powder or hojicha powder and you can serve it both hot or cold! If you want to get started on lattes, you can browse our selection or matcha and hojicha powder at nioteas.com.

three different types of matcha powders on a white background with the words, hojcha powder matcha

Matcha Slim

Matcha Tea

Japanese Tea

What’s the difference between hojicha powder and matcha?

Both hojicha powder and matcha are made from powdered tea leaves and they work great in lattes. The difference is hojicha powder is roasted, so it has more chocolaty taste notes and matcha is unroasted, so it has more vegetal taste characteristics. You can try both at nioteas.com!

an info sheet describing the different types of matcha

Tea Plants

What Is Matcha

How is matcha made?

Matcha is made from tencha tea leaves that have been ground into a fine powder in a large stone mill. These tencha leaves are made from shaded tea plants with their stems and veins removed. If you want to try some premium matcha tea, you can find our favorites at nioteas.com.

the ingredients for hojcha tea on a brown background with white lettering and an image of

What is Hojicha Tea?

Hojicha is a special type of Japanese green tea made from roasted leaves. This gives the tea warmer flavors of coffee, caramel and chocolate. If you want to try the best hojicha teas we’ve found during our travels around Japan, you can find them at nioteas.com!

a table with some type of green tea on it and instructions for how to use it

Sencha Tea

Caffeine Content

Cardiovascular Health

Sweet Taste

Light Texture

What is sencha tea?

Sencha is the most popular type of green tea in Japan, and it spans a diverse range of growing techniques, production styles and more. If you want to try some of the best sencha tea we’ve found during our travels around Japan, you can find it at nioteas.com.

the japan green tea regions are shown in this graphic diagram, which shows where each region is

Where is Japanese green tea grown?

There are many different tea producing regions spread out around Japan, and here are a few of the biggest. Shizuoka is the largest tea producing region, producing almost half of Japanese tea. If you want to learn more about each tea region, you will love this blog article.

an info poster showing the five reasons to drink horcha in different languages, including instructions and ingredients

Why should you drink hojicha?

Here are 5 reasons why you may want to start drinking hojicha tea. Hojicha is a roasted Japanese green tea and it is very popular, particularly during the colder months. If you want to try this tea for yourself, you can find it on our website nioteas.com

Most Popular

Rice

Why should you drink genmaicha?

Here are 4 reasons why you may want to start drinking genmaicha tea. Genmaicha is made by combining tea leaves and toasted rice and it’s the most popular blended tea in Japan. If you want to try it, you can find some great ones at nioteas.com

What is gyokuro tea?

Gyokuro tea is the most sought after leaf tea in Japan. It used to be the tea of choice for the emperor himself, and the long labor intensive production process produces a unique sweet and savory flavor. If you want to try the best gyokuro tea we’ve found during our travels around Japan, you can find it at nioteas.com.

tea bags labeled with instructions on how to use them and what they're good for

Why is loose leaf tea better than tea bags?

There are many reasons why loose leaf tea is superior to the tea prepared in tea bags, and we’ve covered all of them in our blog post. If you want to learn more, you can click the link below!

a bar graph showing how much caffeine is extracted from tea leaves and what percentage does it have?

How much caffeine is extracted from tea?

Depending on how long you brew tea leaves, you will extract different amounts of caffeine. This is why the first brewing of green tea will contain the most caffeine, but the subsequent brewings will not be caffeine-free. If you want to learn more about the caffeine in green tea, you can find it here

a cup of tea with the words 5 reasons to drink bancha on it

Here are 5 reasons to drink bancha tea

Bancha tea is the second most popular green tea in Japan after sencha. Bancha tea is made from the older leaves of the tea plant so it is higher in nutrients, lower in caffeine and much more affordable.