TeaChat

Another update, added Yame matcha Seiho. This matcha already on a level that is fitting for Japanese tea ceremony, i.e. good for koicha.

Also for fun added a bit of kombucha, seaweed tea. Though i think best use is seasoning for seafood, not drinking

I have taken a look at your site, which is nicely arranged. You have some teas that are of interest to me. So your company is definitely on my "radar screen" when it comes time to purchase!

One question: why do you price your teas in euros rather than yen, since you are based in Japan?

Best luck with the business!

Best wishes,
sherubtse

sherubtse wrote:I have taken a look at your site, which is nicely arranged. You have some teas that are of interest to me. So your company is definitely on my "radar screen" when it comes time to purchase!

One question: why do you price your teas in euros rather than yen, since you are based in Japan?

Best luck with the business!

Best wishes,
sherubtse

Thanks, though i still want to improve few things, especially description. Regarding currency, most visitors are from Europe and Russia, so basically used most common and easy to understand currency. I'm going to upgrade my page soon and most likely i can add several currencies with yen as base. With upgrade it will be also a lot simpler to navigate, i'm testing it on my pc now I'm missing some php skills to finish it faster

Xell wrote: I'm going to upgrade my page soon and most likely i can add several currencies with yen as base. With upgrade it will be also a lot simpler to navigate, i'm testing it on my pc now I'm missing some php skills to finish it faster

Thanks for the response.

I look forward to the updated website.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

Tea Reviews!

Xell was kind enough to send me some tea samples in exchange for some reviews.

Here goes:

*Ureshino Genmaicha*:

Best genmaicha I've ever had! Generous helpings of sencha mixed with very fresh toasted rice with a few popped kernels here and there. This is my favorite "late night" tea so far, not that it is sans caffeine, but just enough. Full bodied sencha taste with wonderful roastiness and no "off" flavors I've noticed in other genmaicha. And at just under $10 for 200g it's a STEAL! I will definetly be re-ordering this one. Very fresh and tasty.

*Ureshino Tamaryokucha (jo)*:

My first experience with this type of tea. It was virtually indistinguishable from a sencha as far as taste went for me. It struck me as a deeper steamed asamushi bordering on a middle steamed tea. The curled leaf shape is interesting. I brewed this tea first at a low temp for a longer period of time like I like to do with fukamushi's to get some different taste profiles. The slow, cool brew brought out a lot of umami, with hints of asparagus and a pleasant and not overpowering bitterness. Later I brewed it at around 180 degrees with shorter steeps and the tea was still very full bodied well into the second brew, and was crisp and slightly vegital. I prefer the latter as the flavor lasts the full three steeps. This may well be my new daily tea. It's first flush, very good quality and inexpensive (around $12.50 for 100g package). The leaves uncurl differently from sencha, giving you a big fluffball filling your teapot.

*Yame Houjicha*:

This was my first houjicha experience! I really enjoyed it hot, but being so hot here I drank more iced. Not sure how I feel about it iced . It is a relatively new flavor to me, and it surprised me how much I liked it hot and not so much cold. Hot I found it very soothing, especially after a big meal or right before bed. Cold I couldn't help thinking of onions or B.O. . Maybe it will grow on me. YMMV. Again, this is not an indication of the quality of the tea, only my own impressions after a first go-round with houjicha. The tea itself seemed fresh and of good quality, and is inexpensive as bancha should be. This may be more of a winter tea for me. I find genmaicha much more delicious as an iced tea option.

There you have it. 5/5 on the genmaicha overall. 4.5/5 on the tamaryokucha (jo) overall. I can't really rate the houjicha until I have tried other varieties, but I can say I enjoyed it and found it very novel as a hot tea for nighty time. I would (and will) order them all!

Thanks, Xell

Xell wrote:Thanks, though i still want to improve few things, especially description. Regarding currency, most visitors are from Europe and Russia, so basically used most common and easy to understand currency. I'm going to upgrade my page soon and most likely i can add several currencies with yen as base. With upgrade it will be also a lot simpler to navigate, i'm testing it on my pc now I'm missing some php skills to finish it faster

How is the upgrade of the site going, Xell? Any progress on adding other currencies?

Also, I noticed that the "Account Login" and "Create Account" pages are not encrypted. Is this something which you will add as well?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

... more photos of merchandize would be great too, for instance leaf photos.

Chip wrote:... more photos of merchandize would be great too, for instance leaf photos.

+1 (although photos of the brewed liquor are more helpful for me)

Best wishes,
sherubtse

sherubtse wrote: How is the upgrade of the site going, Xell? Any progress on adding other currencies?

Also, I noticed that the "Account Login" and "Create Account" pages are not encrypted. Is this something which you will add as well?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

Was not online much recently, here some information. I've completed new page some time ago, but didn't upload it yet. I was waiting for an update script to new version of opencart, but seems i have to upgrade without it somoehow. Can't wait anymore for various reasons. I'll make update in a week or two at most, a friend of mine will add one feature to shop that i really wanted

About encryption, for now it's not that important since all payment information is handled by paypal. But i was going to upgrade my hosting plan on next payment anyway, so it will be added eventually.

I'm also trying out teas that are grown near Nagasaki, but i'll write about this after site update.

p.s.
Thanks for reminding me about photos, this i indeed forgot

Xell wrote:Was not online much recently, here some information. I've completed new page some time ago, but didn't upload it yet. I was waiting for an update script to new version of opencart, but seems i have to upgrade without it somoehow. Can't wait anymore for various reasons. I'll make update in a week or two at most, a friend of mine will add one feature to shop that i really wanted

About encryption, for now it's not that important since all payment information is handled by paypal. But i was going to upgrade my hosting plan on next payment anyway, so it will be added eventually.

I'm also trying out teas that are grown near Nagasaki, but i'll write about this after site update.

p.s.
Thanks for reminding me about photos, this i indeed forgot

Thanks for the update on the update!

Best wishes,
sherubtse

Finally updated!

Took me really a while, other work and some nasty things came in the way. But cleared everything recently, right before New Year. Now i can focus more on tea, hope to get something interesting before new shincha season starts.

Yes, a very nice update to the site.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

sherubtse wrote:Yes, a very nice update to the site.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

Thank you, also as per your suggestion i've looked into enabling SSL and finally did it. Was actually not that simple as i thought, but i think it was worth it.

Xell wrote:

sherubtse wrote:Yes, a very nice update to the site.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

Thank you, also as per your suggestion i've looked into enabling SSL and finally did it. Was actually not that simple as i thought, but i think it was worth it.

Thanks for implementing the SSL feature!

I see you offer rewards for tea purchases. But I can find no information about the rewards programme. Please tell me where this info is on the website.

Also, it would be nice to be able to sign up for your newsletter *without* having to create an account.

Lastly, do you process your orders through PayPal?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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Also i added currency calculator, now you can select currency and price will be displayed in yens and selected currency. Rates are updated daily, though they still can differ a bit from paypal currency rates. This is not working on checkout page, still figuring out how to add to that page.

Added 2 small sized chawans (good for small hands ), chasen's from black and white bamboo and spoons