A New Social Role for Tea. ZEN TEA BREW Aims for the US Market.

Our company endorses "April Dream," an initiative to make April 1st a day to announce dreams.
This press release is about the dream of "ZEN TEA BREW."

The history of tea has seen innovation approximately every 300 years. The next timing is 2030. We, ZEN TEA BREW, will bring about a 300-year innovation to tea with a new approach: "Tea x Alcohol."

The History of Tea Has Moved in 300-Year Cycles

Around 1200, Zen Master Eisai brought tea from China to Japan. Approximately 300 years later, around 1500, Sen no Rikyu incorporated wabi-sabi and elevated the value of matcha into a culture known as the tea ceremony. Furthermore, approximately 240 years later, in 1738, Soen Nagatani invented the "Aosei Sencha Method," bringing beautiful green sencha to Shizuoka.

From Eisai to Sen no Rikyu, and from Sen no Rikyu to Soen Nagatani. Each time, the form of tea changed significantly. And approximately 300 years after Soen Nagatani, the next innovation is due in 2030.

I was fascinated by Japanese culture, especially tea, during my 13 years living abroad.

I am originally from Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture. However, my family was not tea farmers, nor did I have a particular interest in tea as a child. But as my 13 years of living abroad lengthened, my interest in Japanese culture grew, and at the same time, I keenly felt its low presence overseas.
While working at a food trading company in Los Angeles, I had more exposure to Japanese ingredients and became fascinated by Japanese tea. With that feeling, I started my own tea farming business in Japan, but I soon felt a sense of unease about my initial desire to "preserve tradition."

Anxiety: Will simply preserving tradition connect us to the next era?

As I began developing tea products, amidst much trial and error, I had the opportunity to learn about the history of tea. That's when I realized something.

The fact is, "what we now call tradition was the accumulation of innovations made by someone decades or centuries ago."

From that point, our business changed dramatically, and we decided to create new traditions by innovating.

The Journey to Find the "California Roll" for Tea

I lived in the United States for 13 years. While working at a food trading company, I witnessed the power of "localization" many times. Just as sushi met avocado and became a national dish in the US as the California roll, food culture spreads explosively when combined with local contexts. "Then, tea must also have its 'avocado'," I thought, and began searching.

The answer was in an unexpected place. In the US, the "tea alcohol" market, which combines tea and alcohol, was growing rapidly. Moreover, there were almost no Japanese players from the home of Japanese tea challenging this boom. "This is something I must do," I was convinced.

We Want to Make Tea a "Reason for People to Gather" Again

Originally, tea had the power to create hospitality and conversation. The "tea ceremony" is precisely that culture. But now, tea has settled into the position of being "a substitute for water." We believe that is a waste.

Alcohol has the power to bring people together. With just a phrase like "Care for a drink?", people connect. By combining that sociability with tea, we want to revive the value of tea's original role as "a place to connect people" in the modern age. That is our origin.

Furthermore, this combination also has scientific plausibility. Research reports indicate that extracting tea leaves with alcohol improves the extraction efficiency of active ingredients such as catechins, and the compatibility of tea and alcohol is gaining attention not only for its taste but also scientifically.

"ZEN TEA BREW" is the Embodiment of That Dream

Extracting tea leaves with alcohol. With just that, tea transforms into a completely different drink. A DIY cocktail kit that allows you to easily enjoy a rich flavor reminiscent of traditional American cocktails at home. That is our "ZEN TEA BREW."

For example, the "Tou Chashi no Ichigeki Yuzu Green Tea Highball." When this kit, characterized by the flavors of green tea, yuzu, and Japanese sansho pepper, is extracted with gin, the aroma and bitterness of green tea, reminiscent of citrus peel, emerge as top notes, followed by the refreshing spiciness of Japanese sansho pepper. Diluting it with tonic water creates a professional-level cocktail. This is our vision for "new tea."

Our Dream: To Create a Scene Where Japanese Tea is Enjoyed Around Tables Worldwide.

To take the tea culture born in Shizuoka and combine it with a new partner—alcohol—first to America. And someday, we want to create a scene where people gather around Japanese tea at tables all over the world.

A world where "Care for a drink?" can be said not only with alcohol but also with tea.
That is our dream.

This year, we will take the first big step towards that dream of bringing about the first innovation in tea in 300 years.