We do strange things in our youth. I used to do lots of experiments with fasting, just to experience how the mind and body reacted to extended periods without food. Not even coffee or tea, just water. It wasn't fun. Today, my personal experiments tend to go in the opposite direction: I try to pack [
I’m sitting at my kitchen table taking a rare and much needed late-morning “be in the moment” tea break. In front of me is a quickly whisked bowl of matcha, two miniature dark chocolate peanut butter cups still wrapped in their foil, and nothing else. In anticipation of “being in the [...]
There are many young women like myself who are living with breast cancer – I was diagnosed before age 40.At the time of my initial diagnosis, my work life was packed with tasting menus, slabs of cheese and meat, and copious amounts of unchecked stress as I juggled writing assignments and events. I k
While we enjoy quality matcha primarily for the incredible epicurean delights it gives us, it’s a truly happy coincidence that it happens to be good for you in lots of different ways. Here are what we feel are the top eight reasons why it makes sense to incorporate matcha, in whatever form ( hyperpr
First-time visitors to Japan are almost always struck by what many might consider to be insanely great levels of customer service. Shopkeepers, taxi drivers, retail establishments, railway personnel, hotels, etc. will invariably treat customers with deep, almost elaborate respect and politeness. Y
I first met Jonathan Braun about 12 years ago while he was playing hauntingly beautiful classical guitar at a friend’s house. Soon afterward I saw some examples of his exquisite finish carpentry and prowess with all things mechanical, including some shockingly beautiful copper handrails that have be
Hardcore matcha drinkers in Quincy, Illinois? The town is on fire with matcha drinkers, and their leader is Michele Wilkerson. Michele is the dynamo behind Grown-n-Gathered, a thriving storefront, yoga studio, and farmers market rolled into one. She has done an astounding job introducing concepts co
The thicker you make matcha, the more intense the inherent flavors and qualities of that tea become. So if you're using truly excellent tea, making it in the ultrathick style can be a sublime experience; there is nothing on earth quite like this warm, viscous, brothy, vegetal concoction. This is es
Can joy be consciously and reliably summoned, almost at will? What if it turned out that feeling joy on a regular basis strengthens the immune system? Would that be a reason to try to cultivate it daily? What if joy also was key to developing healthy relationships with people? Does it boost fortitud
