TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 8, 2025--
The Japan Food Product Overseas Promotion Center ( JFOODO ) has been engaging U.S. millennials since 2017. In FY2025, they will hold two Japanese tea workshops in the United States (U.S.) as part of their efforts to promote understanding of the high quality that Japanese tea leaves boast and to further expand the Japanese tea fan community.
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Notable Japanese Tea Varieties Beyond Matcha: Workshops Showcasing the Appeal of Matcha and Roasted Green Tea to be Held in Two U.S. Cities
Notable Japanese Tea Varieties Beyond Matcha: Workshops Showcasing the Appeal of Matcha and Roasted Green Tea to be Held in Two U.S. Cities
Notable Japanese Tea Varieties Beyond Matcha: Workshops Showcasing the Appeal of Matcha and Roasted Green Tea to be Held in Two U.S. Cities
Notable Japanese Tea Varieties Beyond Matcha: Workshops Showcasing the Appeal of Matcha and Roasted Green Tea to be Held in Two U.S. Cities
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251208596856/en/
Japanese tea, a key export item targeted by the Japanese government for its export value goal of 5 trillion yen by 2030, is one of Japan’s representative agricultural, forestry, and fishery products. Demand is growing, driven by factors such as rising health consciousness and increased interest in Japanese cuisine overseas, particularly in the United States. Japan’s global tea exports from January to August 2025 totaled 38 billion yen, already significantly surpassing the 36.3 billion yen recorded last year.
With the growing demand for matcha, this workshop aims to explore the expanding world of Japanese tea. Participants will learn how to utilize matcha according to its quality while also deepening their understanding of the appeal of Japanese tea, which encompasses a wide variety of tea types beyond matcha, including roasted green tea (hojicha), sencha, and gyokuro.
The workshop will offer opportunities to learn about various Japanese teas, including the characteristics of roasted green tea—which has been gaining attention in the U.S. in recent years—and brown rice tea (genmaicha), a traditional Japanese blended tea. Additionally, activities such as matcha preparation demonstrations and tea tasting sessions (Chakabuki) will be conducted. The aim is to boost the fan community by providing opportunities for participants to interact with each other.
The workshop will be held in two cities: Los Angeles and New York. The Los Angeles workshop will feature Zach Mangan, owner of the Japanese tea specialty cafe Kettl, as an instructor. Additionally, talk sessions are scheduled with wellness creator and founder of Frauth Matcha Remy Morimoto Park, as well as Alyssa Antoci, lifestyle creator. The event will be streamed and recorded on Instagram Live; all are welcome to participate.
[Workshop Overview]
Session 1
Location: Los Angeles
Instructor: Zach Mangan
Guests:
Remy Morimoto Park ( @veggiekins ) — Cookbook author, wellness creator and founder of Frauth Matcha
Alyssa Antoci ( @alyssaantoci ) — Lifestyle creator
The workshop will consist of three 30-minute sessions.
Part 1: Learning Session (30 minutes) “Discover Matcha: Learn & Experience Tea Whisking”
Part 2: Japanese Green Tea Real Connection (30 minutes) “Your Matcha Story”
Part 3: Community Circle (30 minutes) “Tasting & Expressing like Chakabuki”
Session 2
Location: New York
Instructor: Zach Mangan
Guest: Sean Considine (among others)
*The in-person participants for the second session will be selected via lottery on Instagram at a later date. Details will be announced on the official account.
[Instagram Live account]
https://www.instagram.com/justteayourself/
The GREEN TEA Room JFOODO PODCAST launches December 8
JFOODO utilizes its official Instagram account to promote Japanese tea in the U.S. market, expanding awareness of Japanese tea’s appeal and broadening its fan base. As of December 1, 2025, the account has grown to 55 thousand followers.
This fiscal year, in response to the growing demand for Japanese tea in the U.S., JFOODO will launch an official podcast channel and begin streaming starting December 8. On the podcast, Remy—who is also a guest at the first workshop—serves as this year’s host. We’ll deliver content where you can enjoy learning about the charm and knowledge of Japanese tea, including visits to tea fields and Japanese tea cafes in Japan, as well as scenes from talk sessions held locally in the U.S.
Official podcast information
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/jfoodogreenteaus/
About JFOODO
The Japan Food Overseas Promotion Center (JFOODO) was established on April 1, 2017, to lead nationwide consumer-facing promotion efforts aimed at branding Japanese agricultural, forestry, and fishery products as well as foods. To further expand exports of Japanese agricultural, forestry, and fishery products and foods, it is essential to stimulate additional demand overseas. JFOODO will stimulate demand by strengthening overseas consumer promotions and contribute to expanding exports of Japan’s agricultural, forestry, and fishery products.
Website: https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/jfoodo/
Notable Japanese Tea Varieties Beyond Matcha: Workshops Showcasing the Appeal of Matcha and Roasted Green Tea to be Held in Two U.S. Cities
Notable Japanese Tea Varieties Beyond Matcha: Workshops Showcasing the Appeal of Matcha and Roasted Green Tea to be Held in Two U.S. Cities
Notable Japanese Tea Varieties Beyond Matcha: Workshops Showcasing the Appeal of Matcha and Roasted Green Tea to be Held in Two U.S. Cities
Notable Japanese Tea Varieties Beyond Matcha: Workshops Showcasing the Appeal of Matcha and Roasted Green Tea to be Held in Two U.S. Cities
ROME (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reaffimed his firm refusal to cede any territory, resisting U.S. pressure for a painful compromise with Russia as he continued to rally European support for Ukraine.
“Undoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories. We, clearly, don’t want to give up anything. That’s what we are fighting for," Zelenskyy said in a WhatsApp chat late Monday in which he answered reporters' questions.
“Do we consider ceding any territories? According to the law we don’t have such right. According to Ukraine’s law, our constitution, international law, and to be frank, we don’t have a moral right either."
The Ukrainian president met early Tuesday with Pope Leo XIV at Castel Gandolfo, a papal residence outside Rome, and is to have talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni later. The Vatican said that Leo “reiterated the need for the continuation of dialogue and expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace.”
The Holy See has tried to remain neutral in the war while offering solidarity and assistance to what it calls the “martyred” people of Ukraine. Leo has met now three times with Zelenskyy and has spoken by telephone at least once with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The American pope has called for a ceasefire and urged Russia in particular to make gestures to promote peace.
On Monday, Zelenskyy held talks in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to strengthen Ukraine’s hand amid mounting impatience from U.S. President Donald Trump.
U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks on Saturday aimed at trying to narrow differences on the U.S. administration’s peace proposal.
A major sticking point in the plan is the suggestion that Kyiv must cede control of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine to Russia, which illegally occupies most but not all of the territory. Ukraine and its European allies have firmly resisted the idea of handing over land.
In an exchange with reporters on Sunday night, Trump appeared frustrated with Zelenskyy, claiming the Ukrainian leader “hasn’t yet read the proposal.”
Trump has had a hot-and-cold relationship with Zelenskyy since winning a second term, insisting the war was a waste of U.S. taxpayers’ money. Trump has also repeatedly urged the Ukrainians to cede land to Russia to end the nearly four-year conflict.
Zelenskyy said Monday that Trump “certainly wants to end the war. ... Surely, he has his own vision. We live here, from within we see details and nuances, we perceive everything much deeper, because this is our motherland.”
He said the current U.S. peace plan differs from earlier versions in that it now has 20 points, down from 28, after he said some “obvious anti-Ukrainian points were removed.”
Starmer, Macron and Merz strongly backed Kyiv, with the U.K. leader saying Monday that the push for peace was at a “critical stage,” and stressed the need for “a just and lasting ceasefire.”
Merz, meanwhile, said he was “skeptical” about some details in documents released by the U.S. “We have to talk about it. That’s why we are here,” he said. “The coming days … could be a decisive time for all of us.”
European leaders are working to ensure that any ceasefire is backed by solid security guarantees both from Europe and the U.S. to deter Russia from attacking again. Trump has not given explicit guarantees in public.
Zelenskyy and his European allies have repeatedly accused Putin of slow-walking the talks to press ahead with the invasion as his forces are making slow buy steady gains while waves of missiles and drones are pummeling Ukrainian infrastructure.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia fired 110 drones of various types across the country last night. They said air defenses neutralized 84 drones, 24 more have struck their targets.
Several regions of Ukraine faced emergency blackouts Tuesday due to Russia’s prior attacks on energy infrastructure, according to Ukraine’s national energy operator, Ukrenergo.
Ukraine, in its turn, continued its drone attacks on Russia.
Russian air defenses destroyed 121 Ukrainian drones overnight above various Russian regions and occupied Crimea, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday. In Chuvashia, a region about 900 kilometers (about 560 miles) northeast of the border with Ukraine, the attack damaged residential buildings and injured nine people, local governor Oleg Nikolayev said in an online statement.
Ukraine’s Security Service carried out a drone attack on an LPG terminal at the port of Temryuk in Russia’s Krasnodar region on Dec. 5, according to an official with knowledge of the operation who spoke to The Associated Press.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said the strike sparked a large fire at the facility. More than 20 LPG storage tanks were set ablaze and burned for more than three days, he said. The attack also damaged railway tank cars, an intermediate refueling tank, and a loading and unloading rack.
Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, walks past Swiss guards as he arrives to meet with Pope Leo XIV in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, walks past Swiss guards as he arrives to meet with Pope Leo XIV in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, walks past Swiss guards as he arrives to meet with Pope Leo XIV in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, arrives to meet with Pope Leo XIV in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Pope Leo XIV wave to journalists during their meeting in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron at 10 Downing Street, in London, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (Toby Melville/Pool Photo via AP)
