Tea Report
Oscar Brekell
JAPAN
In June, Oscar Brekell, a Swedish expat living in Japan, became the first non-Japanese to work for the Japan Tea Export Council to promote Japanese green teas abroad. Interested in Japanese tea and the green tea ceremony since his schooldays in Sweden, he has lived in Japan and has been learning about its teas since 2013, and qualified as a Nihoncha Japanese tea instructor in 2014.
He then moved to Shizuoka, one of Japan’s most important tea producing regions, and studied different management styles of tea estates.
As well as now working for the council, Brekell is also writing a book in English that aims to inform tea drinkers about the subtle differences in the taste of Japanese teas, depending on their region and type.
"A cup of tea has everything in it: taste, relaxation and the culture of hospitality," he said. "I want people from all over the world to know the happiness of finding good teas."