SoraNews24 —Japan News—

They’ll butcher the spelling of your name, and their drinks might not be especially good for you, but Japanese Starbucks employees have got your back…and your front.

Japan
(act of kindness • coffee • embarrassing • Starbucks • tea)

The Assassin’s Teapot will either kill your enemies or mellow out a sharp batch of Earl Grey

Master Blaster
Feb 17, 2016

This ornate teapot holds a dark secret—using it, you can either amaze your guests with excellent service, or murder them. Whichever floats your boat.

China, Internet
(assassin's teapot • Grand Illusions • magic • tea • teapot • video)

Enjoy fine Japanese tea selections and more at Bangkok’s best new teahouse

Jamie Koide
Jan 11, 2016

Peace Oriental Teahouse offers a serene environment to enjoy some of the best teas from Japan, China, and Taiwan.

SE Asia
(Bangkok • Confucius Peace Prize • green tea • oolong tea • places • tea • tea ceremony • Thailand)

Video of cute Japanese cat drinking “green tea” is so classy it has us minding our table manners

Casey Baseel
Dec 22, 2015

No drinking out of the toilet for this classy cat.

Japan
(cats • cute • funny • green tea • pets • tea • video)

Matcha green tea potato chips coming soon to make snack time in Japan cultured and delicious

Casey Baseel
Oct 20, 2015

Potato chips and matcha green tea seem like the opposite endpoints of the refreshment spectrum. Matcha is a refined, high-class drink meant to be sipped and savored in a quiet moment, whereas potato chips are often most enjoyable when scarfed down by the handful while watching sports or playing video games.

But sometimes the best way to find balance in life is with contrasting extremes, like the matcha potato chips that are about to go on sale in Japan.

Japan
(food • green tea • matcha • potato chips • snacks • tea)

Kirin tea drinks now available in adorable and artistic mix and match Disney labels!

Kay
Oct 19, 2015

Step into a convenience store in Japan, and you’ll find no shortage of tea drinks—and not just Japanese green tea either. You’ll have a wide variety to choose from, including oolong tea, barley tea, jasmine tea and English-style straight, lemon or milk tea. And one of the most well-known tea drinks in Japan has to be the Gogo no Kocha (Afternoon Tea) line of products from major beverage manufacturer Kirin.

Well, the folks at Kirin have apparently decided to make their popular “Gogo-tea” drinks, as they’re sometimes called in Japan, into something artistic and playful as well. It’s the “Disney Design Label” line of their Gogo no Kocha drinks, and with these, you’ll actually be able to mix, match and play with the bottles!

Japan
(Disney • drinks • Kirin • tea)

Ever wanted to drink a busty anime girl’s sweat? These tea bags can make that dream come true

Casey Baseel
Oct 16, 2015

Sipping a hot cup of tea can be an enjoyable way to relax and put your brain on auto-pilot for a few minutes. Waiting for your tea bag to steep, though, can be downright dull. Sitting there, staring at the bag’s string and tab, you might find yourself wishing for a view, and if your preferred view is a pair of large anime breasts, this Japanese company would be happy to oblige.

Japan
(anime • drinks • manga • otaku • tea)

Suntory comes out with sweet Lipton tea drink for Halloween — the Pumpkin Tea Latte!

Kay
Oct 10, 2015

With Halloween just around the corner, we seem to be virtually surrounded by pumpkins here in Japan. Not surprisingly, in addition to the usual pumpkin ornaments and decorations on display, we’re seeing a sudden increase in pumpkin flavored foods and sweets as well.

Japan has gotten into the Halloween spirit to such an extent this year that you can buy limited edition pumpkin-flavored tea in a bottle at supermarkets and convenience stores. And when a beverage involves not only pumpkin but tea from Lipton and a cute Halloween label to boot, well, let’s just say it gives us a lot to be happy about!

Japan
(drinks • halloween • Lipton • pumpkin • Suntory • tea)

Japan’s finest green tea, now available in bottled form at an eye-popping price

Casey Baseel
Oct 9, 2015

Japan may have invented the tea ceremony, but that doesn’t mean that every occasion to drink the beverage is considered a solemn cultural experience. Modern residents of Japan don’t generally have the time for a highly ritualized brewing and sipping of a cup of tea, and are instead far more likely to satisfy their cravings with an inexpensive bottle of green tea bought from a vending machine or convenience store.

But swinging the pendulum back the other way is beverage company Ito En, which is releasing a super-premium bottled green tea made with Japan’s highest quality leaves, and an eye-popping price to match.

Japan
(drinks • green tea • gyokuro • Ito En • tea)

Sweet and fruity taste of autumn comes to Starbucks Japan — we try the new Fruit Crush drinks!

Kay
Oct 5, 2015

Starbucks never ceases to delight us with their tempting seasonal creations, and here in Japan they’ve done it again this autumn with two new beverages that they released on October 1, the “Fruit Crush & Tea” and “Fruit Crush & Cream Frappuccino“. Both are fruit infused tea-based drinks that should be prefectly relaxing as the weather gets cooler heading into fall. Naturally, we had to try these, and we sent one of our Japanese reporters to a Starbucks the day the drinks were released!

Japan
(autumn • Frappuccino • fruit • Starbucks • tea)

This compilation of teas from around the world is making us thirsty! 【Video】

Meg Murphy
Oct 4, 2015

While coffee may be the world’s favorite caffeinated beverage, tea has a much longer history, and is still deeply ingrained in many cultures. How people in each country take their tea is as varied is the types of tea available, and even personal preferences within each country.

Whether you like your tea black, green, white, hot, iced, served straight or with yak butter, take a look at this video compilation of teas around the world and see how many you have tried!

Global
(BuzzFeed • drinks • matcha • tea • video)

Enjoy afternoon tea like an anime star with the Sailor Moon cup and saucer set from Noritake

Oona McGee
Sep 19, 2015

When it comes to celebrating their 20th anniversary, Sailor Moon girls don’t go out on the town, swigging from a cheap bottle of Brut, yelling “It’s my birf-daaaaay” to passers-by on the street.

This is a group of soldiers who choose to stay home instead, holding tea parties with their nearest and dearest, using only the finest Japanese tableware on the market, Noritake.

Now you can sip tea like a sailor warrior too, with this gorgeous new teacup and saucer set, which blends fine porcelain details with cute motifs from the hit series.

Japan
(afternoon tea • anime • manga • Noritake • Premium Bandai • Sailor Moon • tea)

Does the new Space Tea from Japan’s Village Vanguard actually taste like space?【Taste Test】

Preston Phro
Sep 16, 2015

Village Vanguard is one of Japan’s more unique stores, selling everything from inappropriate T-shirts to Attack on Titan curry to more inappropriate T-shirts to whatever this is. Some of the food products they stock sit squarely on the border between delicious and “gag gift,” but perhaps the most intriguing of those items is the new Space Tea.

But does it really taste like space? Naturally, we were skeptical…but also curious enough to run out and buy a can. So, come along with us on a journey into the depths of spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!

Japan
(drinks • Space Tea • taste test • tea • Village Vanguard)

Our English writer rates 15 teas from Japanese conbini, is fully hydrated for the rest of summer

Meg Murphy
Aug 30, 2015

Walk in to any Japanese convenience store, and you’re bound to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choices at your fingertips. Even taking a stroll through the drink aisle will leave you open-mouthed as you stare at the myriad interesting flavors and varieties to be tried.

Of course there’s green tea, barley tea, roasted tea and more, but how do Japan’s black and flavoured teas measure up? We decided we needed an expert’s opinion, so we turned to one of our English writers for help. With a sampling of 15 different teas, we put our parched taste-tester to work.

Europe, Japan
(conbini • food & drink • ranking • taste test • tea)

Rules of tea, business cards, and bowing – 10 Japanese business manners young people are tired of

Casey Baseel
Aug 8, 2015

The corporate culture at RocketNews24 is pretty casual, but before I joined the team I spent several years working in the service and hospitality sectors. As a country that takes both work and etiquette very seriously, it’s probably not a surprise that Japanese business etiquette has a detailed code of proper conduct, all in an effort to foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and smooth cooperation.

Still, even for some people born and raised in Japan, the list of dos and don’ts can feel a little too long, and those who’d rather not have to stand on ceremony compiled a list of their own of the top 10 Japanese business manners young adults could do without.

Japan
(business • culture • manners • tea)

Japan’s barley soda is so weird in so many ways, yet so right in one 【Taste test】

Casey Baseel
Jul 16, 2015

So this morning, my boss asked me if I wanted to do a taste test of a new drink that just went on sale in Japan. I figured this was a pretty sweet assignment to snag for the day, and not just because at that same moment my boss was having some of the other RocketNews24 writers strip down to their underwear and pose for pictures as part of another project, which I would then have an excuse to sidestep.

See, the taste test was of a new carbonated barley-based beverage, and since beer is one of the wells I go to as a writer, I assumed my boss was talking about the world’s most popular alcoholic beverage. But nope, it turns out that there’s now barley soda in Japan, so I was off to the store to try some of this drink that’s devoid of alcohol but surprisingly full of mystery.