Matcha Matcha Tea

We are very pleased and proud to announce that Matcha Matcha is now available at www.tokiusa.com! What is Matcha Matcha tea and what makes it so unique from all the other teas that you can find out there?
#1. Of the top 3 green teas on the market-Matcha Matcha ranked NUMBER ONE in taste!
Matcha Matcha tea contains ONLY the best quality tea leaves. The first pick of the harvest from a shade grown environment to avoid the bitter taste from sun-exposed tea leaves! Because of this, there is a higher nutritional content in these younger leaves.

#2. This tea is a powder form-but here is the unique part-
When you drink Matcha Matcha tea, you are NOT drinking steeped tea. You are actually drinking the entire tea leaf! The tea leaf is pulverized into a powder form. That means that you get the best benefits of the entire tea leaf IN AN EASY POWDER FORM! Matcha Matcha Sencha for example has a 1200 ORAC level-that’s 8 times the amount found in typical steeped green tea!

#3. This tea dissolves easily in hot, luke-warm, or even cold water! Not to mention because it dissolves easily in cold water-it’s great for making special alcoholic cocktails and drinks too! And not to stop there, but you can also use it for cooking, desserts, or even as an accent for your favorite dish-or invent one!

Matcha Matcha Tea was well received at the 2009 NYC Fancy Food Show. So we are very excited to have it on our web site for all of our customers! We sell them in a box of 12 single serving packets for $9.99! If you are in the food industry or would like to sell them at your establishment-please feel free to inquire to: customerservice@tokiusa.com. They are very popular at gyms, spas, salons, yoga classes and all over!

So if you’re drinking green tea, especially for the wonderful health benefits, why not drink the entire tea, and not just steeped tea?!
Enjoy!

Special Promotion!

Use Promotion Code:

For $5 off $50 order: promo code:  “5offover50″

For $10 off $100 order: promo code:  “10offover100″

From now until June 23rd, 2009: for orders ONLY at www.tokiusa.com

This offer is NOT valid at any of our retail stores: only through our web site.

How to Make Sushi Rolls!

Chopstick Etiquette

Holding your chopsticks properly:

The lower chopstick should rest at the base of your thumb. Lean it lightly against your ring finger, just a little above the first joint.
The upper stick should sit a little higher above the first joint on the thumb, and rest against your index and middle fingers.

Many people make the mistake of trying to move both sticks at the same time when grabbing foods. But ONLY the top stick should move by moving only the index and middle finger. Ideally your thumb should never move. The thumb and ring finger should be used to keep the lower stick from moving around, and just to keep it steady.

Bad Manners: TABOO
The following is ONLY for traditional Japanese, and other cultures it may not be taboo, but when eating in the presence of Japanese people, it is not well received.

1. Standing Chopsticks: sticking your chopsticks in food is for Buddhist chopsticks and is only permitted as an offering in meals at the bedside of the dead or deceased.
2. Skewering Chopsticks: Impaling food with your chopsticks.
3. Pointing Chopsticks: Do not point especially at people with them.
4. Chopstick to Chopstick: Transferring food from one chopstick directly to someone else’s chopstick. This is only done in a Japanese funeral ritual where they transfer the bone of the dead chopstick to chopstick.
5. Licking Chopsticks: Grabbing bits of foods from the tip of the chopstick with your tongue.
6. Pillaging Chopsticks: Ransacking a dish with your chosptick for only the things you like.
7. Shoveling Chopsticks: Bringing a dish up to your mouth and rapidly devouring the food in gulps. (bringing the dish up to your mouth such as rice is okay, but just not shoveling the food into your mouth is not)
8. Drumming Chopsticks: Tapping your chopsticks on the table or plate.
9. Pulling Chopsticks: Drawing a dish or anything closer to you with your chopsticks.
10. Touching Chopsticks: Putting the hand that is holding your chopsticks in contact with a dish.
11. Waving Chopsticks: Shaking off food that is attached to the tips of your chopsticks.
12. Biting Chopsticks: Holding your chopsticks in your mouth.
13. Crossing Chopsticks: Placing chopsticks in a cross formation at the table. This is another Japanese funeral ritual.
14. Rubbing Chopsticks: It is rude to rub wooden disposable chopsticks together after breaking them apart. This communicates to the host that the user thinks the chopsticks are cheap.

For those that wish to find their right size chopstick
When you make an arrow at a right angle with the thumb and index finger of your dominant hand, the length between your thumb and index finger is called the “hitoata”. Chopsticks that are roughly 1.5 times this length are your “perfect pair”.
Length will depend on the individual’s preference of course, and since it must be balanced with the thickness, you should treat this only as a rough guide. Most chopsticks are an average of 8.5 ~ 9″ length, so again, this is just a guide if you are a fortunate one to be able to get your own personalized chopstick made for you!

See our chopstick line here!

How To Serve Hot Sake

(more…)

Photo Album of our products in use

Here are some photos of our products in use.

Store Fronts

Here are some photos of our store fronts, both old and new.