Rooted Things Apothecary

It has been at least a couple decades that I’ve been in Japan during Sakura season. I forgot how beautiful they were. We went to a castle for a light show in Fukui and my daughter was amazed at how many spirits there were there. I guess they were all there enjoying the Sakura tress and the light show.

How do you stay in the tea Mecca of Japan and not learn as much as you can about Japanese tea? Answer is ypu don’t. My daughter and I have been doing an intensive tea class learning about all the different teas that’s produced here, how they are produced, how to brew each one, how to pair and cook with them as well as history and much more. We drink so much tea each time we come out of the class spinning and running to the bathroom.

Butterbur sprouts (fukinotou ) and aralia sprouts (taranome). When I start to see these in the grocery store you know spring has arrived. That’s one thing I love and miss about Japanese grocery stores. It’s very seasonal and you don’t see the same thing all the time. These are both considered the king of spring bitters so I made a miso soup with them to celebrate the spring. Butterbur is being soaked in water because it is way too acrid if you don’t.

Right now where I am in Japan, tsubaki or camellia japonica is flowering everywhere. This plant has many traditional uses and one of its most famous uses that is still alive and well today in the culture is its oil made from the seeds. It is a powerhouse when it comes to protecting the hair and skin from dryness, anti-aging and preventing wrinkles. The flowers are edible and people sometimes make it into tempura but the tea has the ability to cut fat from foods and used for weight management. The beautiful flowers remind us this plant helps us in our all around beauty regimen. It’s no surprise the flower essence is used for confidence. There is a very similar plan called camellia sasanqua that is very hard to tell apart. They are in the same family and used the same way. But that tends to be a winter plant so sometimes you can tell by when the flowers are blooming.