Ryan and Zongjun (Sam) are in discussion with Zach Mangan, founder of Kettl, to discuss 16 years of sourcing Japanese tea. Topics range from how the art of gogumi (tea blending) works, drawing on Zach's conversations with Masayoshi Koyama of Yamamasa Koyamaen, to the history of single estate matcha before the Meiji era, what "Uji" means on a label, and Zach's framework for approaching matcha sensory. They close on how tasting other loose life teas can further contextualize matcha, Zach's advice for new matcha brands, and his desert island tea.

https://kettl.co/products/miyabi-sencha?variant=45770145136890

In this episode, cohosts Ryan and Zongjun (Sam) record from Bangkok the day after Thailand Coffee Fest 2026, where around 40 matcha brands exhibited and the Sanko Usu One had to be pitched from a poster because the mill was stuck in air freight. Topics range from how they explain fresh milling next to a traditional ishi-usu, to Ryan's price survey of over 350 matcha products on the show floor, to why they consider Thailand the most sophisticated matcha consumer market in the world.

https://www.wanderlustea.com/

In this episode, Ryan talks with Lorela Lohan, founder of WanderlusTea, a Brussels-based consultancy for specialty tea businesses in Europe. Lorela has spent five years advising small and mid-sized tea brands on market research, margins, and positioning, has tasted over a hundred matchas in cafes from Amsterdam to Lisbon, and has published more than ninety interviews with tea founders on her site. Topics range from why matcha outran loose leaf tea in Europe, to what consumers actually think about origin and Chinese matcha, to why most new matcha brands look the same and what a new one could do differently.