IPPODO Tea Co., a Kyoto based purveyor of premium Japanese green tea, came to London's So Restaurant from October 11-13 to introduce a series of workshops on their finest teas. IPPODO has an established reputation in Japan, having produced high quality green teas for the past three centuries, and aims to not only sell their premium products but to communicate a fuller appreciation of the charm and allure of Japanese green tea. Including an introduction to green tea for newcomers, a matcha workshop and an ‘IPPODO Tea Time' session, the 90 minute classes taught in either English or Japanese throughout the three days, gave participants a solid foundation in understanding the process of making the perfect cup of green tea.  

The dates and venue have been announced for the third HYPER JAPAN event. HYPER JAPAN 2012 Spring will take place in Brompton Hall, Earls Court, London, on Friday 24 February through Sunday 26 February 2012. Tickets will be released in November and more information on trade entry will be released nearer the event dates, via this newsletter and the Trade Directory site. HYPER JAPAN has shown incredible growth in the past two years, doubling in venue size and attendance between 2010 and 2011. This next event takes HYPER JAPAN to a bigger venue again, and an expanded Eat-Japan section, including the Sushi Awards (information on call for participants here, professional chefs only), the brand new Sake Awards, and cookery demonstrations and workshops, will provide HYPER JAPAN's diverse audience with plenty of opportunity to get hands-on with Japanese food and drink.

The IWC Awards Ceremony was held at the Hilton Park Lane in London on 6 September 2011 for the 2011 Champion Trophy winners of the International Wine Competition (IWC), the world's largest wine and sake competition. The IWC has included a sake category for the past five years, and 468 sake have been submitted to the competition for tasting and evaluation by 206 breweries. The sake are judged by a twenty-strong panel of Japanese and European wine and sake experts. This year, the winner of the Champion Trophy was the Nabeshima Daiginjo by the Fukuchiyo Shuzo in Saga Prefecture. Natsuki Kikuya, Head Sommelier of Roka Restaurant, won the Sake Communicator Award in recognition of her efforts to promote Japanese sake overseas through her bilingual blog natsukipim.com.

Following on from the IWC Awards Ceremony, on Thursday September 8th, the Embassy of Japan welcomed eight representatives from sake breweries throughout Japan to showcase their IWC 2011 winning sakes. Sake from the Tohoku region was also available for tasting, with Natsuki Kikuya on hand to educate and enlighten. President of the Japan Sake Brewers Association Junior Council, Koichi Saura, spoke about the heavy damage suffered by as many as thirty breweries in the March earthquake and tsunami, including his own Urakasumi Sake Brewery in Miyagi. Everybody attending the fully booked event was made aware of the importance of raising the profile of sake here in the UK. Indeed, as Ambassador Hayashi noted in his welcome speech, drinking sake is one of the best ways to contribute to the restructuring of Japan. Thanks to this sake tasting event, many more people will aid the effort.

Anuga, the world´s leading food fair for the retail trade and the food service and catering market , with over 6,500 exhibitors and around 150,000 trade visitors, totaling almost 300,000 m ² of inspiration, ideas and innovations. Japanese exhibitors include JETRO, who will be hosting a Japan Pavilion (Boulevard Hall 023), at which 10 companies and organisations will be showcased including Mizkan and Yamato Soysauce & Miso. Also exhibiting are Kadoya Sesame Mills (2.1 Hall C031), Morinaga Nutritional Foods (10.1 Hall B018), Fujiseiki (7.1 Hall D50a) and Italpo.