Interview with Nio Teas

Are you interested in Japanese Green Tea, but not exactly sure where to start? Unsure of your preferences? The company Nio, through their offers of sampler packs, subscriptions, tea ware, and a large array of tea types, could be the solution to your problem! Nio Tea is dedicated to sharing their appreciation of Japanese Tea with people across the world and once you try their products, I’m sure you’ll understand why. Still not convinced? Let’s learn a little bit more about them.

Hi! Thank you for taking the time to answer a few of our questions about Nio, we are really looking forward to getting to know you better 🙂 To begin, can you tell me a little bit about who you are and what your role in the company is?

My name is Oliver Staerkle and I am the founder of Nio Teas.

Nio Teas

Can you explain Nio’s mission and what sets it apart from other tea distributors?

At Nio Teas, we pride ourselves in taking the time to build personal relationships with the farmers and producers we work with. We visit them in person to tour the fields, taste the teas and sit down with the farmers and their families. We make sure that the teas are not only delicious, but also that they are produced without pesticides or chemicals.

We also put an emphasis on transparency. Rather than keeping the farmers we work with as a secret, we put them into the spotlight, so everyone can know where their tea comes from. We also do this to shed some light on all the hard work and ingenuity that goes into making some of the world’s best teas.

Nio Teas

Who is Nio’s target customer?

Our customers are curious and passionate about the world of tea. They not only enjoy high quality Japanese tea, but they also enjoy learning about where it comes from, how is tea made and the unique story behind each one.

– Is there any advice or insight you would give to people who are interested in tea but not quite sure where to start? What do you think makes Japanese tea so special?

Japanese green teas are immediately recognizable for their powerful tea color and flavor. This flavor is perfected during the careful tea harvesting production process. Through the shading of the tea plants and the steaming of the harvested leaves, Japanese green teas take on a flavor you won’t find anywhere else!

If you’re wondering where to get started in the world of tea, my advice is to just dive in with whatever you have. As much as we like to talk about the benefits of certain styles of tea and teaware, nothing is stopping you from experimenting with different types of teas. All you need is a cup, a strainer and some leaves.

That being said, we do our best to make tea more accessible to people all around the world. With our educational videos, sampler packs and free worldwide shipping, we have brought thousands of people to tea, many of whom had never considered themselves to be tea drinkers. Some I would recommend to start with are of course the sampler packs but also the Hojicha, the Bancha and the Genmaicha.

Nio Teas

Going off of that, among the array of products that Nio offers, do you have a particular favorite that you would recommend to a friend?

My favorite tea is sencha – at the moment an asatsuyu sencha from Mr. Kawaji. I love the taste of the light freshness and edamame flavor and its stronger sweetness bringing it close to a Gyokuro tea while still having the typical Sencha characteristics.

Mr. Kawaji is a really talented farmer in southern Japan who specializes in these “deep steamed teas”. Through a longer steaming process, a farmer is really able to bring out these steamed vegetable characteristics of the tea while reducing the bitterness.

Finally, I’d like to finish with a question that we like to ask in all our interviews — what is your favorite way to enjoy a cup of tea? More specifically, is there any food you like to pair with your tea?

I like to enjoy my cup of tea in the morning, before any distractions have had the chance to pop up. For me, tea is beautiful in its simplicity and it is wonderful that something as simple as leaves and water have the ability to create moments of peace, joy and contemplation.

As far as food pairings go it is much more rare but I do enjoy eating some daifuku mochi alongside a bowl of matcha tea every once and awhile. This is a nice way for me to reminisce about my trips to Japan, and also something I can share with friends.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions! At Arigato Travel, we value the importance of being a platform upon which companies can share their missions and insights firsthand. Through interviews like this one, we aim to help others better understand and appreciate the nuances of Japanese culture!

Nio Teas