ABOUT US
INTRODUCTION OF MANDARACHA
MANDARACHA™ was created as a tea house, a tea shop and a Japanese culture venue located in the Gion district of Kyoto, a few minutes away from the first Zen temple called KENNIN-JI funded by Zen Master Myōan Eisai who brought tea seeds from Song China in 1195 and promoted tea cultivation in Japan.
We created an atmosphere combining the warmth of Japanese materials such as juraku, bamboo, washi paper, cedar wood, Zen garden with a modern approach. Our raison d’être is to make tea accessible to everyone and to facilitate the introduction of tea culture in our daily lives.
We specialize in providing a selection of teas from all over Japan, from beautiful domains and where tea farmers can fully express their art with humility. You can choose to try all those teas from our menu, together with exclusive desserts all made from plant based ingredients. You can also enjoy innovations such as our AWACHA™ (nitrogen infused teas) and premium Matchas.
Our shop and menu include curated Japanese teas, that were selected after visiting each site and meeting with each producer. You can appreciate a precious tea moment and also experience which tea you like before purchasing.
We also organize events and experiences for small or large groups (6 to 15P)
Our main experiences comprise:
- Japanese Tea discovery
- Sado "The Way of Tea" referred as Japanese Tea Ceremony in English
- Gourmet Tea Paring Experience
- Shamisen and Tea in collaboration with MK from Ethnopunk (non for profit organization)
- Rakugo and Tea in collaboration with Cyril Coppini
Please check our experiences here.
OWNER'S PROFILE:
Alexandre Nicolau founded MANDARACHA in 2019 as his dream project as he wanted to share tea culture and benefits to all. Alexandre is originally from France, where he studied chemistry and engineering. His career led him to work in 30 countries, move from Europe to Singapore in 2005 and finally set residence in Japan in 2011. Specialized in food technology and in Open Innovation, he embraced the immense opportunity to become an ambassador of Japanese culture, promoting Tea, Zen and Tao, all leading to have a good life and discover our true self.
Tea is the oldest and the ultimate connector of souls. It forms one with History, Spirituality, Health, Virtues, Agriculture, Science, Technology, Arts and Communication.
All the staff of MANDARACHA can communicate in Japanese and English.
Some of us can also provide a service in French or Italian.
We look forward to welcoming you in Kyoto!