What inspired two Malaysians to start their own Japanese teahouse, harnessing top-tier tea that has harvested numerous accolades in Japan?
The founders of Chabashira Tea Roastery recall one remarkable moment that touched their hearts - when they sat to sip tea with veteran tea artisans who helm farms in southern Kyoto, 5,000 kilometres from Malaysia.
Those masters, or 'senpai,' were advanced in age, some 90 years old, having cultivated tea their entire lives. They considered themselves a community, not competitors, striving to raise the standards of Japanese tea and bring it to populations beyond their country.
Alan Mark and Pamy Lam returned to Malaysia with that mission in mind.
In December 2021, they opened Chabashira Tea Roastery in Petaling Jaya, after several years of nurturing their own Japanese tea import business in Malaysia, in an exclusive collaboration with Kyotanabe's award-winning Maiko Tea producers.
Chabashira is a profoundly personal, immersive place. Every element tells a singular story, from the weathered umbrella that welcomes customers in front to the gravelled garden with flowing water out back.
The experience of enjoying tea here is rooted in traditional heritage, but it blossoms with a modern perspective.
Chabashira's tea is nuanced, with exquisite subtleties that embrace and embody Japan's centuries-old tea culture, enduring through generations of monks, samurai warriors and everyday people.
This is where tea is savoured slowly, comforting the spirit and calming the soul. But it isn't mired in the past - Chabashira shows how tea is relevant to both young and old, a bridge between classic ceremonial matcha to contemporary houjicha waffles with Manuka honey.
Over the past year, Chabashira has launched its second and third locations in KL's city centre, bringing its offerings to the SEIBU store in The Exchange TRX and Isetan KLCC.
If you're a Japanese tea enthusiast in KL, you've probably met Alan - perhaps years ago when he ran Maiko Tea Cafe, then tucked inside Bangsar's ILOHA Culture Centre.
Alan's perception of Japanese tea has evolved over the past decade, from believing it was too bitter to realising why it's so beloved.
Alan and Pamy, his business partner, have travelled multiple times to Maiko Tea's Kyotonabe farms, participating in each course of how tea is produced and prepared through the seasons.
Alan has even been tutored by Maiko Tea's 88-year-old maestro Yamashita Toshikazu, who has showcased his skills to the late Japanese Emperor and received government awards for his contributions to agriculture.
Born of a collaboration of tea farmers in the 1950s, Maiko Tea takes pride in time-honoured, time-consuming processes that require skill and patience to produce the freshest, finest leaves, cultivated on plateaus of mineral-rich soil with pure spring waters.
The result has earned strong recognition - Yamashita Toshikazu's Gyokuro, the prestigious shade-grown green tea, has won the highest prize in its category seven times in the national tea competition of Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
In a testament to Maiko Tea's trust in Chabashira, Alan and Pamy are Malaysia's exclusive distributors of Maiko Tea's range of tea - setting the stage here for an extraordinary encounter with gyokuro, matcha, houjicha and more.
Chabashira was conceived as a teahouse that's teeming with tales - every piece of furnishing is chosen out of love and care, representing mementos and milestones.
The red umbrella is slightly torn, but that's even better - it illustrates the philosophy of wabi-sabi, the acceptance of imperfection. More importantly, the umbrella was gifted to Alan by his tea sensei, hand-carried into Malaysia. It opens up beautifully to herald the launch of a new business.
The chagama metal kettle epitomises how tea is best boiled, for the sweetest sensation. A framed chasen was the first bamboo whisk that Alan ever bought. And a bride’s wedding kimono is one of the cherished centrepieces of Chabashira, worn by the sister of a renowned Japanese soundtrack composer decades ago.
The aesthetic aim is to evoke Japan as much as possible, transporting the sights, scents and flavours of Kyoto to the Klang Valley. When winter unfolds, Chabashira's zen garden is set to be showered with artificial snow.
Even the name Chabashira is appropriate - in Japan, it refers to an auspicious omen when a tea stalk is seen floating upright in one's cup. It rarely happens, but it's seen a sign of blessings.
That sense of integrity has reaped rewards. Chabashira was featured by a Kyoto newspaper last year, praising its commitment to authenticity - it's as close to a true Japanese teahouse as we can find in Malaysia.
While Chabashira Tea Roastery is best known as a teahouse, its ambitions go beyond that.
The Houji-Chai Latte uniquely weaves Japanese and Indian sensibilities, bringing together houjicha with chai latte. Chabashira's Houjicha RIN, nutty with a mellow, lingering umami, is soothingly spiced with star anise, cinnamon and ginger, infusing new layers of comforting, warm-and-woody South Asian aromatics to an already nicely fragrant beverage.
The Mini Matcha Yuzu Cheesecake needs no introduction for Chabashira's faithful fans - this is popular with nearly everyone who has visited the cafe!
The Matcha Shiratama Zenzai represents one of Japan's most renowned desserts, featuring fully imported shiratama with azuki, accompanied by Chabashira's ceremonial matcha kyo.
Wondrous wagashi: Chabashira's daifuku ice cream is a delight, both delicate and decadent - imported Japanese mochi wrapped around Japanese milk ice cream, enrobed in a choice of lusciously thick, bittersweet ceremonial matcha or houjicha cream.
On hot, humid afternoons, check out the Chabashira Waffle and Matcha Parfait for cool comfort.
Chabashira currently sources entirely from Maiko Tea, but it hopes to bring other hidden gems of Japanese tea to Malaysia, introducing different tea masters and their products, Alan and Pamy have pledged to personally visit each potential source before choosing its tea, vouching for its reputation and taste.
Educational activities are also a cornerstone of Chabashira's future, helping more people immerse themselves in the intricacies of Japanese tea.
Alan and Pamy are both certified tea instructors - they plan to offer barista tea classes that take a minimum of two months and an examination for certification, teaching all the essentials of brewing a cup of tea. Longer courses of three years would include stints of training in Japan.
Chabashira hopes to also offer tours to the Maiko Tea farm, offering rare, exclusive access to a beautiful space where not only tea but tuna and salmon are cultivated. Travellers will meet the senseis, hand-pick tea, and sip the freshest tea, including some that are not publicly sold. Tours for Malaysian cafe owners will be available to Maiko Tea's cafe in Kyoto, with insights on making the most marvellous kakigori and parfait.
For Alan and Pamy, their own tea education hasn't ended.
In the thirst for more knowledge and experience, they've signed up to the Omotesenke school of Japanese tea ceremony, with a 15-generation bloodline of tea masters that can be traced to the 1500s. Soon, they'll receive the equivalent of a Masters degree in tea.
If you're exploring Chabashira for the first time, start with the matcha lattes, well-balanced between bitter and sweet, typically served without sugar.
The Houji-Chai Latte uniquely weaves Japanese and Indian sensibilities, bringing together houjicha with chai latte. Chabashira's Houjicha RIN, nutty with a mellow, lingering umami, is soothingly spiced with star anise, cinnamon and ginger, infusing new layers of comforting, warm-and-woody South Asian aromatics to an already nicely fragrant beverage.
The Infused Houjicha Yuzu Lemon is bold and bright, perfect for Malaysia's perpetual summer. Its shaded tea stems from premium Gyokuro leaves roasted into houjicha, cold-brewed for over 48 hours to elegantly extract a full-bodied, tasty toastiness, uplifted with several different kinds of lemon and yuzu to reinvigorate the palate. The robust Japanese equivalent of an iced lemon tea.
The Strawberry Matcha is a green glow-up: Tangerine sweet matcha, pleasantly perky, bolstered by a rich strawberry fruit mix, as buoyant as a basket of lively, tangy fruits,.
The Strawberry Matcha is a green glow-up: Tangerine sweet matcha, pleasantly perky, bolstered by a rich strawberry fruit mix, as buoyant as a basket of lively, tangy fruits,.
The Mini Matcha Yuzu Cheesecake needs no introduction for Chabashira's faithful fans - this is popular with nearly everyone who has visited the cafe!
The Matcha Shiratama Zenzai represents one of Japan's most renowned desserts, featuring fully imported shiratama with azuki, accompanied by Chabashira's ceremonial matcha kyo.
Wondrous wagashi: Chabashira's daifuku ice cream is a delight, both delicate and decadent - imported Japanese mochi wrapped around Japanese milk ice cream, enrobed in a choice of lusciously thick, bittersweet ceremonial matcha or houjicha cream.
On hot, humid afternoons, check out the Chabashira Waffle and Matcha Parfait for cool comfort.
Chabashira Tea Roastery
129, Jalan 20/7, Taman Paramount, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
129, Jalan 20/7, Taman Paramount, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Seibu, The Exchange TRX, Kuala Lumpur.
KLCC Isetan (C Floor), Kuala Lumpur.
