Matcha, and more specifically, matcha cookies, have been traveling through cyberspace and uniting people around the world. All starting with a common recipe, and a goal to make something special for friends and family.
I posted the recipe for our green tea (a.k.a. matcha) tea sweets last June, and since then I have been watching […]

My friend Karen recently brought me a box of cake mix from Muji in Hong Kong. It was a chocolate cherry mix with green tea swirl, complete with cake pan, cherry cake mix, matcha powder and my favorite part - packaging.

The box includes little plastic bags and ties, along with instructions of how you […]

Time Out New York has nominated Amai for Best New Tea House in New York City. I’m really honored. Amai has always been about enjoying tea (and something sweet along with it) and we enjoy sharing our collection with everyone from tea novice to enthusiast. If you have a moment and would like to vote, […]

I am so tired that I can barely keep my eyes open long enough to write this post, but I wanted to share with everyone how our first day went. I will let the pictures do the talking. All I can say was it was wonderful. Our friends and family came by and the people […]

I have been avoiding e-mail, phone calls and even in-person visits because I know the question I will be asked is, “When are you opening?” I have wanted to know the answer to this myself for many months, but I haven’t been able to predict it because of so many unknown variables. Things are finally […]

We have been working 20 hours a day to get the store ready, and it’s almost done. I wanted to post more about the experience, but every time I come home I’m so tired I go straight to sleep, or I take time to talk to Andrew about something other than cookies. So many post-worthy […]

Amai rents a space at the Artisan Baking Center in Long Island City to do our baking. It has been a wonderful way to get up and running quickly without having to sign a long term lease or invest in commercial equipment before we were ready. The Artisan Baking Center (also known as Mi Kitchen […]

One dessert bar is down for the count. It looks like Will Goldfarb’s Room 4 Dessert has been closed as a result of “ownership issues”. It seems like Goldfarb and his financial backers no longer agree, and they couldn’t come to an agreement that would keep Goldfarb as Pastry Chef at the current location. This […]

My friends and family always ask how the store is coming along, and I never really know how to answer. We’re in the middle of construction, and I know we’re making progress, but it feels like it is taking an eternity to see any real change. Even though we signed the lease on April 1, […]

Trying to open a retail store while running a wholesale operation is enough to make any baker crazy, but when you combine it with my perfectionist personality it is a recipe for a melt down. I am completely overwhelmed, and all of this stress has torn my mind and body apart. I had the flu […]