"Irasshaimase, dozo! (Welcome to the shop. Please have a look around!)" The high-spirited, delightful voice of a tall Frenchman echoes in the Shinjuku branch of Maruyamaen, a long-established Japanese tea shop.
Weugue Florent, 29, a member of the sales staff of the shop located in the basement of Odakyu Ace near the west exit of Shinjuku Station, joined the shop in November after becoming the first French person ever to be certified as a "nihoncha" (Japanese tea) instructor by the Nihoncha Instructor Association in February 2009.
Florent uses his vast knowledge of nihoncha as an instructor to advise customers on precisely which types of tea to choose according to their preferences, making reference to its taste, where it's grown, how it's brewed and so on.