Shizuoka BlackTea Pride

About Shizuoka BlackTea Pride

Shizuoka BlackTea Pride" is a collaborative project launched in 2023 by eight renowned tea farms specializing in traditional black tea from Shizuoka and TOKYO TEA BLENDERS LLC. This project has received support as part of the Reiwa 5th-year ChaOI Project Promotion Initiative by the Shizuoka Prefecture Tea Promotion Division.

While traditional black tea has gained a certain level of recognition among tea enthusiasts, its potential as a high-quality tea that can be offered for a fee in restaurants and other establishments within Japan has yet to be fully realized. Additionally, with traditional black tea receiving high praise, including winning the title of best in the world at international competitions, we see this as an opportunity to actively promote traditional black tea overseas. The fundamental activities of this project involve producers directly visiting various locations both domestically and internationally, establishing connections through grassroots communication while allowing restaurant owners and overseas tea merchants to taste the tea.

Activity schedule

<Overseas> November 10th (Friday) - 12th (Sunday) London November 14th (Tuesday) - 15th (Wednesday) Paris November 17th (Friday) - 19th (Sunday) Berlin

The Onwers of Masuien, Kaneroku Matsumotoen, and Kamairicha Shibamoto and the Representatives from TOKYO TEA BLENDERS will visit there with a variety of Japanese black tea and green tea. We plan to rent spaces in various locations to hold business meetings, workshops, etc. We appreciate all kinds of your help in local. Please let us know if you can do anything for this tour through Direct Message by SNS.

<Japan Domestic> December 1st Nagoya January 19th (Friday) Osaka February 23rd (Friday) Tokyo

Future plans will be announced on the TOKYO TEA BLENDERS homepage and SNS.

https://www.instagram.com/tokyo_tea_blenders https://twitter.com/teablenders https://www.tokyoteablenders.com/news

About Wakocha

Japanese black tea," or "Wakocha," refers to black tea produced in Japan. After the Meiji Period（ late 19th century), silk and tea became major export products for Japan, crucial for the new government in acquiring foreign currency. In response to the demand from various Western countries, the new government turned its attention to domestic production of black tea. In 1874, Tada Motokichi, a high-ranking official of the former shogunate, was ordered to inspect China and India. Based on the techniques and varieties he brought back, the domestic black tea industry has continued to this day despite various challenges. Japanese tea, with a history of over a thousand years, undergoes continuous variety improvements, with over a hundred varieties, setting it apart significantly from the black tea industries of other countries. Supported by diverse climates and varieties from Akita in the north to Okinawa in the south, Japan's black tea industry can be considered a unique point among tea-producing regions worldwide.

TOKYO TEA BLENDERS LLC

TOKYO TEA BLENDERS LLC was established in 2018, and since 2021, they have been expanding their subscription service called TEA FOLKS, with the theme of "Introducing Japanese Black Tea into Japanese Lifestyle and Sharing it with the World." TEA FOLKS focuses on producers who do not use pesticides and delivers black tea from two tea estates every two months, along with a newsletter and postcards based on interviews with the producers.

As of August 2023, they have introduced a total of 28 varieties of black tea from 14 sessions and 24 tea estates.

The company acts as a representative exhibitor for THE LEAFIES held in London and also works towards the promotion of Japanese black tea and regional black tea as an officer of the Local Black Tea Society. Additionally, they collaborate with the ChaOI Forum, a platform for tea industry professionals in Shizuoka Prefecture, to organize events related to new varieties of green tea and other topics.

Shizuoka BlackTea Pride participating producers (in alphabetical order)

Danoen

Danoen began with its first-generation owner, Goro Takatsuka, on the Makinohara Plateau. Goro, in his pursuit of finding varieties suitable for the Makinohara Plateau, devoted himself to research, at one point cultivating over 50 different varieties. During this time, he was sometimes referred to as a "mediocre farmer" by his friend, a fellow tea farmer. Goro, however, took a liking to this nickname, which eventually became the inspiration for the current name of the tea estate.

Following Goro, the second-generation owner, Takao Takatsuka, took over. Takao shared a love for fragrant tea with his grandfather and father, leading him to transition kettle-roasted tea and black tea, which he had been making as a hobby, into full-fledged products. At Danoen, not only is the cultivation and production process handled, but also the design of the product packaging, which is undertaken by Takao and his wife's daughter. They work together as a family to carry out in-house manufacturing.

Danoen is known for preserving rare varieties that never made it to market during the selection process. It is believed that this preservation of rare varieties is a testament to the diligent research and dedication of the first-generation owner.

Imuraen

Imuraen has been producing tea for over 150 years on the northern edge of the Makinohara Plateau. The area around Imuraen is a former post town of the Edo period called "Ma no Yado Kikugawa," which was part of the key road network established during that time known as the old Tokaido Highway. Many people once traversed this road on their way to Edo (present-day Tokyo).

Originally, this region was known for its thriving production of deep-steamed green tea, and Imuraen is no exception. The tea fields of Imuraen are situated on the slopes of the Makinohara Plateau, experiencing significant temperature variations between morning and evening, with mist forming when it rains. Such a climate is conducive to the growth of tea, especially benefiting teas like Imuraen's deep-steamed and black teas, which place a strong emphasis on fragrance.

One of the representative products of Imuraen, known as "Momoka," is made using the renowned Japanese black tea variety "Benifuki." It maximizes the potential of the variety's aroma while embodying a full-bodied flavor with the characteristic astringency of black tea. This versatile tea is beloved among Japanese black tea enthusiasts for its suitability in various settings.

Kamairicha Shibamoto

Kamairicha Shibamoto is located in Makinohara City, Shizuoka Prefecture, boasting one of the highest rates of sunny days in Japan. It is well-known for producing Kamairicha, which is quite rare in this region known for its thriving production of deep-steamed green tea. Mr. Toshifumi Shibamoto, the third-generation owner of the estate, encountered Kamairicha during his high school years. He conducted visits to tea farmers in Miyazaki and Kumamoto prefectures, where Kamairicha production was flourishing, and honed his skills through live-in training. Upon returning to his estate, Mr. Shibamoto began manufacturing and selling Kamairicha. Gradually, he also started producing oolong tea and black tea.

According to Mr. Shibamoto's philosophy, teas like black tea, which undergo oxidation and fermentation, develop a harmonious blend of taste and aroma through aging. Roasting further refines the tea by removing coarse elements, resulting in a more sophisticatedly fragrant black tea.

Mr. Shibamoto is also known for his unique cultivation method involving goats. Intrigued by pesticide and fertilizer-free cultivation, he conducted research in this field during his student days and confirmed that even with excessive fertilizing, tea plants do not absorb excess nutrients. Therefore, at Kamairicha Shibamoto, they employ a sustainable farming approach that involves not using pesticides or fertilizers. Instead, they let goats consume weeds and utilize their compost to create a cyclical environment within the tea fields.

Kaneroku Matsumoto en

Kaneroku Matsumotoen is a tea estate with a lineage rooted in samurai families who cleared tea fields on the Makinohara Plateau, and they have been involved in the tea industry since the Meiji era. The "Roku" in Kaneroku originates from the "Roku" in the name of the grandfather, Giroku, and in Buddhism, it means "heavenly blessing."

The current owner, Hiroki, studied tea, soil, and fertilizer at university and began farming in 2003. The estate practices the Tea Grass Field Farming method, which has been certified as a World Agricultural Heritage, and has incorporated sustainable tea cultivation from early on.

While previous generations focused on cultivating tea and wholesaling it, Hiroki took on the responsibility of handling sales from his generation onwards. However, feeling the needs of differentiation from other tea estates, Hiroki shifted his focus towards product development. In this process, he was deeply impressed by the distinctive smokiness of the Chinese Zhengshan Xiaozhong tea. Inspired, he attempted to develop an original product, the first of its kind in Japan, featuring smoked tea. Today, in addition to their signature whiskey barrel-smoked tea, Kaneroku Matsumotoen offers a variety of smoked teas using materials like Japanese cypress and cherry wood, exuding a distinctly Japanese essence, and these have gained popularity both domestically and internationally.

Makinohara Yamamotoen

Makinohara was a tea mountain region pioneered by samurai who came from Edo during the late Edo period. The history of Makinohara Yamamotoen is intertwined with these samurai pioneers, as the ancestors of the Yamamoto family served as court physicians for the Tokugawa family for generations. The first generation of the estate, Yoichi Yamamoto, came to Makinohara as one of the elite guards who protected the last shogun of the Tokugawa family, Keiki Tokugawa. Despite the challenges of cultivating this land, he cleared the way for tea fields, leading to the present day.

The current fifth-generation owner, Morihiko Yamamoto, continues the tradition of producing deep-steamed tea that has been passed down through generations. Additionally, he is engaged in the production of black tea and oolong tea. Since starting to produce black tea in 2009, the estate has been creating "Hojicha-scented black tea," which boasts enhanced fragrance. One innovation involves adding agitation during the withering process, and another involves roasting. The addition of agitation enriches the fragrance, while the heat from roasting induces changes in the components within the tea, allowing for the extraction of fruit-like aroma and sweetness.

The black teas produced by the estate, such as the domestic variety "Benifuki" and the Taiwan-originated variety "Akane," crafted using the aforementioned methods, have received numerous awards in domestic competitions.

Mariko Tea

The owner, Niroku Muramatsu, is known as a key figure in the revival of the Japanese black tea industry. Near Muramatsu's childhood home lies the grave of the father of Japanese black tea, Motokichi Tada. Growing up, Muramatsu felt the presence of black tea intimately. Upon graduating from middle school, he immediately entered the world of tea cultivation. While he studied the production of black tea, the liberalization of black tea imports in 1971 led to a halt in domestic black tea production. However, when there was talk of cutting down the tea bushes that Motokichi Tada had brought back from India, Muramatsu, determined to prevent it, decided to once again engage in the production and promotion of Japanese black tea.

After some time, the latest black tea variety "Benifuki" was developed at a tea research institute in Kagoshima. Muramatsu, who was quick to obtain the saplings, became the first private individual to successfully cultivate them. The "Benifuki" produced by Muramatsu is characterized by its robust taste and sweet aroma, akin to black teas from Sri Lanka and India. As the popularity of "Benifuki" grew and the potential of Japanese black tea expanded, Muramatsu became known as a driving force in the industry.

Maruhi Seicha

Maruhi Seicha, led by Mr. Hideyuki Suzuki, traces its origins back to Mr. Hiroshi, the grandfather of the current owner. After the war, Hiroshi built a tea processing factory on the expansive Iwatahara Plateau, where tea fields stretch out. The name that adorned the factory, "Maruhi," became the name of the tea estate itself.

Hideyuki Suzuki had a keen interest in tea with a fragrant aroma, and from around 2013, he began making oolong tea in his own unique way. Later on, feeling that his knowledge and skills had reached a limit, Hideyuki Suzuki made contact with a group of high-quality Japanese black tea producers and underwent training in tea processing techniques in Taiwan and China.

Above all, Hideyuki Suzuki, who had a deep affinity for tea with a strong aroma, put the techniques he learned to use upon returning to Japan, not only in oolong tea production but also in the making of black tea. A distinctive feature of this process is the agitation during withering, carefully determining the extent to which the leaves are bruised as they are mixed. It is through this process that Maruhi Seicha creates its fragrant black tea.

Furthermore, Hideyuki Suzuki is known as a tea ware enthusiast and possesses a large collection. These tea wares, which are chosen not only for their form but also for their soil composition, are said to maximize the potential of the tea leaves during extraction.

Masuien

Masuien, owned and managed by Etsuro Masui, is a tea estate located in a mountainous area in Kawanehon-cho, upstream of the Oi River. It has been a tea estate passed down through generations since the late Edo period. Etsuro Masui, with an unusual background in overseas experiences, acquired knowledge in large-scale agriculture management in both Japan and the United States. In order to put this into practice, he participated in JICA activities and traveled to Senegal. He was greatly inspired by the branding techniques he observed in the former French colony, particularly in relation to wine. Upon returning to Japan, he took over the family's tea business. As Masuien, he focused on single-origin teas, practiced pesticide-free cultivation, and also ventured into black tea production. At the time, there was a lack of resources, and he relied on materials written in old-style characters to pursue black tea production. After much trial and error, he mentioned that the quality finally began to stabilize around the fifth season. Through this process, Etsuro Masui established a "one-person farming" style, where he handles everything from tea leaf picking to production, package design, and sales. Today, he is known as a tea farmer who has been producing Japanese black tea since the early days, and his tea estate is visited by enthusiasts from overseas.