Black tea made in Japan is called wakocha. In November 2023, three tea farmers who are famous for their wakocha and green teas and TOKYO TEA BLENDERS LLC, a wakocha company, will travel to three European countries to meet with tea merchants, restaurant owners, and local tea lovers.
This tour is part of the Shizuoka BlackTea Pride project, which received funding from the Shizuoka Prefecture Tea Promotion Division.
●Wakocha Grand Tour destinations
We're on a mission to share the wonders of Wakocha with as many tea enthusiasts as possible. Beyond the listed slots, we're eager to visit your shop or restaurant and introduce our tea. Don't hesitate to reach out to us at wakocha-grand-tour@googlegroups.com if you'd like us to pay you a visit.
For real-time updates, follow us on Instagram and stay in the loop: Instagram: @tokyo_tea_blenders
London: November 10th (Fri) - 12th (Sun)
November 10th (Fri) - Morning We're preparing a tea-tasting event near Piccadilly Circus. Please note that we won't be selling tea here. Only confirmed attendees will receive the event's address. Please reserve your slot here.
This slot is alread colosed.
November 11th (Sat) - Morning Another tea-tasting event is in the works near Piccadilly Circus. Tea sales won't be available here. Only confirmed attendees will receive the event's address. Please reserve your slot here.
November 11th (Sat) - 14:00 - 16:30 We'll be hosting a tea-tasting and tea sales event at the Library in Japan House, Kensington. The address is 101-111 Kensington High St, London W8 5SA. Please reserve your slot here.
November 12th (Sun) - 10:30 - 12:30 Return to the Holborn House Community Centre's Green Room for more tea tasting and tea sales. The address remains 35 Emerald St, London WC1N 3QW. It's a brief 10-minute walk from Holborn station. Entry slots are available every hour. Please reserve your slot here.
Paris: November 14th (Tue) - 15th (Wed)
In Paris, we don't have specific locations for tea tasting. We plan to visit restaurants and tea merchants. If you're interested in meeting us, please don't hesitate to get in touch at wakocha-grand-tour@googlegroups.com .
Berlin: November 17th (Fri) - 19th (Sun)
We're excited to participate in the Berlin Tea Festival:
November 17th (Fri): Three tea farmers will attend the Berlin Tea Conference.
November 18th (Sat): Unfortunately, the booths at the Berlin Tea Festival are already fully booked, so we won't have a booth. However, we'll be offering workshops in the Main event of Berlin Tea Festival starting from 13:00 to 14:00 on Saturaday, and if you'd like to meet us during the festival on November 17th or 18th, please get in touch with us at wakocha-grand-tour@googlegroups.com .
November 19th (Sun): A free tasting event will be held at Japanese Bar Shizuku, located at Hasenheide 16, 10967 Berlin, near Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche Berlin-Kreuzberg, the main venue of the Berlin Tea Festival, from 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM. As the number of participants at the venue is limited, please apply for the slots prepared for each hour. Please reserve your slot here.
Due to space constraints, reservations are required for the event in London and November 19th event in Berlin, so please reserve your slot from our website here.
We are working out the details step by step, we will contact you via the email address you provided when applying for the ticket. When securing tickets, please be sure to enter your email address and other information accurately. We also welcome people who can provide on-site support or lend us their space.
If you have any questions about the event or would like to reserve tea in advance, please contact us here.
●Those who can participate
People interested in tea wholesale, such as tea stores, traders, supermarkets, and restaurant personnel
Consumers as tea lovers are also welcome, but please understand that priority will be given to the people listed above.
●Admission fee
Free
●What you can experience
・Taste black and green tea from each tea farm while listening to explanations of tea production from three famous tea farmers visiting the site.
・Tasting of various varieties of tea from over 20 tea farms handled by TOKYO TEA BLENDERS
・Matcha tasting by Urasenke tea ceremony master
・Purchase your favorite tea leaves (approximately 20g package each)
There is a limit to the amount of tea leaves that can be brought to the site. If you have any desired tea leaves in advance, please contact us so we can reserve them for you.
●Tea farmers in Shizuoka visited on site
Masuien : Etsuro Masui
Kaneroku Matsumotoen : Hiroki Matsumoto
Kamairicha Shibamoto : Toshifumi Shibamoto
●Tea gardens and varieties handled by TOKYO TEA BLENDERS
<Tea garden>・<Location>・<Variety>
Mariko Tea・Shizuoka・ Benifuki
Hinohara Tea・Tokyo・native
Masuien, Shizuoka・ GABA black tea・Kahori
Ocha no Kajihara・Kumamoto・Koshun, Izumi, Benifuki
Iwanaga Tea Garden・Kumamoto・Iwanaga No. 1, Kawatsuru
Kaneroku Matsumotoen・Shizuoka・Smoked black tea (whiskey barrel)
Saito Chaen・Shizuoka・Karabeni, Yume Wakaba
Gokase Midori Seicha・Miyazaki・Roasting Yamanami
Miyazaki Sabo・Miyazaki・Takachiho
Kamairicha Shibamoto・Shizuoka・Kamabeni
Tsukigase Organic Tea Farm・Nara・Yabukita
Nakakubo Seichaen・Kyoto・Benifuki, Sae Akari
Kyoto Wazuka Tea Kijyu・Kyoto・Miki
Kai Seichaen・Miyazaki・Sayaka Minami
Isshin en・Miyazaki・Takachiho
Nejime Saryo・Kagoshima・Benihikari
Tsuruda Seicha・Kagoshima・Indo
Maruhi Seicha・Shizuoka・Koshun
Amano Tea Garden・Kumamoto・Unkai
Ikumi Village・Shizuoka・Karabeni
Danoen・Shizuoka・Kurasawa
--
日本で作られた紅茶のことを和紅茶と呼びます。和紅茶及び緑茶で著名な3人の茶農家と和紅茶の取扱い事業者であるTOKYO TEA BLENDERS LLCが2023年11月に欧州3か国を巡り、茶商、レストランオーナー及び現地のお茶愛好家と交流を深めます。スペースの都合上、予約制としますので各国のサイトからチケットを取得ください。
この施策は静岡県お茶振興課の助成を受けたShizuoka BlackTea Prideの事業の一環です。
●グランドツアー訪問先
ロンドン・The British Museum近くのレンタルスペース
11月10日～12日
パリ・シェアスペース調整中
11月14日・15日
ベルリン・Berlin Tea Festivalに合わせた近隣スペース
11月17日～18日
現時点で確定できていないことが多いため、決定次第ご連絡差し上げます。チケット確保の際はemailアドレスなどを正確に記入をお願い致します。現地でのサポート、スペースをお貸し頂ける方も歓迎致します。
●ご参加頂ける方
お茶販売店、スーパー、レストラン関係者など、お茶の卸売に興味がある方
一般のお茶愛好家の方も歓迎ですが、上記の方々が優先になる旨、ご理解願います
●参加費
無料
●現地で体験できること
・現地来訪する3人の著名茶農家から、お茶の生産の説明を聞きながらそれぞれの茶園の紅茶/緑茶をテイスティング
・TOKYO TEA BLENDERSが取り扱う20茶園以上の様々な品種のお茶のテイスティング
・裏千家茶道師範による抹茶のテイスティング
・気に入った茶葉の購入（20g程度のパッケージ）
現地に持ち込める茶葉量に限りがあります。あらかじめご希望の茶葉がありましたらお取り置きしますのでご連絡願います。
●現地訪問する静岡の茶農家
益井園 益井悦郎
カネロク松本園 松本浩毅
釜炒り茶柴本 柴本俊史
●TOKYO TEA BLENDERSのこれまでの取扱い茶園、品種
＜茶園＞・＜産地＞・＜品種＞
丸子紅茶・静岡・べにふうき
ひのはら紅茶・東京・在来
益井園・静岡・GABA紅茶、かほり
お茶のカジハラ・熊本・香駿、いずみ、べにふうき
岩永製茶園・熊本・岩永一号、川鶴
カネロク松本園・静岡・燻製紅茶（ウィスキー樽）
斉藤茶園・静岡・からべに、ゆめわかば
五ヶ瀬緑製茶・宮崎・焙煎やまなみ
宮﨑茶房・宮崎・たかちほ
釜炒り茶柴本・静岡・釜紅
月ヶ瀬健康茶園・奈良・やぶきた
中窪製茶園・京都・べにふうき、さえあかり
和束紅茶・京都・みき
甲斐製茶園・宮崎・みなみさやか
一心園・宮崎・たかちほ
ねじめ茶寮・鹿児島・べにひかり
鶴田製茶・鹿児島・いんど
マルヒ製茶・静岡・香駿
天の製茶園・熊本・うんかい
いくみ村・静岡・からべに
駄農園・静岡・くらさわ