The world is paying close attention to the secrets of Minamata Wakocha

Minamata Japanese Black Tea Four Heavenly Kings

Tea has been grown in the Ashikita and Minamata regions for a long time. A wide variety of tea varieties are grown here, from areas close to the sea to areas deep in the mountains where morning mists are seen. While many tea trees are propagated by cuttings from the same tree, this region has many native varieties grown from seeds. Another characteristic is that many farmers here try to avoid using pesticides and fertilizers as much as possible, as this is an area that has experienced pollution.

While there are already established brands of Kyushu teas such as Yame tea and Ureshino tea, the production of Wakocha tea was started with the aim of making Minamata tea more well known. In 2016, the Minamata Wakocha Executive Committee was established, and in 2017, the National Regional Black Tea Summit was held in Minamata. The four tea farms active in the Minamata Wakocha Executive Committee have teamed up to promote the brand as the Four Heavenly Kings of Minamata Wakocha tea. In recent years, Minamata tea has won numerous prestigious awards, including "The Leafies" and the "Domestic Black Tea Grand Prix" in the UK, the home of tea, and has been attracting attention.

Sakaguchien Tea

Sakaguchien Tea was founded 95 years ago in 1929. Located in the mountains near Yunotsuru Onsen, the third generation is currently growing tea. May is the peak season for spring picking, and to ensure the tea withers evenly, it is mixed every two hours, and when it is at its best, it is rolled. The time when work can be done varies depending on the condition of the tea leaves, so sometimes work has to continue all night.

Sakaguchien's Harube won first place in the "Japan Black Tea Grand Prix" and won the gold medal for two consecutive years at the Japanese tea selection paris, a Japanese tea competition held in Paris. Harube is a full-leaf type tea made from each leaf as is, and uses a variety called Benifuuki, which is suitable for black tea. The withering process, which involves slowly removing moisture from the veins, takes time with full-leaf tea, but by doing it slowly and carefully, it becomes a soft black tea with less bitterness. The same Benifuuki tea as Harubeni is available in Natsubeni and Akibeni varieties for each harvest season. Since it is grown without pesticides, insects may come in during the summer, but the tea plant's own defense instinct allows the leaves to grow strong. Just like the terroir of wine, various natural factors that create black tea overlap, and even the same tree can have completely different flavors depending on the harvest season.

The tea was made on the spot. Boiling water is poured over 10g of tea leaves, and after about 2 minutes, it is poured into a teacup. It seems that teacups are best suited for drinking black tea, and the way the aroma comes out is different. Black tea is generally only brewed once, but like green tea, it can be enjoyed brewed two or even three times. Green tea loses flavor over time, but black tea is made by fermenting tea leaves, so it is said that good black tea is still delicious even after 10 years. It seems that spring-picked black tea harvested in May this year tastes different from freshly made tea by October.

Sakaguchi served as chairman of the Minamata Wakocha Executive Committee for eight years after its inception. In addition to selling the tea he made himself, he held sales events and study sessions to promote the branding of Minamata Wakocha, and worked hard in cooperation with other tea farms. Mont Blanc Fujiya, a Western-style pastry shop in Minamata City, sells green tea canelés, puddings, cream buns, and other products made in collaboration with Sakaguchi-en.

Spot information (as of June 2024) Spot name Sakaguchien Tea Phone number 0966-68-0620 Official website Sakaguchien Tea (official) Instagram @guchisakakazuno

Sakaguchien Tea (official site)

Heavenly Tea Garden

Tennoseichaen is located on the border with Kagoshima prefecture, and tea is grown on land that is 630 meters above sea level at its highest point. On a clear day, you can even see Mount Kirishima in Kagoshima and Mount Fugen in Nagasaki. On the vast 10-hectare site, about 20 varieties of tea trees are grown, and the trees planted when the land was first developed are soon to be 100 years old. Fertilization enhances the flavor of green tea, but fertilizer-free cultivation is more suitable for black tea, which is known for its clear flavor, and all of the tea trees at Tennoseichaen are grown without pesticides or fertilizers.

Starting in mid-April, the vast fields are harvested over a period of more than a month. The picked tea leaves are stirred by hand every hour and left to dehydrate overnight. Taking the time allows the moisture to be removed without breaking down the leaf tissue. Spring-picked Japanese black tea, known as the first flush, has a good aroma and is perfect for drinking straight. It has a savory flavor, similar to green tea.

Rare creatures live in the forests right next to the tea fields, and it seems that you can sometimes encounter animals in the fields. Wanting to incorporate the characteristics of this land into the tea, they created original blended teas such as Sansho Nikke Black Tea and Ten no Kinmokusei Black Tea. All of the ingredients used to add aromas that cannot be expressed by black tea alone are harvested from the surrounding mountains.

Launched in 2020, "Forest, Seeds and Tea" is Tennoseichaen's own brand, which is based on the concept of forest regeneration by sowing seeds, creating forests, and drinking tea in the forest. The tea leaves are carefully hand-picked one by one. The leaves are uniform in size, giving the tea a soft texture. "Forest, Seeds and Tea"'s unfertilized Yabukita black tea won the Japanese black tea category at the Premium Tea Contest 2023.

Spot information (as of June 2024) Spot name Ten no Seichaen Phone number 0966-69-0918 Official website Ten no Seichaen (official) Instagram @amanoseichaen

Heavenly Tea Garden (Official)

Sakuranoen

Sakuranoen began when the first generation cultivated the land in 1927. The name Sakuranoen was coined by Tokutomi Soho, a journalist with ties to Kumamoto. The current owner, Matsumoto-san, has switched to natural cultivation, starting with pesticide-free cultivation about 34 years ago and fertilizer-free cultivation about 20 years ago. His approach to tea cultivation has been highly praised, and he now has clients all over Europe, with people from Japan and overseas coming to see the tea cultivation process.

Machinery is essential for two people to manage about six hectares of land. We were shown the tea harvesting machine (plucker). The tea leaves picked by the plucking machine are loaded onto trucks and transported to the factory. For the past 11 years, environmentally friendly biodiesel has been used to power the plucking machine and trucks. High-purity BDF made from waste oil derived from plants emits carbon dioxide absorbed by the plants that were used as raw materials, so emissions are essentially zero. We approached the area where the exhaust fumes were coming out, but there was no unpleasant smell.

Sakuranoen is known for picking tea leaves as small as possible. The young yellow-green leaves, which are less than half the size of those picked by other tea farms, produce tea that is packed with flavor.

I had them make three infusions. The black tea was poured quickly after pouring in hot water, and it was bright and not bitter. It was delicious even without measuring grams or time.

Akane (Benifuki) won a prize at the world tea competition "THE LEAFIES 2022" to be held in London. Due to a mistake in the application, natural black tea (naturally grown without fertilizer) was entered in the flavored black tea category, but it won the gold prize. After that, a notice of correction was sent, but it seems that the high aroma that was not inferior to the flavored black tea was evaluated.

While some tea farms make small quantities of tea for contests, such as 5 to 10 kilograms, Sakuranoen produces large quantities (about 150 kilograms) of high-quality tea. There are still some black teas that were evaluated at "THE LEAFIES 2022" and I'm looking forward to the taste of the aged black tea.

Spot information (as of June 2024) Spot name Sakuranoen Phone number 0966-67-1715 Official website Sakuranoen (official)

Sakuranoen (official)

Kajihara Tea

Among the four great Japanese black tea producers, Kajihara Tea is the only one located in Ashikita Town. The tea plantation, Tsuge, is located in a village surrounded by mountains on all sides. Kajihara Tea's tea plantations are grown without pesticides and use only the minimum amount of organic fertilizer.

Currently, the third and fourth generations are in charge of the important parts of tea making. The reason why the third generation started making black tea was because the times when green tea was not selling well. Wanting to continue to protect the tea plantation that the first generation had protected, they invested in funds to start selling on their website, and started learning about making oolong tea and black tea through many encounters.

He got a feel for black tea making by listening to talks at his alma mater, the University of Agriculture, and visiting tea plantations in Taiwan and China. When making tea, you have to rely on your senses to determine the best conditions for nature. It took him seven or eight years to finally be able to make black tea that he was satisfied with.

Kajiwara started making black tea late, but at the international tea competition "THE LEAFIES 2022," his summer-picked Benifuki Japanese black tea won the highest award, "Best in Show." With Japanese black tea now number one in the world, it may have become an opportunity for the world to pay attention to Japanese black tea. (Photo shows spring-picked Benifuki Japanese black tea)

It is difficult to bring machinery into the terraced tea farms, which are made up of a series of small tea fields, so no riding machinery is used. The number of tea farms in Ashikita town is decreasing year by year, so the company also leases and manages tea fields that are being closed. Due to the variety of land that is being entrusted to them and the differences in climate due to the terraced fields, the taste of the same tea variety varies depending on where it is harvested. Currently, while cherishing the native tea leaves from the first generation, the company is gradually planting many different varieties to expand its lineup.

Spot information (as of June 2024) Spot name Ocha no Kajihara Telephone number 0966-84-0608 Official website Ocha no Kajihara (official) Instagram @kajiharachachacha

Kajihara Tea (official website)