The vibrant green of the mountains is reflected in the surface of the river, and buds sprout in harmony with the mountains.
The Kawane area is home to Kawane tea, one of the 3 best teas in Japan along with Uji(KYOTO) and Sayama(SAITAMA).
Rich natural environment and a passion for tea
Kawane Honcho, located in the center of Shizuoka Prefecture, is a mountainous area with peaks over 1,000 meters high in the north.
Compared to the plains, the tea leaves are protected by the short hours of sunlight, which suppresses the astringency of the tea.
The mist from the Ooigawa River covers and protects the tea leaves, and, The temperature difference between day and night is large, allowing nutrients to remain in the tea leaves.
History of Kawane Tea
Tea production was first introduced to the Kawane area in the 1200s. It is said that tea seeds were first planted by a monk who brought them back from China.
The history of tea production has been passed down from generation to generation, and the rich natural environment here produces delicious tea.
Nowadays, organic matcha green tea is also actively produced in this natural environment.
Kawane matcha
The agricultural corporation that produce matcha using traditional hand-picking and hand-blending techniques.
Many of the tea farms are privately owned, and although some are now mechanized with pickers and other equipment, people still enter the fields to harvest the tea, which is difficult to access due to the sloping terrain.
The agricultural corporation manages 50 ha of land, from farm management to the processing of "Tencha", the material for matcha, practices organic farming and is involved in the production of Shizuoka's signature matcha.
Characteristics of Matcha
First of all, Kawane Matcha is of high quality. As mentioned above, the astringency itself is suppressed and very tasty.
The growing environment is completely different from the tea plantations I know. When I visited a tea plantation about 600 meters up a mountain, I felt like I was in the middle of nature.
The fusion of nature and techniques passed down from generation to generation, as well as the passion for making tea, must be what produces delicious matcha.
Author Shingo Ito, visited in October 2024
