PRODUCERS
Ocha no Hamada
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Ocha no Hamada products are made by "tea masters," who are the artisans creating the best quality tea, using the high quality tea leaves from Chiran. The tea leaves change slightly in flavour depending on the season and the day they are harvested. To keep the quality of the tea through the year, the tea master selects tea varieties and adjusts the blend by assessing the characteristics of the tea leaves with his eyes, nose, tongue, and touch. In addition, tea masters maximize the aroma and sweetness of tea leaves by determining the temperature and time of heating during the tea-making process. For this reason, the quality of tea also depends greatly on the skill of the tea master. There are different ranks for these tea masters, and there are only 13 tea masters with the highest rank. Two of these top ranked tea masters make Hamada's tea.
Ushijima Seicha
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This company was founded more than 100 years ago. They operate following the principle from farm to table, which means they the farm tea leaves and process them from start to finish. Which most of the tea producers do not do. Ushijima Seicha company is doing everything in-house, because this way they can control the quality and the freshness of the tea leaves through out the entire process. That is why they can provide green tea with a rich aroma and unique flavour.
Itoh-Kyuemon
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Itoh-kyuemon is famous as one of the oldest tea makers in Japan, founded in 1832. They respect their tradition and the same time they create the products to fit to the current trend. Their products are known as high quality teas that are steeped in tradition, and especially Sencha and Gyokuro teas are outstandingly sweet and mellow.
1) UJI GROWN TEA LEAVESU Our producer uses only Uji tea leaves which are renowned for producing some of Japan's finest tea. Furthermore, Itoh-Kyuemon maximizes the unique characteristics of these locally grown tea leaves to create premium products.
2) FISRT PICKED TEA (Ichibancha) Itoh-Kyuemon mainly use the first picked tea (the first harvest of the season), known as ichibancha. This tea is prized for its tenderness, rich fragrance, and strong sweetness. Since the first pick is the best part of the harvest, it imparts a superior flavour and aroma to the teas, especially in Matcha and sencha.
3) HAND PICKED TEA LEAVES The company relies on hand-picking tea leaves only. The reason why is that machine harvesting can damage the tea leaves, hand-picking allows only the best tea leaves to be selected. This process ensures that only the finest leaves are selected, maintaining the highest standard of quality for their tea products.
4) PRIDE IN TRADITION They take grate pride in the production process of tea leaves. Their matcha is made using the traditional method of stone grinding, which produces about 30 grams of matcha per hour. This very slow pace of grinding allows the tea leaves to retain their deep flavour and bright green colour without losing their natural aroma and flavor.
5) QUALITY & FRESHNESS Tea leaves are extremely delicate, so freshness is critical. At Itoh-Kyuemon, they carefully manage the entire process from production to shipment to ensure that tea leaves reach the consumer as fresh as possible. For Matcha in particular, they store it at a low temperature to prevent oxidation and to preserve the maximum flavour. This ensures that the fresh flavour can be enjoyed even after the package is opened.
6) TEA FARMERS Itoh-Kyuemon has a strong relationship with tea farmers, and supports them in many ways. Because of this long lasting partnership they are able to secure a constant supply of high quality green tea leaves in order to deliver a high quality product.
7) SUSTAINABILITY & ENVIRONMENT Itoh-kyuemon is committed to sustainable agriculture by adopting organic and environmentally friendly cultivation methods. In this way, they aim to produce sustainable tea while reducing the impact on the environment.
Ito-en
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Ito-en is one of the most famous tea manufacturers in Japan.
In the 1980s, they start selling first canned green tea in the world and later invented bottled green tea, becoming known as the company that brought Japanese tea culture into everyday life. Before having can/bottled green tea, green tea is considered brew and drink at home.
Ito-en changed Japanese habit to “tea over water at outside” in Japan, fostering a culture where green tea is enjoyed daily.
Ito-en is famous for “Oi-Ocha” brand, in addition to this, they are well known as the brand of finest green teas. Their high graded green teas have rich in aroma, delicate umami, and beautiful liquor color.
Because of this their tea is highly regarded as a prestigious gift, it has earned the deep trust of tea connoisseurs for many years.
Ito-en continues to create new value that resonates with the times while preserving the traditions of Japanese tea.