WAZUKA VILLAGE

A small village located in the southern part of Kyoto is the origin of Japanese tea and it is called "chagenkyo".
The small village has 600 tea fields and a population of about 3800.
It is also the largest producer of approximately 40% of Uji tea leaves, which is a synonym for Japanese tea.
For 800 years since the Kamakura period, our ancestors continued to clear the steep slopes and preserve our traditional culture.
The landscape of the tea plantation was maintained according to the original landscape of Japan and it was certified as a Japanese Heritage in April 2015.
The climate is also an important factor in making delicious tea.
There are a lot of pure streams of spring water from the mountains surrounded by bountiful forests.

FARMERS & FACTORY

Watanabe Seicha Tencha Kobo

We outsource the crude tea manufacturing process of tencha, which is the raw material for matcha.　
Wazuka is a small village and all the villagers cooperate with each other to outsource work.　Matcha, which is used as the raw material for KitKat matcha flavour, is also available.

Tea farmer Takayuki Matsuda

The Matsuda family. His brothers and relatives gather to help during the harvest of new tea. They are equipped with crude tea manufacturing capabilities at home so the freshly picked tea leaves are processed on the day and shipped without losing their freshness.

Tsujiriichi Head Office Ujitawara Factory

A historical teahouse founded in the first year of Man'en in 1860. A famous store that represents Uji tea, a synonym for Japanese tea. Our tea leaves are processed at Tsujiriichi Ujitawara factory. The correct processing technique and the craftsman's attention to detail are essential for top quality matcha.

Tencha production, tea-cooling machine

Immediately after steaming, steamed tea leaves are blown upwards into the inside of the cooling machine, which is covered with a net, and the steamed leaves are cooled while diffusing
so that they do not overlap. Particles of matcha swirl in the air creating green carpet on the floor.

Drying

Tea leaves are dried in hot air at 70-200 degrees for about 30 minutes. The lower part of the 10-meter long dryer is made of bricks. After rapid drying, leaves are blown up to the top tier and slowly dried as they go down to the bottom tier. This process results in leaves with a well-balanced aroma.

De-stemming and de-veining

Although the leaf is almost dry
after drying,
the stem does not dry easily.
So stems and veins are removed
and the process is repeated to ensure
only the finest leaves are left.

Certification from health organization