Mr. Shintaro Tokunaga of Reiganji Tea Manufacturing in Kurogi-machi, Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture, was awarded the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Prize, the highest prize, at the 40th competition held in 2023 of the National Youth Tea Judging Technique Competition, which aims to improve tea quality by training young tea producers nationwide to appraise tea quality by taste, aroma, appearance, etc. He is also a tea specialist who was inducted into the Fukuoka Prefecture Yame Tea Handmade Tea Competition Hall of Fame. Mr. Tokunaga welcomed us at his tea farm in the misty mountains.
Differences in temperature, fog, and fertile red soil concentrate the flavor in the tea leaves.
Mist slowly rising from the ground drifts through the trees, blurring the outlines of the forest. The tea plantation where Mr. Tokunaga grows the highest quality gyokuro, “Yame Traditional Gyokuro,” is located deep in the misty mountains at an altitude of 520 meters above sea level. There are few private residences in the vicinity, and the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful.
It is said that the fog moderately blocks sunlight, suppressing the production of catechins, which cause bitterness and astringency, and increasing theanine, a flavor component, when the tea leaves undergo photosynthesis. In mountainous regions, where there are differences in temperature, tea buds grow slowly and produce tea leaves with a rich flavor. In addition to these ideal climatic conditions, Mr. Tokunaga’s tea is blessed with clayey red soil that can hold nutrients, which makes his tea delicious.
Aiming to be a regular winner of the “National Tea Fair.”
Located on the highest point of the 6-hectare or so tea plantation owned by Mr. Tokunaga, this field is where he grows Yame Traditional Hon Gyokuro tea to be entered in the annual “National Tea Fair”. This tea was created using the best techniques and methods to promote the name of Yame tea, and there are strict rules for its cultivation.
The most notable feature of the tea plantation is the “straw covering,” in which rice straw is placed on shelves built over the tea plantation to block sunlight for at least 16 days at a light shading rate of 95% or higher (the straw in the photo is covered with a frost protection net). The rice straw maintains moderate humidity and temperature, and the raindrops produce a unique flavor known as “kaburakoso” (covered aroma). Another part of the rule is to hand-pick “one core and two leaves” of new shoots grown by “natural tailoring,” in which branches and leaves are not cut. Only those that have been carefully cultivated with time and effort are released to the world under the name of “Yame Traditional Gyokuro.
In fact, I used to live in the place where this field was originally located. But in 2012, a landslide caused by flooding swept away our house, leaving this place vacant, so we decided to take on a new challenge: growing tea to be entered in the National Tea Fair. Consistently achieving high rankings at tea fairs means that we are endorsed as a producer, which makes it easier for us to do business with tea wholesalers. Someday, I want to drink tea made by Reiganji Seicha! I would like to be able to have customers nominate Reiganji Seicha for their tea.
The company has entered its teas in the competition seven times in the past, and in 2023, out of more than 110 entries, it was awarded fifth place. I visited top-ranked farmers and learned how to make their grapes tastier. I heard that good results can be obtained when all the conditions, such as the amount and timing of fertilizer application and the timing of tea leaf plucking, in addition to climatic conditions, are perfectly matched. I still have a lot to learn, but I will continue to improve.
Knowledge of tea learned in Shizuoka forms the basis of the award
He also has an excellent eye for judging the quality of tea and won the highest award in 2023 at the National Young Tea Producers’ Tea Judging Technique Competition, where young tea masters from all over Japan gather to compete in tea judging techniques. Mr. Tokunaga has also jumped up the rank of tea master from Shodan to Rokudan. He has also won 10 consecutive championships in the Fukuoka Prefecture Yame Tea Handmade Tea Processing Competition, where he competes in the traditional “handmade tea processing technique,” and was awarded the title of Hall of Fame inductee. The foundation of his remarkable abilities was laid during his days at the “Kanaya Tea Research Center, Fruit and Tea Research Division, National Agricultural Research Institute,” in Shizuoka, Japan.
I drank tea from all over the country and learned the regional characteristics and trends of tea varieties. I think I developed my own standards of taste for tea, and my ability to taste tea grew as I developed a wider range of tastes. It was also important for me to learn hand-tea making professionally in Shizuoka. Once you have experienced hand-kneading, you can deeply understand the meaning of each processing step,” he says.
Te-momi” is the basic technique of tea making, in which steamed tea leaves are dried while being kneaded by hand. The tea leaves are then hand-rubbed with just the right amount of pressure to adjust the amount of water that comes out of the tea leaves, and the tea leaves are then shaped into a long, thin needle-like shape. When I look at the steamed tea leaves, I determine the quality and quantity of fiber in the tea leaves and decide how to rub them,” says Tokunaga. Mr. Tokunaga’s “discernment” is also utilized in making rough tea leaves by machine. He adjusts the steaming condition, air flow, and drying method slightly according to the tea leaves at the time, so that the result is as close to hand-kneaded tea as possible.
The taste of handmade tea is different from that of machine-made tea,” he says. The machine is more pressurized and the taste is a little more angular. Hand-kneaded tea is the best, but it cannot be mass-produced, so we are trying to make it taste as good as hand-kneaded tea, even if we use a machine.
Mr. Tokunaga brewed me a cup of tea that he had hand-pulled himself. It was indeed mellow and gentle. The taste showed that no matter what the times may bring, the handiwork of skilled craftsmen will never surpass that of machines.
Loving mountain tea and trying new varieties
The tea industry is in the doldrums, with an increasing number of abandoned fields throughout Japan. What does Mr. Tokunaga think of this situation? It may not be a good situation, but I still love tea. But I still love tea. To be honest, it is not easy to work in a place like ours, where the shape of the mountain is used as it is for tea plantations. But there are teas that can only be made here. I want to work hard and believe that the taste of the tea is worth the time and effort! I would like to work hard with the belief that we can make tea that is worth the time and effort. Also, Fukuoka Prefecture is currently developing its own variety of tea, and next year we will start trials to actually plant and grow it. We are going to plant this new variety for mountainous areas in our fields. I am excited to see what kind of tea we can produce,” says Tokunaga. We can’t wait to see what kind of tea the new variety, the result of many years of research, will grow into with the help of skilled tea growers and tea masters.
Incidentally, the trade name “Reiganji” comes from a temple known as the birthplace of Yamecha. The temple is said to have been built by Zenji Eirin Shuzui, who is said to have brought back tea seeds from Ming Dynasty China and introduced tea cultivation and production methods. Carrying the name “Reiganji,” a symbol of the birthplace of Yamecha, Mr. Tokunaga is moving forward strongly into the future. We can hardly wait to see what kind of world of Japanese tea Ms. Tokunaga’s “love for tea” will open up in the future.
