Yoshiaki Hiruma, Hiruma-en, Tea Studio Hirumaen / Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

devnakata — Mon, 03 May 2021 07:51:00 +0000

Hirumaen Tea Studio is run by the owner of Hirumaen, who is also known as “Kyokuchajin.
Hirumaen is a relatively new tea farm in Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, known as a production center of Sayama tea, and has been in business for more than 40 years.
The company produces a variety of teas, including hand-ripened teas, and as the name implies, it is committed to the highest quality from cultivation to tea production and sales.

Hand-momi-cha,” where each tea leaf is individually handled

If you know what kind of tea it is, you must be a connoisseur. Unlike ordinary Japanese tea leaves, which are dried by machine, te-momicha is literally dried by hand. The hand-moiled tea leaves are carefully rolled into a needle-like shape by a skilled tea master who spends a long time to finish the tea. The highest quality tea can cost over one million yen per kilogram. This tradition of hand-rolled tea has been handed down from generation to generation in Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, known for its Sayama tea. The Hiruma-en Tea Studio is located on the Kaneko Plateau, a vast expanse of tea plantations as far as the eye can see.

In many other tea production areas, tea farmers, processors, and distributors are separated, but in the case of Sayama tea, many people do everything themselves,” said Hiruma. I think that is why the traditional hand-momi-cha technique has been passed down through the generations,” says Hiruma. By doing it consistently, Hiruma is able to sense the subtle changes in the tea leaves, which makes it possible to produce delicious tea.

There is an order to the rubbing process. There is an order to the rubbing process: rotary rubbing, rubbing through, DENGURI rubbing, and KOKURI rubbing. We change the rubbing method by feeling the temperature and humidity of the leaves with our hands.

The surface temperature of the roasting furnace is 40 to 50 degrees Celsius, and the steamed tea leaves “dance” in Hiruma’s hands as steam rises from the furnace. The steamed tea leaves “dance” in Hiruma’s hands while the steam rises. Nakata tried his hand at it, but it was extremely difficult to apply heat evenly to the entire tea leaves, which can be as large as one’s arm. He is able to produce a flavor that cannot be produced by a machine by interacting with each tea leaf one by one.

A tea master who has won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award seven times

Mr. Hiruma is also the chairman of the National Association for the Promotion of Handmade Tea, and has received the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Award, the highest honor for tea masters, seven times. His pursuit of tea is so great that he has developed a new brewing method called “Yae-no-Kanade,” which is used to brew extremely well-polished tea. Mr. Hiruma, who is extraordinarily particular about tea, taught Nakada how to make teemomi tea. Only the best first-grade gyokuro tea leaves, which are hand-picked and covered two weeks before harvest, are made into teemaki tea. The tea leaves are then carefully hand-picked on a roasting furnace (hoiro), which is a special stand designed to heat the tea leaves from below and dry them while they are being hand-picked.

He says, “I rub them carefully, feeling not only the texture of the hand, but also the color, smell, and weight of the tea. If you don’t have this sense, you won’t be able to make a good hand-milled tea.

How to drink delicious hand-rubbed tea

Skilled artisans spend a lot of time and effort to make hand-momi-cha. The way to drink it is to pour a few drops of hot water over two or three te-momi teas and taste the “drops”. When you put it in your mouth, the flavor and aroma fills your mouth with a feeling of indescribable happiness that is hard to believe that it is just a few drops. It is also interesting to note that when the tea leaves open up beautifully, the tea leaves themselves are reproduced in their original form before drying. Once you drink it, you will understand why this tea is so expensive. It is quite a high-end product, but it is sold in small quantities to make it easier to find, so I recommend buying it as soon as you see it. With the advancement of mechanization, it is now easy to obtain delicious tea, but it is also good to take the time to taste something that takes a lot of time and effort to make.

Mr. Yoshiaki Hiruma, owner of Hirumaen Tea Studio

We have been researching and developing tea techniques, seeking novelty while respecting tradition. We hope you will enjoy our high-quality teas, which are carefully hand-picked and hand-firred over time, and our new-fangled teas with gorgeous aromas like flowers and fruits.

The post Yoshiaki Hiruma, Hiruma-en, Tea Studio Hirumaen / Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Hatsukari Soy Sauce – Hatsukari Soy Sauce, Matsumoto Soy Sauce Shoten, Yoshihisa Higuchi / Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

devnakata — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 01:01:00 +0000

Soy sauce plays a supporting role. However, the taste of both the ingredients and the dish will change dramatically depending on the soy sauce. Tasting the soy sauce at Matsumoto Shoyu Shoten, I was reminded of the depth of this seasoning.

Matsumoto Soy Sauce Shop has a long history.

One street off the main street of Kawagoe, a “little Edo” district crowded with tourists, is Matsumoto Soy Sauce Shop, which has a history of about 250 years. The store facing the street sells a wide variety of soy sauce-related products, including not only soy sauce, but also soy sauce-based dressings, rice crackers, pickles, and soy sauce ice cream such as gelato. Matsumoto Shoyu Shoten’s recommended product is ” Hatsukari Soy Sauce. This soy sauce is made with a lot of time and effort, and is known to be a favorite among restaurants throughout the country.

Matsumoto Soy Sauce Shop’s specialties and “Hatsukari Soy Sauce

Matsumoto Shoyu Shoten is committed to using locally produced ingredients, and uses groundwater from Chichibu to make soy sauce the old-fashioned way. Although we do not produce a large amount of soy sauce, we do not use any additives, and our top priority is to provide safe and reliable soy sauce, ” says Kihisa Higuchi of Matsumoto Shoyu Shoten.

In 1764, the wealthy merchant Yokota Gorobei began producing soy sauce, and in 1889, Matsumoto Shinjiro, the founder, took over the business, giving birth to Matsumoto Soy Sauce Shop. Entering the warehouse, which was built in 1868, one is enveloped by the gentle and mellow aroma of soy sauce. The 30 cedar vats lined up in the storehouse are also 180 years old. While soy sauce produced by machines is shipped after about six months, the soy sauce here is matured slowly over the course of a year. Hatsukari Soy Sauce, a speciality of the brewery, is re-brewed for another year to give it a mellow flavor.

Our soy sauce is made in this warehouse and cedar vats. The yeast and lactic acid bacteria that live in these vats give our soy sauce its mild flavor.

Just like a sake brewery that produces delicious sake, this soy sauce brewery is old, but not “old-fashioned” at all. When you take a sip of the moromi, you will taste the umami first, rather than the salty taste. For example, the same fish sashimi tastes much better with this soy sauce. As long as the wooden vats in this brewery are healthy, you will be able to enjoy this flavor. I hope that the traditional way of making soy sauce will be passed down to the next generation, and above all, I hope that the company will continue to devote all of its passion and skill to making soy sauce. Matsumoto Shoyu Shoten offers tours of their traditional soy sauce brewery.

Saitama Prefecture - NIHONMONO