Aiming to create “tea that surprises and impresses the drinker,” Amma Seicha produces tea from its own unique perspective and ideas.
His attitude of never forgetting to challenge himself in pursuit of the ultimate taste of tea is bringing a new wind to the tea industry.

A unique background that led him to the world of tea in Shizuoka Prefecture

When most people think of Shizuoka Prefecture, they imagine large tea plantations stretching across the Makinohara Plateau, but Yasuma Seicha is located in Fukuroi City. Located in the southwestern part of Shizuoka Prefecture, Fukuroi City is famous for its melons, but tea has also been grown in the hills between the mountains since before World War II. Fukuroi City is said to be one of the oldest tea growing areas in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Amma Seicha was founded in 1946 by the first generation, Gohei Amma, and Kosuke is the third generation. Although not large in scale, the company has been in business for over 70 years, with the family handling everything from cultivation to processing and sales.

A tea plantation spreads out in front of the house, and a tea factory is also located on the premises. Every time I breathe, I feel the fresh aroma of tea tickling my nose.

Would you like to try picking tea? Nakada took Mr. Amma’s invitation and got on the tractor for tea picking for the first time.

It feels so good,” he said. Nakada was also soothed by the beauty of the tea fields.

Kosuke Amma, a third-generation tea farmer, has a unique career path. He was a high school Japanese teacher before becoming a web writer, and when he married, he took over his wife’s family’s business and started his own tea business.

My wife and I were classmates in junior high school. We are both from the area, so I grew up surrounded by tea plantations. However, I had only ever drank tea from a plastic bottle (laughs). I was so surprised when I drank the tea my wife brewed for me that I wanted more people to experience it. Of course, I didn’t have the skills or knowledge to be a tea farmer at first, so I studied at Shizuoka Prefectural College of Agriculture and Forestry first, and then started farming, ” said Amma. After having various experiences as a working adult, he studied at the school, which probably helped him develop his own unique way of thinking.

Tea with a particular flavor and sweetness

Amma Seicha’s teas have won awards in various contests, and in addition to its regular green teas, the company also produces Hakuha-cha ( white-leaf tea). The tea is grown under a specific timing of shading of at least 99.99% of the leaves from the sun. By doing so, the leaves turn white and the content of amino acids, the source of sweetness, increases dramatically. Specifically, the amino acid content is three times higher than that of ordinary sencha and approximately twice as high as that of gyokuro, which is known as a high-end tea. In addition, the amount of catechins, which are bitter components, is greatly reduced, resulting in a rich flavor and refreshing sweetness. Because of the difficulty of cultivation and production and the time and effort required, there are only a few tea growers, making it a rare and precious commodity. Mr. Amma also received the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Award for his research and presentation of this white-leaf tea.

I think there are many young people like me who have grown up not knowing the true taste of tea. I think it is my role from now on to think about how to make such people aware of the appeal of tea,” said Amma enthusiastically. To convey the true appeal of Japanese tea is something that only Mr. Amma, who is continuously pursuing delicious tea and trying to convey it to as many people as possible, can do.

Pursuing delicious tea to the end of the road

In addition to the pursuit of delicious tea leaves, Mr. Amma also pursues the deliciousness of tea in other areas. Specifically, he has researched and developed a kyusu, a teapot that is essential for drinking Japanese tea.

He jointly developed the kyusu and utensils with a tile installation store located in the same city of Fukuroi. The originally developed tile “ikiatsuki ” contains carbon, which has the property of adsorbing caffeine and catechins that inhibit amino acids, the source of umami and sweetness. In this way, we succeeded in making “Shiroba-cha,” which has a particularly strong flavor and sweetness, even more delicious. The concept of this kyusu and boinokuchi is ” to provide new value in pursuit of functionality.

Mr. Amma continues to take on the challenge of breathing new life into a traditional culture so that the tea culture will be preserved for future generations. Just as he was shocked by the deliciousness of tea, many people will learn the charm of Japanese tea by drinking his tea in the future.

The first time my wife brewed tea for me in a teapot, the taste gave me a “surprise”. I want to give people who drink the tea I make the same kind of “surprise” and “excitement” as I did at that time. With this in mind, I continue to explore new possibilities for tea today.

The post Bringing a New Breeze to Shizuoka, Long Known as a Tea-producing Area Mr. Kosuke Amma, Amma Tea Manufacturer / Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

High-grade “Tenryu tea” produced by nature

Shizuoka, famous for its tea, has different brands depending on the production area. While the coastal areas have a mild climate, the mountainous regions experience extreme temperature fluctuations. These differences in climate and geography, along with variations in cultivation methods, manufacturing processes, and tea varieties, have led to the emergence of over 20 production areas of varying sizes within the prefecture. Among these, the most famous are the three major Shizuoka brands—Honzancha, Kawanecha, and Kakegawa—and the high-quality tea known as “Tenryucha,” cultivated under the guidance of Mr. Ota.

Tenryu Tea is cultivated in the mountainous areas along the upper reaches of the Adako River, a tributary of the Tenryu River, and is considered the highest quality tea. It is primarily a lightly steamed regular sencha, characterized by its clear, transparent color, rich aroma, and a flavor that is both robust yet refined and crisp. The Adako River is renowned for its exceptionally clear water, even surprising Nakata, and has been selected as one of the “100 Famous Waters of the Heisei Era.”

Kaneta Otaen’s tea fields are located at a high altitude within the prefecture, making them ideal for tea cultivation. They focus on soil improvement using their own fully matured organic fertilizer.

“Tenryu tea has a small production volume, but its taste and aroma are exceptional. It has a rich umami flavor without any bitterness. Moreover, the flavor doesn’t fade even in autumn, so it can be enjoyed for a long time. This area is located at a high altitude, with clean water and air. Some people say the temperature difference between day and night is good, but in our case, we focus on the soil. We sometimes spend seven to eight years just on soil preparation,” said Mr. Ota.

Award-winning tea-making master

In fact, Mr. Ota is a master tea grower who is well known not only in Shizuoka Prefecture but also throughout Japan.He has received countless awards at tea fairs, and at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit in 2008, Mr. Ota’s Tenryu tea was served to the heads of countries.He has also received numerous awards, including the Medal with Yellow Ribbon, the Emperor’s Award, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.Mr. Ota, who was born in 1940, must be over 80 years old, but it is hard to imagine him working vigorously in his tea fields in the mountains.The tea is not only full of elegant taste and aroma, but also of the vitality of its creator.

Passion for Tea Making

In recent years, efforts have been made to lease abandoned tea plantations in the upper reaches of the Adogawa River and select tea varieties suited to the soil of those plantations for cultivation.

“In sloped fields, the soil properties differ between the mountain side and the valley side. In such fields, we avoid using large machinery and instead carefully harvest the tea leaves by hand or with small machines. Even with the same variety, the taste varies depending on the field and soil. That’s why we cultivate 13 to 14 varieties tailored to each field,” explained Mr. Ota.

While most tea farmers simply sell the harvested tea leaves to wholesalers or markets, Mr. Ota takes it a step further by processing the tea himself and handling sales. He places a small amount of tea leaves in a dish-like container and pours a little hot water over them. The tea’s color is not green but golden. When sipped, the aroma and umami flavor gently spread to the back of the throat. Yet, it is not overly strong; instead, it gently permeates the body.

“It has a very rich flavor. The umami is amazing,“ said Nakata.

“Hearing people say that my tea is delicious is the greatest joy for me,” said Mr. Ota with a smile. “I continue this work because I want to convey the true flavor of tea. That’s why I keep the roasting process mild.”

According to Mr. Ota, the reason his tea is so delicious is that “the scent of the morning sun and the fields remains.” Indeed, the air I breathed in his fields felt unusually clear.

The post Elegant “Tenryu tea” made by one of the best in Japan, Kaneta Otaen Masataka Ota / Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.