This April was ideal for tea sprout growth. We experienced mild weather, the perfect amount of rain, in moderation, and pleasant warm, sunny days. In the last half of April, it rained on the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 24th. Though we had the late spring frost on 25th, which can ruin tea sprouts, it fortunately hardly damaged tea leaves. This year's harvest will probably start May 5 or 8 which is the usual time of year. Judging from the tea sprout growth and weather in the last few weeks, it is expected that this year's crops will have a more generous and excellent flavor than recent years.

Obuku is the first place where tea trees were planted in the Uji region of Japan. They were planted by Kohken, a Buddhist monk, around A.D.1271, after Eisai popularized the idea of tea drinking in Japan around A.D.1191. Obuku is a small area of land with a diameter of less than one mile (600 meters). Even today, Obuku is known for producing very rare, highest grade Sencha. In Japan, there are only a few places where top grade Sencha is produced, and the Obuku area in Ujitawara is one of them.
Obuku is located in mountain ravines, where tiny streams run, and the soil is full of minerals. The misty climate, sloping hills, warm days and cool nights provide a very ideal setting to grow the highest grade tea. Indeed, Sencha produced in the Obuku area was presented to the Japanese Emperors for many years. The tea leaves for our Sencha Pinnacle and Sencha Super Premium are grown in the Obuku area, the birth place of Uji tea, and picked by skilled hands.

Tea trees harvested by hand grow differently than those harvested by machine. In the case of tea trees trimmed by machine, tea sprouts grow from the previously trimmed stubble. By contrast, in the case of tea trees picked by hand, tea sprouts shoot from the natural forks in the branches. The flavor and aroma of hand picked tea is much more mellow and smooth than tea trimmed by machine and the leaves are of higher quality. Tea leaves that are picked by hand can generally be harvested a few days earlier than tea leaves trimmed by machine.

Above monochrome pictures were the hand-picking harvest scene taken at our tea farm located in the Obuku area. The letters on the left side of the picture state that this is the harvest for the tribute tea to the TAISHO emperor (1879 to 1926), and this picture was taken in May 1915. The tea farm is quite the same as our tea farm where our Sencha Pinnacle and Super Premium are grown today. It is said that "The harvest for the tribute tea to the TAISHO emperor" was written on the flags on the center of the pictures, though it is illegible on the picture.
The letters on the right side of the picture means that the tea grown at Obuku area, where soil and climate are suitable for growing tea and where tea was first planted, is quite excellent in the color, aroma and taste. The tea grown at the Obuku area is the top quality in Japan, which has been established by expertise since ancient times.

We have been arranging to add Sencha Pinnacle and Sencha Super Premium to our line of 2020 Shincha teas.