Tea History:

Our base tea is harvested using centuries-old Japanese techniques. The young tea leaves, small yet highly fragrant, are gently bruised and lightly steamed to enhance their natural umami and pungency. This traditional method produces a dark green tea with remarkable body and character.

The base tea is from single buds that are only available during March and April – when the best green leaf is produced. To increase the chlorophyll tea bushes are covered with bamboo and straw shading from March 1 to March 20th (more or less). The leaves are plucked about 1-2 weeks after the shading comes off. The leaves are small – less than 1 inch but extremely fragrant and tender. The plucked leaves are gently bruised and then lightly steamed, producing dark green leaves that give a slightly pungent tea with depth and character.

Tea was introduced to Japan from China in the 7th and 8th century. Records indicate that Japan’s Emperor Kammu created a government post called ‘Supervisor of Tea and Tea Gardens’ as Japan had begun to cultivate its own tea. That this post was in the medical bureau of the government indicates that even then, there was tremendous respect for the health aspects of tea. From 800 to the 1200AD Japan relied heavily on China for its tea supply. Because tea arrived in limited quantities from China tea became a luxury used for medicinal and spiritual purposes. A Zen Buddhist, Eisai Myoan returned from China (from what is now known as Jiangxi) with tea seeds and planted them at his temple. He soon realized that the quality was superior to any tea currently grown in Japan. These seeds formed the basis of Japan’s tea industry in the centuries to come. Further evidence of the correlation between health and tea is found in a book that Eisai wrote; Tea Drinking is Good for Health. He wrote that tea drinking confers many benefits including curing lack of appetite, diseases caused by poor quality drinking water, and beriberi (a vitamin B deficiency).