Where our tea comes from
Japan grows tea from Kagoshima in the south to the hills of Shizuoka, and the differences between regions are real: soil, climate, altitude and the processing style that took hold there.
Six regions cover almost everything we import.
Kakegawa, Shizuoka
One of Japan's largest tea regions by volume, and where deep steamed sencha took hold.
Uji, Kyoto
Where tea cultivation in Japan first took hold, and where shaded tea, matcha and gyokuro come from.
Sonogi, Nagasaki
A plateau above Omura Bay, known for tamaryokucha. Also where Japanese tea exports began, in 1853.
Kirishima, Kagoshima
Volcanic slopes in southern Kyushu, with sencha full enough to be sold as tennen gyokuro.
The harvest starts in the south and moves north, which is why the first shincha of the year comes from Kyushu rather than from Shizuoka.