Perhaps the most out-of-the-way place on our Japan itinerary is Obubu Tea Farm, about an hour outside of Kyoto in the hilly farm area known as Wazuka, where much of the world’s fine matcha tea is grown, harvested and processed. Two trains and a bus were required to get there, but it was definitely worth the schlep. Think of it like wine country, but for tea. So here’s what we learned:
Because of its geography and climate, Wazuka is very well suited to growing tea, and farmers have been doing so in these hills for hundreds of years. Much as with wine, many cultivars (types) of teas are planted here and, when pruned, grow in beautiful, green lines of bushes that make for stunning scenery.
Also similar to wine, tea plants must grow for several years before the leaves can be harvested. Only the fresh, young leaves are harvested each year in spring for the finest teas. The summer harvest makes for a more robust tea flavor, and fall harvest teas are generally used for cooking rather than drinking. Tea plants can be harvested for 50 or 60 years, with some of the old plants as prized as old grape vines.
Once the leaves are picked, they must be processed within hours. For green tea, leaves are steamed to retain color and flavor and stop the oxidation process. Obubu grows and processes its tea on site to make sencha green tea primarily. It’s a small operation that relies on international interns to help and learn every step of the process.
The interns taught us all about the farm and its operations. They also served us many, many varieties of tea, including one cup of cold-brewed tea that we drank on the hillside next to the tea plants.
The arc-shaped machine is used to cut the leaves, which are blown into a collection bag.
Then the tea is steamed, rolled and dried before packaging. Some of the tea is single-farm and sold directly by Obubu, while other harvests are sold to outside companies that blend teas from various farms to make their own products.
Our tour included a tasty vegetarian lunch, with a tiny salad made of tea with dried crispy rice with soy sauce. We learned that the taste of the tea depends on the cultivar, time of harvest, weather, brewing time and temperature. Hannah’s favorite tea was a young sencha picked in springtime. Not surprisingly, I loved the matcha tea as well as the genmaicha, which is made with tea and roasted rice. Go to obubutea.com if you’d like to learn more, and visit the farm if you can. We had a great time!
