Superior
Japanese Green Tea
MAIKO TEA SHOP
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| | (C)KYOTO
SEIKA UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE FOR MANGA STUDIES
Chie Yamada, Yui Miura, Markley
Patricia | |
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Two types of tea fields: Roten-en (Exposed to sunlight / Open-air fields) and
the Ooishita-en (Shaded from sunlight / Covered fields) |
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| 1.
Roten-en (Exposed to sunlight
/ Open-air fields) | | This
type of open-air field is fully exposed to sunlight; leaves from these plants
are usually processed to make Sencha. In Kyoto prefecture, this type of fields
are seen most frequently in Wazuka-town and Minamiyamashiro-village. Most tea
fields in Japan are of this type. Because
roten-en receives abundant sunlight, tea produced from this type of field has
increased astringency, and possesses a brisk/refreshing flavor. |
Roten-en |
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Exposed to sunlight → strong astringency |
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Ooishita-en (Shaded from sunlight
/ Covered fields) | | Ooishita-en
are veiled as new shoots begin to sprout in mid-April. The gyokuro and tencha
(used to make maccha) are produced from these fields. They are seen throughout
Uji City and Kyotanabe City in Kyoto prefecture. Throughout the country, this
type of field is not very commonly seen. Cultivated
under protection from sunlight, tea produced from this type of field has limited
astringency and increased mellowness. | 
Ooishita-en |
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Protected from direct sunlight → weak astringency, mellow taste |
| Ooishita-en
are commonly seen in Kyotanabe City where MaikoTea is located. This area is especially
famous for the production of Gyokuro tea. | |
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Which leaves are for picking? |
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Which
leaves of the plant are for picking?
Taking a good look at a tea plant you
will recognize that there are two types of leaves: the harder leaves, left from
last year and the softer leaves, which are the new shoots to be picked.
Recently, machines
have replaced manual labor in most areas of Japan; however, many tea plantations
in the southern parts of Kyoto Prefecture, known for the highest quality tea,
still choose to carefully select and pick each tea leaf (one by one) by hand,
cherishing the value of genuine tea quality.
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| 1. | Niyouzumi
(Isshin Niyou):
Two-leaf plucking
The two younger leaves and the
bud are plucked for the highest grade of Gyokuro and Sencha. |
| | 2. | Sanyouzumi
(Isshinsanyou)
Three-leaf plucking
Three leaves and the bud are
plucked for high quality tea (Gyokuro and Sencha). |
| | 3. | Regular
plucking
Regular teas are made from the top four to five leaves and
the bud of the tea plant. | |
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Tea plucking only once a year? |
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| Commonly,
tea plucking is carried out two to three times per year, as new shoots continue
to sprout even after a crop is harvested. However, on most tea plantations across
southern Kyoto prefecture, tea plucking is done only once a year.
These are the times tea
is generally plucked:
| First
crop (Easter flush) (Shincha) | Late
April to end of May |
| Second crop (Spring flush) | Late
June to early July |
| Third crop (Summer flush) | Mid
July to late August | | |
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Tea plucking in Kyotanabe, Japans leading Gyokuro region |
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Kyotanabe, a city esteemed for the highest quality of Gyokuro, the traditional
method of hand-plucked tea has
been practiced and preserved until today. One leaf is carefully selected
at a time. From
one kilogram of freshly picked tea shoots, merely 150 g of Gyokuro is produced.
Even the most experienced tea pickers can only harvest about 10 kg of fresh leaves
in one day which calculates to approximately 1.5 kg of the final product. Hand
plucking tea is a truly time-consuming and costly tedious work. Therefore, only
the finest quality teas are made from hand-plucked shoots. |
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Annual Tea-Picking Event at MaikoTea |
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| Once
every year, we hold a tea picking event for our cherished customers. Approximately
500 people gather each year to enjoy the tea picking experience. |
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| Preparation
of various |
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Gyokuro
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Maccha
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Sencha
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Shiawasecha
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