2024 Winter Tea “Aratama”

Description

Welcome to Winter with our limited winter tea. Aratama has a deep green color with a thick vegetal fragrance. Warm grassy notes with an umami profile.

All of our tea comes from fields that are Rainforest Alliance certified and free of pesticides due in part to our use of IPM farming methods and the use of our Hurricane King which uses the force of wind and water to blow away pests while preserving the local ecosystem. We believe that what is good for nature is good for the people.

Recommended brewing instructions:

– Pour water into your teacups and let them cool a little
– Put tea into teapot (4-5 grams, or about 1 tablespoon per person.) Pour hot water from cups into pot when the temperature has reached 80 to 90°C (170-190°F)
– Wait for 20 to 30 seconds. Swing gently 4 to 5 times then pour evenly into cups. Make sure to shake out every last drop.

Note: Higher temperatures make tea bitter.

Our Story

Our family has been growing tea on the Ōsumi peninsula since 1948. Our president, Yasuhisa Horiguchi has always strived to grow tea in a sustainable way. Not only for our own tea gardens but the local ecosystem as well. One of his biggest challenges was removing pests in a clean and natural way. One day, after a big typhoon, he realized that all the pests had disappeared, blown away by the wind. With that revelation, he started to develop a machine that could replicate the power of a typhoon to remove pests. After many trials and errors, he finally succeeded, and the water and wind pest prevention machine “Hurricane King” was born. This machine is respecting the local ecosystem as well as our tea fields allowing us to provide a tea that is grown in harmony, the way nature intended. And is still used to this day. There is even a newer machine he developed that uses steam to prevent weeds from growing. We believe that “What is good for nature is good for humans.”

How our tea is grown

It’s All In The Soil

We are constantly changing and improving our soil. Utilizing organic fertilizers we not only feed the tea plant, but also the local ecosystem.

IPM Farming Methods

IPM (Integrated Pest Management) is a method of farming that uses natures natural predators such as ladybugs to get rid of unwanted pests in our fields.

Smart Agriculture

Smart Agriculture incorporates smart technology into the agricultural industry via driverless AI tractors and out Hurricane King to remove pests naturally.

Farm to Factory to Final Product
We do it all to keep the lowest possible carbon footprint

We know how important it is to keep the planet as clean as possible. Not just for us, but for our children and all the future generations to come. Therefore, we take care of the whole process from our tea fields to our FSSC22000 certified factories. From the planting of new trees all the way through the final packaging and shipment. You can be assured that your tea has been quality checked throughout all stages of the process.

-Artisan Tea Makers
-State of the Art Tea Factory
-Lab Tested in house as well as with third party laboratories for Integrity
-FSSC22000 Food Safety Certification
-Carefully packed into air tight, high grade packaging to prevent oxidation from air and UV light
-Grown on the Ōsumi peninsula

The Ōsumi peninsula is located in Kagoshima prefecture which is the fastest-growing tea-producing region in all of Japan. Did you know Kagoshima produces almost 1/3 of all the tea produced in Japan! Kagoshima also accounts for 41% of all JAS certified organic tea fields.