Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden: Imperial Fukamushicha

This particular fukamushicha is a late April 2019  harvested leaf that has been deep steamed to create a powdery tea with a deep green tea liquor.

Region: Kiriyama, Shimada, Shizuoka

About The Farm: The Matsumoto family has been farming for more generations than there are records, but established their first tea processing factory in the 1930s. Today, 3rd generation tea farmer Hiroki Matsumoto manages some 30 fields in the Kiriyama region of the Makinohara plain in Shimada, Shizuoka. He utilizes the UNESCO designated World Heritage agricultural tradition, Chagusaba, to cultivate his tea leaves.

Designated as a UNESCO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, the Chagusaba farming method involves surrounding your tea fields with fields of susuki or sasa, two different types of tall grass. In Autumn, the grass is harvested by hand, dried, chopped and laid on the ground around and between the hedges of tea fields providing soil fertilization, preventing the growth of weeds. This system was studied and honored with the UNESCO designation because it has helped to preserve biodiversity in the areas of Shizuoka where it is widely practiced. Endangered insect species native to the region are also more widely found in areas practicing Chagusaba.

• Name: Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden
• Type: Family business, tea farm & factory
• 80g