Special features in location, cultivation and processing
The Terroir
Tamba, in the north of Hyōgo Prefecture, lies in a basin surrounded by mountain ranges, and this geography shapes everything that grows there. The differences between daytime and night-time temperatures are pronounced, giving rise to a dense morning mist known locally by its own name: Tamba-giri, the mist of Tamba. Even during dry periods, it provides the plants with moisture and is considered one of the reasons why the region is home to so many celebrated specialities, from black Tamba soybeans and Dainagon azuki beans to Tamba chestnuts.
Less widely known, but historically no less significant, is Tamba’s role in the history of Japanese tea. The Shoku Nihon Kōki records that in 815 the provinces of Kinai, Ōmi, Tamba and Harima were required to supply tea to the Imperial Court each year. This makes Tamba one of Japan’s oldest tea-growing regions, while at the same time placing it far from today’s major centres of tea production, such as Uji, Shizuoka and Kagoshima.
The tea fields lie at elevations of 200 to 300 metres on steep hillsides. Alongside the modern Yabukita cultivar grow Zairai bushes – plants propagated from seed and belonging to the old local Tamba variety. Their yields are considerably lower, but their roots reach deep into the soil, allowing them to absorb more minerals.
Harvest and Production
The leaves come from the first through to the third picking and therefore predominantly from the later harvests of the year, when they are larger, more robust and more substantial. After harvesting, they are not mechanically dried but dried naturally in the sun, a process known in Japanese as Tenpi-boshi. The leaves dry slowly and gently, helping to create the soft, rounded character that distinguishes this tea.
The leaves are then allowed to rest and deliberately left untouched. There is no roasting or further processing. This preserves the direct, vegetal aroma of the fresh leaf and the mineral clarity imparted by the steep mountain slopes. The gentle drying also contributes to this Bancha’s remarkably forgiving nature: even when brewed with boiling water, it does not become bitter. In fact, the tea farmer himself recommends preparing it with boiling water.
We also offer the same tea in roasted form as Sun-Dried Hojicha Tamba. Here, slow roasting in an iron kettle transforms the leaves, producing a bready, malty cup with a vanilla-like sweetness. The same origin, the same sun – separated only by fire.
This tea comes 100% from the tea farm described above in Tamba and is sourced directly from the tea farmer.
