One thing I appreciated about living in Sasebo was the fact that it was so close to Saga. That meant that it was easy to visit places like Mifuneyamarakuen, and theoretically, the Saga International Balloon Fiesta[1] (SIBF).

Anyway, it was on one of the previous visits to the SIBF that I found this farm!

Background: While the SIBF is mainly about hot air balloons, there are also sections where you can buy food and a local market corner. Since Ureshino is part of Saga, it’s shouldn’t have been a surprise when I saw a farm selling tea[2]. What was surprising was the fact that it also sold black tea, because Ureshino is better known for its green tea.

In fact, the back of this tea lists “green tea” as the ingredient, which was my first hint that this tea isn’t one of the normal black teas.

This tea is from Ikeda Farm (池田農園), which has a website but not much else. I wish I could find more information about the farm but it looks like that won’t happen unless I make a visit there.

Now, about the tea itself: I thought that it had a very slight sweetness, but leaned towards a more grassy taste, somewhat like mulberry tea, another tea I enjoy. It’s not as ‘strong’ as other black teas like the breakfast blends but I like this. In fact, it reminds me of the Jane Austen tea. I brought it to the office to share and some of the feedback that I got is that it’s well-balanced and even has a hint of citrus to it.

If you’re interested in trying a slightly unusual sort of Japanese tea, you definitely want to look into this. In fact, I now have to figure out how to get my hands on more (of this and from Ikeda farm) when my current bag finishes.

Notes
[1] I say theoretically because I moved back to Singapore before I had the chance to go to the Saga International Balloon Fiesta.

[2] Ureshino is fairly famous for its green tea, and you have to have 100% Ureshino-grown tea to be able to call it “Ureshino tea”, if only 50%-100% of the tea is from Ureshino, then you’ll have to call it “Ureshino blend tea”. Source