One unexpected effect of the CORVID-19 pandemic was that it completely scuttled my plans of going to Japan in May and viewing part of the shincha season. However, the lovely folks at NPO法人 埼玉農業おうえんしたい (NPO Agriculture Support Team in Saitama) have provided me with some of the latest information.
What is Sayama Tea(狭山茶)?
Located in the heart of Saitama prefecture, Sayama has been growing tea from the 12th century. Initially grown in temples for medical purposes, Sayama started growing tea for consumption in the 1850s. In terms of production, Sayama contributes only 2% to the total tea production in Japan, making it relatively unknown overseas.
However, in 2018, NPO法人 埼玉農業おうえんしたい [1] has started 「狭山茶 SINGLE ORIGIN TEA ブランド化戦略プロジェクト」with several farmers in Sayama to help promote single origin teas in Sayama. These teas are single-cultivar and from single farms, which is extremely exciting for me. The cultivars [2] that they are focusing on are:
- 「さやまかおり」Sayamakaori
- 「おくはるか」Okuharuka
- 「むさしかおり」Musashikaori
- 「ふくみどり」Fukumidori
- 「ゆめわかば」Yumekawaba
Shincha season in Saitama
Typically, shincha (new tea/first flush tea) in Sayama starts in late April and carries on to Mid-May. Give them some time to process the tea, and new teas might be available from mid-June onwards!
Last week, I heard from Kajishima-san, my contact at NPO法人 埼玉農業おうえんしたい, and she let me know that this year, the tea plucking season started on the 23rd of April. Although there were hopes of an early harvest season due to a mild winter, there were two cold snaps during April and it took a little longer than expected for the new tea buds to appear.
She sent me some photos of the tea plucking and has allowed me to share them here:
The cultivar being plucked is called 「さえあかり (Saeakari)」. There are about 30 people working in the tea fields, but as part of the COVID-19 precautions, only two people can work in one row at a time.
Look at these gorgeous buds!
The freshly plucked leaves will be sent to their on-premise factory to be processed. It’s one of the strengths of this farm – because the field and factory are so close by, they can process the tea immediately, without the risk of the leaves oxidising before the tea can be processed [3].
According to Kajishima-san, they plan to begin harvesting with the tea plucking machines on the 4th of May.
Personally, I’m super excited to hear about this! I’ve asked them to let me know once the shincha is available for sale because I’m dying to try the different cultivars and see if I can train my tastebuds to recognise the differences between them!
More about NPO法人 埼玉農業おうえんしたい
NPO法人 埼玉農業おうえんしたい, translated to English as NPO Agriculture Support Team in Saitama is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting Saitama agriculture using three main methods:
- Tour events
- Provide support for exports of agricultural products
- Develop new agricultural products
Notes and Links
[1] We met when they came to Singapore! They’ve also been on other trips, and from what I know they have an online store (in English) as well.
[2] For more information about the farm and the cultivars, you can check out this page (in Japanese)! If I get the chance, I’ll try to get more information and share it as well.
[3] Another farm that I know who has their factory on-premises is Hachimanjyu! I think their season started a bit earlier)
The NPO法人 埼玉農業おうえんしたい (NPO Agriculture Support Team in Saitama) Website: Japanese, English
More Information about Sayama Tea (Japanese)
Thank you to NPO法人 埼玉農業おうえんしたい and in particular, Kajishima-san for the information and the pictures (all images are theirs)! Unfortunately, they’re not on social media, but I’ll probably do another post when the teas are ready so that people who are interesting can get some.
