Bizenya

About

Introduction The Bizenya tea shop is located in Takahagi, Hidaka City, Saitama prefecture, Japan, one of the finest tea producing regions in Japan, along with Uji and Shizuoka. Bizenya specializes in producing and selling the unique regional tea, Sayama-cha. This isn’t just another run of the mill tea shop however. Bizenya’s 5th generation tea merchant Keichiro Shimizu has developed a rare niche as a micro-aggregator, buying high quality teas from trusted local farmers. The liveliness of the tea world keeps him going and he is thrilled with the endless depth of tea. Shimizu-san combines traditional techniques passed on from his ancestors with modern innovation and insights he has gained overseas to expand the limits of Japanese tea. For example, one of Shimizu-san’s award winning teas, the Kohaku Platinum is a refined and innovative interpretation of a rustic style of tea common before steaming became dominant. It is a creative example of what has come to be termed a Sayama green oolong. Its delicate floral aroma is brought forth through a careful withering process (ichou 萎凋) . Hand-picking from his private tea garden ensures optimal control over what goes into the final product and the particular scent and flavor profile that is presented. 100% Local Bizenya gathers tea from approximately 12 local factories in the Sayama region (including, Iruma, Sayama, Tokorozawa, Hidaka and Hanno) and from known farmers with organic, eco-farming and hand-picking certifications. This type of tea shop is a rare gem in Japan, as most tea shops in Japan gather from multiple regions and the majority of the tea farmers in Sayama directly market their own teas. But Shimizu-san will only gather tea produced from Sayama - he swears to that! Nogi-en 「乃木園」 - Bizenya's Own Tea Garden Bizenya’s tea garden was founded in the first year of the Meiji era (1868). Until the early Showa era (1930’s), Shimizu-san's family also dedicated some of their effort to rice milling and other agricultural pr