Chiyonoen Tea Garden

About

Chiyonoen Tea Farm is a small tea garden operated by husband and wife farmers Masashi and Eri Harashima deep in the mountains of Yabe Village, Fukuoka, Japan. The 3rd generation farm specializes in high grade mountain-grown sencha and gyokuro. Established by his grandfather and the farm's namesake, Chiyokichi. About the Farmers Masashi Harashima (Tea Farmer / Japanese Tea Instructor) Masashi cultivates tea placing priority on the health of the tea plants, following standards that allow him to export his tea to EU. Receiving Japan's top agricultural prize, the Minister's Award, three times, Masashi is one of Japan's top farmers. He is currently teaching his son how to both cultivate and produce the highest quality tea. Eri Harashima (Tea Farmer / Japanese Education Advisor) Eri is actually from the northern end of Japan, born and raised on a farm in Hokkaido, and had always loved the mountains. Living her dream life as a farmer of tea in the mountains of Southern Japan, her philosophy is that tea contributes to the well being of both your mind and body. About Yabe Village, Yame, Fukuoka Yabe Village (Yabemura) sits in the midst of evergreen mountains at about 600 metres above sea level in the eastern part of the Yame district of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The mountainous village, blessed with a cool weather, is covered with snow in winter. Due to these conditions, the tea leaves on the mountains bud later than their counterparts on flat lands. Furthermore, there are less pests and the tea plants are able to grow without the use of chemicals, leading to the production of natural organic tea leaves. Great Tea Comes from Healthy Trees In order to produce high quality tea leaves, we place our greatest priority in ensuring that our trees are healthy. We employ a unique farming method using hand-picked fermented organic fertilizers (bokashi fertilizers) and adjusting each step according to the specific weather conditions of the season or the year, in order to achieve the h