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.
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About the Farmers
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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.
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About Yabe Village, Yame, Fukuoka
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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.
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Great Tea Comes from Healthy Trees
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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 highest standards. Amid the crisp air in the mountains and the chirping of the birds these healthy tea leaves grow and produce premium tea brimming of sweetness and flavor.
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From the Mountains to the Seas and Beyond
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In order to produce organic tea leaves of the highest quality, we do not use chemical fertilizers for our farms. Therefore, we are able to export our tea leaves to overseas, such as countries in Europe where import regulations and restrictions are strict. Tea leaves grown at Chiyonoen Tea Farm are able to meet high standards and thus are able to travel from Yabe Village up in the mountains to the seas, and to customers beyond. A New Lifestyle with Tea Imagine sipping Gyokuro (jade dew) premium tea, which contains caffeine and deep flavor, in place of espressos; or enjoying rice mixed with used organic tea leaves. We hope to present a new way of life that brings tea into our daily life. Our vision is to create a new lifestyle with tea as we carry out workshops that teach the way of tea-making, as well as carry out farm visits for tourists to our mountainous village. Feel free to engage us in any way!
