Menehune are forest spirits in the mythology of Hawaii who come to help you with your work. I grew up looking for the menehune who helped clean my room when I was a child, looking into the forests as my family drove home in the evenings from our relative’s house in the mountains above Honolulu.

This hojicha flavored with Japanese pepper evokes the mystery of the forest with its unique spicy, woody flavor. Available as tea bags and leaf tea  

Art by artist Pakchi Hitomi 

-ぱくちーひとみ-  ＠hitomi_1054

Product Info

• Ingredients: Green tea (roasted), ginger, Japanese pepper (sansho), Japanese pepper essential oil
• Harvest: Spring harvest
• Cultivation Notes: Grown pesticide free. Fertilized with organic compost.
• Region: Fujieda, Shizuoka
• Vendor type: Family-operated farm cooperative.
• Established: 1976
• Producer: Toshiaki Kinezuka, President, Hito to No, Shizen wo Tsunagu Kai (NaturaliTea)
• Location: 1416-3 Takizawa Fujieda-shi, Shizuoka 426-0134 Japan

About the Producer

NaturaliTea is a private cooperative of farmers managed by the Kinezuka family, whose own tea fields produce over 20% of the cooperative's teas. Based in the hills of Fujieda, Shizuoka, the cooperative was established nearly 40 years ago by Toshiaki Kinezuka. Farmers in the cooperative develop techniques together to grow tea, rice, and vegetables without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.