Kunitomo: Riguricha Iwakura – The Stone Throne – Handpicked Kamairicha りぐり茶 岩座 Kunitomo Tea Garden

Only the first bud and two leaves are plucked in the spring from tea plants grown from the seeds of wild plants, then hand processed by pan-firing to create this Kamairicha.

小倉山の雑木林の中に自生する実生の山茶を自然栽培し、その中でも陰地の茶木の新芽のみを一芯二葉手摘みにし、釜炒りに仕上げました。挿し木の栽培種と異なり岩の間へと深く根を張り、２億年前ともいわれる古生層の岩の成分を吸収した独自の深い澄んだ味わいと、鼻腔から再び戻って香る岩韻とも言われる戻り香をお楽しみ頂けます。森の落葉樹の養分の味をまといながらも、岩質のミネラル分の風味がスッキリと味全体を引き締めた様な野生の味を楽しんで頂けます。自然の森の木々の遮光により、野生の茶葉の渋味、苦味がより柔らかでありかつ、深みを増した風味に仕上がっています。

Tea garden owner Akika Kunitomo’s father operated a landscaping company in Kochi Prefecture and in the 1990s discovered wild tea plants on an isolated mountainside during the course of his work. He began caring for the plants by clearing away the under brush and but allowing the plants to grow naturally as they had been.

Seeking to return to the roots of tea making in the Kochi region, Kunitomo-san built a small processing factory that focuses on pan-firing tea leaves. Akika took over the project when her father passed away, expanding by using seeds from the original wild plants and creating a managed tea field while continuing to adhere to the philosophy of zero use of pesticides and fertilizer.

• Ingredients: Green tea
• Cultivar: Yamacha (zairai, non-specific cultivar)
• Harvest: Spring, harvested by hand
• Production method: Handprocessed pan firing
• Region: Ino Village, Kochi, Japan

Steeping Recommendation

• Tea: 3 grams
• Water Temperature: 80C/176F degrees
• Water Amount: 200 ml
• Time: 3-4 minutes
• Resteep 3-4 times (total 3-4 cups per 3 grams)