Kunitomo: Riguricha Mitsuranko – The Honey Orchid – Wild, Handpicked Kamairicha りぐり茶 蜜蘭香 Kunitomo Tea Garden

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.

Mitsuranko, The Honey Orchid, is made from a hand-picked micro lot from these wild tea plants at the end of May.

土佐樅ノ木山郷日浦山の岩場で竹林と雑木林の中に自生する茶木を、山に生えた野生の状態に近いままに育てました。何も加えず、自然の力にまかせ育成した茶葉を５月末、山の気温が上がり始めた頃に収穫しました。急峻な山の斜面を移動しながら、茶かずの少ない茶木から竹カゴに丁寧に手摘みしてゆくうちに、カゴの中でゆすられゆすられした茶葉は適度に萎凋された状態となり、隠れひそんでいるようなほのかな蜜の香りとなりました。岩場のミネラルに由来する澄んだ風味と浮かび上がってくる静かな香りを、五感をとぎすまし味わって頂きたいお茶です。

• 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)