Takeo Tea Farm: 2023 Organic Bancha Green Tea, Satsuki no Aoyanagi, May harvest 五月の青柳 Takeo Tea Farm

Certified organic bancha green tea harvested in the summer by the Takeo family. Compared to sencha, tea leaves of bancha is larger with less caffeine and more catechin.

Bancha is known under different names depending on the region, and is sometimes referred to as senryu 川柳. In Mie prefecture spring and summer harvested bancha is often referred to as yanagi-cha 柳茶 and autumn harvest as bancha 番茶. We have named our product ‘Aoyanagi in May’ for spring harvest, ‘Aoyanagi’ for summer harvest, and ‘Bancha Organic’ for autumn harvest.

Note: Bag packed by Yunomi loses its organic certification. 1kg bag from Takeo Tea Farm is certified organic.

Steeping Notes

The amounts below are guidelines. Adjust to preference.
Tea Leaves: 4 grams
Water Amount: 100 ml (1/2 cup, 3.4 fl oz)
Water Temperature: 80˚C / 176˚F degrees
Steeping Time: 1 minute

Product Info

• Ingredients: Green tea
• Harvest: May (not the first flush harvest, but a second trimming of late flushing leaves from the first flush, but prior to the second flush).
• Region: Tsu City, Mie Prefecture

Producer Info

• Name: Takeo Tea Farm
• Type: Tea farm, family business
• Farmer: Hiroyuki Takeo
• Established: 1925, all fields converted to organic cultivation in 1993, certified as organic in 2000
• Certification: JAS certified organic (legally equivalent to USDA, EU, French, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand organic certifications)