Origin: Shimada, Shizuoka, Japan

Tea garden: Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden

This innovative black tea is smoked with Japanese cherry wood and old barrel wood from the award-winning Ichiro Distillery in Chichibu, Tokyo, Japan. They use old barrels in which whiskey was stored. Sakura gives a special note to this excellent smoked black tea, which can be drunk cold or hot and can be a great addition to nuts and chocolate. The leaves of this tea can also be used as a spice.

Hiroki Matsumoto, a young farmer at Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden, always challenges you to create unique and unusual teas. Kaneroku Matsumoto En is a family-owned company specializing in tea. It is located in Shizuoka, which is perhaps the most famous tea prefecture in Japan. Although they try to create unique and innovative teas like hojicha smoked tea or black smoked tea, their tea trees are grown in the traditional way.

All aspects of production at Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden are in line with the cultivation method for environmental conservation that is world-famous as GIAHS.

Tea bushes are grown according to the “chagusaba” method, where grass is grown next to the tea tree, which is then used as mulch. It protects the floor, retains water and fertilizer, and allows the manufacturer to control the growth of weeds. The producers are in direct contact with the buyers and consumers of their products, which has prompted them to think about creating their own style of tea, one that is not limited by the labels “Shizuoka-cha” or “Shimada-cha”.

Preparation:

• 3 g

• 150 ml of water

• Temp. 95°C

• 3-4 pour-overs: 1.5 min, 2 min, 2.5 min, 3 min

Preparation of cold brew:

• 15 g

• 1l of water

• room temperature

• in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours