2021 Spring Harvest - Ooiwase at Harayama

Aside from producing quality Japanese green tea, part of our mission at d:matcha involves supporting our fellow tea farmers in the region.

With the young shoots maturing quickly, the first harvest of the year has already started for several tea farmers. On the 18th of April, the d:matcha team decided to join Nakaihisae-san as she harvested her field in Harayama region of Wazuka Town.

Harayama is one of the key locations in Wazuka Town where Japanese green tea was first planted. In addition to the location's deep ties with history, tea harvested from Harayama is also renowned for its enticing aroma. However, as mentioned in our previous article, the severity and impact of this year's frost proved unavoidable. The harvesting process thus has to be skilfully manoeuvred around young shoots that could be harvested, while avoiding those that were damaged by the frost.

Cultivated variety: 大井早生「おおいわせ | Ooiwase」

Originally from Shizuoka Prefecture, this cultivar is known for its fragrant and invigorating taste. Ooiwase's aroma has a distinctly fresh note, signature of young tea leaves harvested during the first flush of the year. The 早生 in the name also signifies that the time for the tea leaves to mature is much faster, especially when compared to the Yabukita cultivar.