July 2025 Newsletter

Summer Tea Business School (Daiki T.)

In July 2025, we hosted the largest-ever session of the Tea Business School with eight participants from around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Austria, Thailand, the United States, and France. The program brought together individuals who are either already engaged in the tea business or are seriously planning to start one in the near future.

Designed based on my own experience, this program focuses not on classroom lectures but on practical, hands-on learning—something only possible in a tea-producing region and through d:matcha’s unique perspective. The curriculum is intentionally intensive and condensed to deliver maximum value in a short time.

Participants engaged in a wide range of activities: Harvesting and processing tea leaves, making matcha lattes, learning various brewing techniques for Japanese teas, experiencing the tea ceremony, and even creating matcha-based sweets. Each session was led by d:matcha team members, who brought their individual expertise and full commitment to the program.

On the final day, every participant gave a presentation on their current or future business plan, followed by detailed feedback from our team. Because the participants were all seriously invested in their ventures, their presentations were specific, ambitious, and truly inspiring—even for us.

The global popularity of matcha has surged to unprecedented levels in 2025, causing a sharp rise in tea prices. While this trend is encouraging, it’s also clear that tea cultivation and business will continue to accelerate worldwide. This underscores the urgent need to nurture individuals who can communicate the true value and depth of Uji matcha and its cultural significance.

Originally planned as a one-time event in July, the overwhelming interest led us to add a second session in September—which quickly sold out—prompting the decision to hold an additional session in December. We are committed to continuing this program as much as possible, with the goal of cultivating global ambassadors who will carry forward the legacy of Uji tea.

My Second Year Teaching at the Tea Business School (S. Mahdaria）

Last year was a wonderful opportunity for me to refine my tea teaching skills as a tutor for the Matcha Cultivar Comparison session at the d:matcha Summer Tea Business School. Teaching has always been a true passion of mine. My past experience as a lecturer and startup mentor still deeply resonates with me, even though I’ve shifted my focus to the Japanese tea industry.

This year, I returned with even greater involvement. From the very beginning, I brainstormed with Daiki to design the curriculum and craft the content for each class session. I also collaborated closely with Misato, Hiroki, and Alan to plan the detailed activities for their sessions. It was both fun and intellectually stimulating.

During my own session, I taught students about usucha, matcha latte with cultivar comparisons, the art of milk blending, and much more. Seeing their excitement—and the look of surprise each time they learned something new—was incredibly rewarding.

Beyond teaching, I also took on the role handling photography and videography for our website and social media publications. I’m quite used to multitasking, but balancing teaching, guiding, tutoring, and managing all the behind-the-scenes work of the program was at times overwhelming. I even gave up my days off to fully dedicate myself to the success of this program.

After the project wrapped up, I gave myself a quiet retreat to Naoshima, the serene art island. I spent two days there resting, reflecting, and enjoying much-needed me time. It was so refreshing—helping me find that sweet balance between work and personal life.

Trying Warigeiko (Seiya H.)

Just like last year, d:matcha welcomed students from overseas who came to learn about tea as part of a business school program, and I had the opportunity to demonstrate a tea ceremony for them. This year, the number of participants and the time allotted were both significantly greater than before, so I gave a lot of thought to what I could do differently.

We still followed the core experience of tasting koicha (thick tea), making usucha (thin tea), and watching a tea ceremony demonstration, but I wanted to go a step further and ensure the students could enjoy it more actively. So, I decided to include warigeiko in the session.

Warigeiko refers to practicing the basic movements of the tea ceremony—such as how to bow, how to walk, and how to handle utensils. It is an essential foundation for continuing one’s practice in sado (the Way of Tea).

I often tell guests on our regular tours:
“In the first month of tea ceremony lessons, some people spend the entire time just learning how to walk or bow. I know some of you are chuckling right now—but I totally get that feeling. I thought it was a joke too at first. But once I actually started learning, I realized just how much those habits need to be built into your body.”

This time, I had the students actually walk on tatami mats the way we do during lessons. Some found it surprisingly challenging and struggled to keep up. I also explained how to handle the utensils, how to bow, and the reasoning behind each movement—hoping to help them appreciate Japanese culture and the spirit of tea as much as possible.

I truly hope the students enjoyed themselves and that this experience became a meaningful and memorable part of their visit.

About the Tea Fields – After the First and Second Harvests (Hiroki A.)

In the second half of July, we completed the final harvest of the second flush, marking the end of this year’s tea season. This year's season started slightly later than usual, but we were fortunate to avoid any major frost damage or outbreaks of pests and diseases. Thanks to that, we were able to proceed with production as planned, which brought a sense of relief. It was tough work for our staff and interns under the summer heat, but I’m truly grateful that we made it through the season safely without injuries.

There was one major change for both the first and second flushes this year: we processed the tea in our newly established tencha factory. The construction of this new facility began in earnest around last autumn and was completed in early spring of this year. We began processing from the first flush of the season.

The main steps in a tencha factory are relatively simple: steaming the freshly picked leaves and then roasting them in a large oven called a tencha-ro. However, because of this simplicity, the steaming process has a significant impact on the final product, and careful adjustments to the steamer settings are essential.

Before we had our own factory, I had already been working at a partner tencha factory and learning how to fine-tune each stage of the process. But this was the first season I ran everything myself. Naturally, the beginning was full of trial and error—I struggled with getting the steamer settings just right. There were some batches that didn’t turn out the way I had hoped. Even so, I took every opportunity I could to visit other factories and consult knowledgeable experts, gradually deepening my understanding of the processing steps.

Running our own tencha factory has made the tea season more physically demanding, with more time-bound responsibilities. With each shift in harvesting different varieties or fields, I had to go back and forth between the tea fields and the factory to adjust the steamer settings. It was exhausting at times. Still, being able to process our own tea with full responsibility also opens up room for creativity and improvement, allowing us to produce even better products.

By understanding the connections between the condition of the tea fields, the state of the harvested leaves, how the tea performs during processing, and the quality of the final matcha after secondary processing, I hope to continue improving the quality of our tea even further.

Thoughts on the Second Flush (Sora N.)

July was the season for harvesting the second flush, and I spent almost every day at the factory. Compared to the first flush, I became more accustomed to the work, and the tasks went more smoothly. However, that familiarity also led me to make small mistakes from time to time, so I want to remind myself to stay focused and take responsibility in all my tasks moving forward.

The second-flush tea leaves contain less moisture than the first-flush leaves, so clogging in the machines wasn’t much of an issue. However, since it's July, it was much hotter than during the first flush. With the tencha-ro (roasting oven) running at 200°C, the inside of the factory felt like a sauna—I lost 2 to 3 kilograms in just a month. Since it’s going to get even hotter, I’ll make sure to take care of my health.

When comparing first and second flush, the first flush is more valuable. That’s because the nutrients stored up over the winter are concentrated in the fresh spring buds, making them rich in theanine—an amino acid that gives umami and sweetness—and giving them a refreshing aroma. On the other hand, the second flush contains more catechins because the leaves grow after the first harvest. This makes the tea more bitter, but also gives it stronger antibacterial properties and benefits for preventing lifestyle-related diseases. It might be a good idea to drink second flush tea daily and save first flush tea for special occasions.

During the first flush, I didn’t have a chance to help with harvesting, but this time I got to do a little. Since we had a lot of interns this month, farm work was done in large groups. Many of the interns didn’t have much experience, so I had to give instructions. But because I don’t speak English at all, I sometimes struggled to communicate properly. Still, I found that by taking the initiative and having the interns follow my actions as a model, things went surprisingly well and the work progressed efficiently. A year ago, I was the one being taught, so I really felt how much I’ve grown.

Moving forward, we’ll be increasing our confectionery production, and our collaboration with Matcha Lover (Macchara-baa-san) will also begin, so I’ll keep doing my best as usual. I think I’ll be in charge of the tencha factory again next year, so I’d like to be able to handle the steaming settings on my own by then.

Diversity Within Cycles (Vitek F.）

I see farming in general as a deeply cyclical activity. We’ve just finished the summer harvest, which marks the end of one of the most important phases. It’s a very satisfying feeling, but also a little sad—because I know it won’t come again until next year.

At the same time, it’s beautiful to observe how we, as humans, follow these majestic cycles of nature and adapt to them—not the other way around. It shows that despite all our modern technological advancements, nature still holds the greater power. (Unfortunately) we often can’t control what the harvest will be like in a given year. We can’t control the weather. And although this can have painful consequences for production, I believe it teaches us a certain humility—and reminds us that nothing is ever guaranteed.

It’s also a good thing that the activities on a farm are so diverse. If they weren’t, it would lose the beauty of this cyclical nature, and the circle would become just a straight line. And yet, the same processes repeat every year. That gives us the chance to become better each year—to adapt to new conditions, to experiment, and to discover.

For me, farming is a daily reminder that there are still beautiful ways to connect with nature. And when we do, nature often rewards us—both with peace of mind and, of course, with the wonderful fruits we’ve cared for all year.