Takarabako Tea Farm: Shimane Oolong Tea

Takarabako Shimane Oolong tea is both thirst quenching like green teas and mouth drying like some black teas. It’s amazing how many different characters are connected in this tea to create something very unique. It’s more herbal-tea like than regular oolongs, very light with the actual taste floating somewhere in the middle of the gulp, perfect for everyday drinking in early autumn days or wintery spring. You can use the same leaves for at least 4 times. Love it. Read the full review here

A post shared by Tea Chronicles (@teachroniclesiva) on Jul 29, 2017 at 2:20pm PDT

• Ingredients: Oolong tea
• Cultivar: Yabukita
• Harvest: Summer
• Notes: Wholesale customers
• Region: Oba Sorayama District, Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture

About Takarabako Tea Farm

Established in 2003 as a subsidiary of the landscaping company, Matsuura-Zoen, Takarabako Tea Farm is located in the Oba Sorayama district in the southern part of Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. The farmers conduct circulation type agriculture mainly based on tea and persimmon in addition to processing the crops and selling them directly to local consumers.

Today, Takarabako manages 7.4 hectares of tea plants, 3.0 hectares of persimmon, and another 2.0 hectares of other agricultural products such as blueberry, plum, perilla, etc. All agricultural products are cultivated with organic compost avoiding use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Tea and persimmon crops have been certified organic according to the Japan Agricultural Standard (JAS).

• President: Kouichi Matsuura
• Location: 728-6 Ōbachō, Matsue-shi, Shimane-ken 690-0033.
• Established: 2003 (subsidiary of Matsuura Zouen KK (landscaping)
• Employees: 5
• Certifications:
• Eco-farmer certified by Shimane Prefecture
• Organic certification of JAS (Tea, Persimmon) for agriculture, processing and packing
• Local GAP certification by Shimane Prefecture
• Excellence Award for the 19th Japan Environment Preservation Agriculture Promotion Competition