Hayashi Family – Mie

 

Between some small hills in the Mie prefecture, lies the tea plantation of the Hayashi family. In 1978, Iwao Hayashi decided to change his tea plantation to follow the principles of organic farming. The reason for this transformation was based on his belief of having a natural approach and the belief that farming methods which use fertilisers and other chemicals are, sooner or later, harmful to both tea plantation workers and to those who drink the tea. Over the years, Iwao, learned various natural methods to control parasites. Indeed, in Japan, he is considered an expert on ecological tea planting and maintains close contact with and regularly exchanges his experiences with, other farmers of organic tea.

Kimihiko Hayashi, Iwao’s son, has started to work in tea processing and this ensures that from his father’s raw tea, a number of attractive and tasty offerings are produced.

 

A particularity of Hayashi family green teas is that all qualities are steamed for somewhat longer periods than usual. This longer steaming process allows the tea leaves to open and provide, after a brief immersion in hot water, a greenish and shinny infusion.