Uji/Gokasho is known as the birthplace of the world famous Ujicha.
Through the generations, we have been growing our tea plants using traditional techniques. These include 'Ooishita cultivation'(*1) where traditional covers are placed above tea plants to regulate sunlight, and 'Shizen jitate'
(*2) a natural method of cultivation that allows plants to grow without pruning. And we produce our tea using only spring tea leaves, which are hand-picked with great care.
 
 
(*1) A cultivation method where tea plants are covered with a shielding material. Usually new shoots are covered with this shielding material for one month.
(*2) A cultivation method used to allow tea plants to grow naturally until the next season after the first tea leaves have been picked. The tree is cut back to knee-height after the leaf picking season has finished.
 

One of our popular Tencha teas 'Honzu Asahi’, which has won numerous awards, is produced using 'Honzu Cultivation', a very traditional method whereby direct sunlight is cut out using organic reed and rice straw, a technique that was developed around the sixteenth century.

The exact time our ancestors began producing teas in this farmland remains unknown, but we believe that tea production in some form at our farm extends as far back as the end of the Edo period. The tea farm's trade name at this time was ‘嘉兵衛’('Kahei') and the farm's symbol ‘嘉’ is used as a character in the current owner's first name as well as in the first names of his father and grandfather.

The basic process of making tea is the same today as it has always been and consequently much of the activity and atmosphere at our farmland remains unchanged.