Kagoshima
Kirishima-Cha
Kirishima-cha is one of the most premium tea leaves made in Kagoshima, whose amount of harvest of tea leaves is one of the best in Japan.
The history is the longest among the tea leaves made in Kagoshima, and the taste, cultivated with morning dew on the leaves, features a well-established balance of great umami and sweetness.
As Kagoshima has been famous for organically growing tea leaves for a long time, they manufacture a lot of rare species, out of which you will discover something new.
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Tea plantations in Kirishima
Kagoshima, located in the southernmost area of the country, is one of the most well-known tea-producing regions in Japan, and the mild weather and broad land are pretty suitable for cultivation of great tea leaves.
The amount of production of tea leaves is second to Shizuoka prefecture: 30% of Japanese tea leaves are grown in this region.
Kirishima Island, where Kirishima-cha is produced, is located at the center of the prefecture, and the average altitude is almost 1100 feet.
While the Chiran region is known for its broad landscape, many tea gardens of Kirishima are nestled deep in the mountains, a place where the mist - 'kiri' in Japanese, hence the name Kirishima - makes the area “Mistyrious.”
Dawn of the tea of Kagoshima
The history of Kirishima-cha traces back to 1320, almost 700 years ago, when a monk brought tea seeds from the Uji region of Kyoto to his home.
Chiran-cha is well-known as a tea brand made in Kagoshima, but in fact Kirishima-cha is older than it.
The high altitude of Kirishima provides conditions suitable for organically growing tea leaves, like the difference between temperatures of day and night, humidity and so on, and most tea gardens here continue to grow tea leaves organically.
Kirishima of the environment and Chiran of the artisanship
The tea leaves cultivated with morning dew are silky and feature balanced richness of umami.
The environment of Kagoshima provides the perfect condition for the greatest tea leaves, including its altitude, the difference between temperatures of day and night, the precipitation, the hours of daylight and the humidity. It’s no less ideal than the environment of Yame, a region famous for the production of high-class tea leaves.
Kirishima features its unique brands like Asatsuyu and Asanoka, which are called “natural gyokuro,” and you will find a unique taste with them.
The sencha of the best
Kirishima-cha features balanced richness of umami.
This richness will be particularly distinctive when you make a sencha with them, which is the tea made by steaming tea leaves, the basic form of Japanese tea.
The sencha of Kirishima tea leaves is highly valued in the world; the tea leaves often wear the crown in the sencha section of the national fair of Japanese tea and got awarded the grand prix in a Japanese tea contest in Paris.
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