The People Behind Japanese Tea: Three Family Farms and Their Stories

A holiday treat for Japanese tea lovers, with rare farm stories and a special Christmas tea giveaway

Merry Christmas everyone!
I have a small Christmas gift for fellow Japanese tea lovers at the end of this post, so don’t miss it!

About two months ago, I shared a newsletter about Yunomi.life, a place where you can find an incredible variety of Japanese teas directly from small producers across Japan. If you missed it, you can read it here.

The People Behind Japan’s Teas: Discovering Authentic Japanese Tea with Yunomi.life

Today, I want to take you one step closer to the stories behind those teas. I’ll be introducing three tea farms I truly admire, each representing a different side of Japanese tea culture:

1. Kurihara Tea Garden (Fukuoka)

2. Kajihara Tea Garden (Kumamoto)

3. Azuma Tea Garden (Kyoto)

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1. Kurihara Tea Garden (Yame, Fukuoka)

Guardians of Yame’s Gyokuro tradition, producing both classic and rare competition-grade teas.

The Kurihara family, specialists in gyokuro tea, began in 1922 as wholesalers. In 1942, the first master moved to Yame, famed for Yamecha, and started growing tea himself. His son Kippei now serves in the Yame City legislature, elder son Yuji in the Fukuoka legislature, and younger son Akio has become a nationally recognized, award-winning tea farmer.

Akio leads the family’s work today, cultivating exceptional gyokuro and sencha with the help of his family and fellow farmers in the small town of Yabemura (population about 1,000).

Here are some of the highlighted teas.

#0067.F2 Kurihara Tea: Shin 心 (Heart) - Premium Gyokuro Green Tea

You can see a video of Okuyame Gyokuro tea picking here.

#0068.F2 Kurihara Tea: [2025] Competition Grade Saemidori Heritage Gyokuro Green Tea

Akio is also a 4-time winner in Southern Japan tea hand rolling competitions, and places consistently in the top 5 in the gyokuro categories of regional and national tea competitions. Most recently, at the 2019 Fukuoka Tea Competition, he won the top Minister's Prize in the Gyokuro Category (awarded only when there are at least 100 entries.

Kurihara Tea Garden embodies precision and heritage — every leaf tells the story of a region that has perfected Gyokuro over centuries.

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2. Kajihara Tea Garden (Kumamoto)

Preserving Kyushu’s kamairicha tradition while embracing eco-friendly innovation.

Toshihiro Kajihara is a third-generation farmer from the tiny mountain village of Tsuge in Kumamoto. Taking over his family’s fields in his twenties, he struggled as tea prices dropped and bottled tea took over, often working other jobs just to keep the farm alive.

Through perseverance, he became an award-winning producer of kamairicha — a rare, pan-fired green tea that few farmers in Japan still make — along with black and oolong teas. Farming steep slopes by hand and small machines, Kajihara-san honors tradition while embracing the unique mountain climate that gives his teas their character.

For him, tea is about human connection. Even after devastating floods in 2020, the support of customers and the joy of hearing “Oishi!” after a cup keep him moving forward, one harvest at a time.

Kajihara-san's Green Friendly Teas

• Reduced fuel use thanks to pan-firing.

• Less than half the official fertilizer recommendation, focusing on healthy soil.

• Pesticide-free since 2000 — relying on a naturally balanced ecosystem.

• Antique machinery, adjusted by human senses rather than computers.

Here are some of the highlighted teas.

#0356.K5 Kajihara Tea Garden: #08 Koushun Autumn Flush Black Tea (Wakocha) 秋摘み香駿和紅茶

Kajihara’s story is about respect — for tradition, for the environment, and for the craft of tea.

An authentic, nutty, smooth, and rare even in Japan. In this video, you can find a video featuring Kajihara Tea Garden.

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3. Azuma Tea Garden (Wazuka, Kyoto)

A fourth-generation farm from the heartland of Uji, blending heritage with new horizons.

Azuma Tea Garden is a fourth-generation family farm in Wazuka, Kyoto — the heart of Uji tea. Founded in the late 19th century, the farm spans about 5 hectares of mountain fields in an untouched valley with no trains or major roads, part of Kyoto’s designated cultural landscape.

Specializing in tencha (the base leaf for matcha), the Azuma family is gradually converting their fields to organic cultivation while also experimenting with new styles like matcha-infused genmaicha and rare Japanese oolong.

Today, Teruko Azuma helps lead the farm, combining deep respect for Uji’s traditions with a vision for making tea “simple, healthy, and warm.” The result is a balance of heritage and innovation — rooted in Wazuka’s centuries-old tea culture, but always looking forward.

Here are some of the highlighted teas.

#0102.K6 Azuma Tea Garden: Premium Kyoto Matcha-Infused Genmaicha Green Tea

#0098.K6 Azuma Tea Garden: Kyoto Oolong Tea, Single Cultivar Uji Midori

Azuma’s work shows how tradition can evolve while staying true to the land.

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🌱 Special Gift for Paid Subscribers

Since today’s newsletter is all about meeting the farmers behind the teas, I thought it would be wonderful if you could also taste their stories. That’s why this time, the giveaway will feature three packages — each with a tea from one of the producers introduced today.

Giveaway🎁

• 1 winner will receive a package featuring one of the above teas.

• To participate: comment below with which producer’s tea you’d most love to try.

Discount (Same as Last Time)

• Free subscribers: YUNOMI_JPN1000

• Paid subscribers: ¥1,500 off (delivered via DM)

This way, you don’t just read about the farmers — you can bring their craft into your own teacup.

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How did you feel about today’s stories? 🍵
Do you have another tea — or farmer — you’d love me to feature in future editions? And if enough of you are interested, we may even create an exclusive package just for our readers — a way to bring together teas you’ve read about here into one special set. So please let me know in the comments what you’d be most excited to see!