“NOZOMI”, which means “hope” in Japanese, is the local brand for green tea produced in Makinohara area and a certificate to guarantee the richness of umami by means of amino acid contents.
JA-Hainan, one of the Japanese Agricultural Cooperatives in Shizuoka, certificates green teas based on the nitrogen measurement, because amino acid content is almost proportional to nitrogen content in tea leaves.

A pamphlet of “NOZOMI”. Inside description explains the grade based on nitrogen content and infsion color . Cold extraction and using glass cup for drinking are recommended.

There are two grades of “NOZOMI”.
Higher grade of NOZOMI green tea
> Nitrogen content more than 5.7%
> Label – Gold label

Second grade of NOZOMI green tea
> Nitrogen content more than 4.7%
> Label – Silver label

In addition to nitrogen content, the color of infusion is also evaluated as an important factor.
The green teas passed these criteria can be recognized as “NOZOMI” brand.
Especially, the infusion color of “NOZOMI” is very nice!

What a bright green color!
Staff of JA-Hainan recommend to pour the infusion in glass cups in order to enjoy the color.

We can use the powder of “NOZOMI” green tea.

I often use it to sprinkle an ice cream as shown in the photo.

“NOZOMI” labeled green teas are sold in the farmers market “Housen-kan”, located along with route 150 or the retail shop of JA-Hainan.

Inside(left) and outside(right) of the farmers market of JA-Hainan “Housen-kan”.

* Shop information of “Housen-kan”.
Address : 1986-1 Hosoe, Makinohara city, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Access : About 1 hour from Shizuoka city by car.
Official Website : Page of “Housen-kan” in the official website of JA-Hainan (written in only Japanese. Please enjoy photo gallery in these pages!)