The season of first flush of Japanese tea is almost 3 weeks from the middle of April to the beginning of May. In order to let people enjoy 1st flush earlier, tea farmers in Makinohara enhanced the growing of tea plants in a small part of tea plantation by using greenhouse and produced loose leaf tea of enhanced 1st flush. In addition, for the purpose of promotion of rural tea industry, Makinohara city and JA-Hainan cooperate to support tea farmers to hold the festival encouraging local tea lives.
Scenes in the festival at the tea logistics center of JA-Hainan “Chagurin”
This festival was held in “Chagurin”, the logistics center and factory of local tea and related products managed by JA-Hainan.
From children to elder people, many people came to the festival! When I left the festival at about 10 a.m., more visitors went to the event.
Young tea farmers served and sold their 1st flush teas. Women and business people were interested in their new teas.
Tea farmers in Makinohara won the domestic award of the best tea estate in 2015. The club of young tea farmers sold the enhanced 1st green tea with expressing their determination to win the prize for the best tea estate.
They also demonstrated the small-size tea processing. In front of the retail shop of JA-Hainan, they steamed 1st flush of tea leaves as shown in the photo.
Inside of the retail shop, the hand-processing of tea was exhibited by “Temomi Hozonkai”, the preservation association for the traditional technique of tea hand-processing. A young woman tried the hand-processing so-called “Temomi”. A local broadcaster covered the demonstration as a news event. As for the “Temomi Hozonkai”, their activity was introduced at the past post.
In this festival, JA-Hainan sold “NOZOMI” brand green teas, as introduced in the previous post.
In addition to “NOZOMI”, the federation of JAs in Shizuoka pref. sold their new brand “Juichi-Hitoe”. This product consists of green teas produced in 11 tea estates in Shizuoka. This brand has two types, one is green teas from mountainside plantations, and another one is from plain field.
Not only teas, local agricultural products were sold.
The group of female farmers provided their hand-made products such as Japanese pickles, fried vegetable so-called “Tempura”, sweet stuffs as shown in photo.
Staff served “Tempura” of local vegetables.
Pickles of red radish were served.
Every products consist of local agricultural products. Swiss rolls and pound cakes contain local fruits (Yuzu citron and figs), tea powders of “NOZOMI” and rice powders.
Today, “Makinohara Chazuke” were so popular that they were on the verge of being sold out at 10 p.m., when it took only 1 hour from the beginning of festival.
Makinohara Chazuke was prepared by tea farmers and their cute chirdlen!!
I hope that their great efforts will be so fruitful and the first flush of tea in Makinohara will be very very nice and tasty!!