Shizuoka teas are enjoyed everywhere in Japan.
In many cases, local tea companies blend a wide variety of crude teas made in various tea estates in order to adjust tea flavor characteristic to each company according to the local taste.
Due to the largest tea production of Shizuoka, crude tea made in Shizuoka is used widely among tea blenders, as a result, Japanese teas including Shizuoka tea are sold all over Japan. Some specialty tea stores deal with specialty teas from the single tea farm or tea estate. Specialty tea stores in this type usually explain the origin of teas on the packages or the displays in the shops. Some of the most famous tea estates are written or depicted on the package of tea items sold in general glossary stores, for example Makinohara, Kawane, Kakegawa in Shizuoka, Chiran, Kirishima in Kagoshima, Uji in Kyoto, Yame in Fukuoka, Sayama in Saitama, Nishio in Aichi etc.
In this time, I’d like to share the information about a tea store “Chaou” in Nagahama city, which is located on the northeastern shore of Lake Biwa.
The retail shop of Chaou is located inside the shopping mall “Al Plaza Nagahama”.
Its soft serve of matcha seems to be very popular among local people. The aroma of Sencha and the appearance of matcha soft serve would attract people based on the opinions in Tabelog, the website sharing information of local gourmet in Japan.
Chaou displays various loose leaf teas. Most of them are Shizuoka teas. One item is “Ibi tea” made in Gifu prefecture. Matcha powders are made in Kyoto.
This store sells specialty teas made in Shizuoka!!
The staff kindly served a cup of tea for tasting. In this day, stem tea brewed under lower temperature.
A cup of stem tea served by the staff for tasting. Umami and smooth texture with sweet aroma, I could enjoy.
Awesome! Just my preference! Especially, the degree of firing (degree of roast) was relatively strong, resulting in the sweet aroma of tea. Umami was also remains enough high.
The service cuppa is prepared by using “filter-in-bottle” under lower temperature.
Soft serve of matcha was also good.
Descriptions for soft serves. There are two types, matcha and normal.
The staff explained they bought Sencha from mainly Shizuoka and the matcha from Kyoto.
The appearance of matcha soft serve.
< Shop information >
Location : Inside “Al Plaza Nagahama”, 450 Koboricho, Nagahama city, Shiga pref.
(about 10 minutes on bicycle from JR Nagahama station)
Hours : 10:00 – 21:00
Postscript – Openwater swimming race in Lake Biwa.
In this time, I could win the third place in the 5km competition of OWS in Lake Biwa, thanks to Shizuoka tea.
A cup of Shizuoka tea and the medal for 3rd place in 5km competition in 30s age.
Lake Biwa is very beautiful!! I could enjoy fish-seeing even during the race. There were various size of fishes, especially around rocky shallow beach.
Lake Biwa has a wealth of aquatic lives, such as Biwa trout, Koayu, Nigoro-buna, willow gudgeon, Isaza goby, lake prawn etc. Especially there are 62 of endemic species/subspecies based on the explanation of Lake Biwa Museum.
After the race, participants could enjoy fired Ayu.
Near the beach, there is a market “Biwa”.
In this market, we can buy various local products. I enjoyed Biwa trout soaked in Kouji and Yuba.
** Kouji is fermented rice used for the production of Sake. Yuba is thin membrane made from soybean juice.
Nagahama city had been developed as a castle town under the “Nagahama-jo” castle, which was owned by a famous Shogun, “Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI”.
Nagahama Castle and a cup of Shizuoka tea.
The significance of history seems to make people to maintain the historical twonscapes.
If you visit the tea store “Chaou”, it is recommended to drop to the retro-streets on the way to “Chaou”.