All Japan Tea Festival has been held since more than 70 years ago. This traditional tea event will be held on Nihonbashi Plaza in Tokyo in this year.

This event has traditionally awarded prominent tea farmers and tea estates, that are elected as mastercraftsmen or highly sophisticated estates of Japanese tea production, in order to encourage tea farmers, promote tea cultivation and improve skills and technologies for tea production.
In recent years, each host tea estates have kept challenging new attempts with expressing their localities and attractiveness. For example, Shizuoka pref. tried new sessions and collaborations with different businesses, such as tea bar with Italian artists, modern table decoration for Japanese tea, collaborations with young artists of local potteries.

Tea bar session as an event related to Tea (O-Cha) Festival in Shizuoka, conducted by Italian artists and a tea farmer.

Music and Tea Bar service as an special event related to Tea (O-Cha) Festival in Shizuoka in 2016.

Exhibition of tea ware arts made by young craftsmen in Shizuoka.

In this time, the organizer aims to demonstrate new sessions with traditional sessions as follows.

< New Experience Sessions >

1. Unique Cuisines using New Tea Cultivar
Unique cuisines using new tea cultivar ‘Sun Rouge” and their recipes will be exhibited and introduced. Hopefully ‘Sun Rouge’ crimson could delight your eyes and tongues.

‘Sun Rouge’ cocktail – an example of ‘Sun Rouge’ recipe, which is perfect to aperitif.

2. New Technologies for Tea Production
Some companies or research institutes will exhibit their new technologies, which have been developed and applied for tea production lately. For example, the rotating drum for tea withering, auto-shading unit for plucking vehicle developed by Kawasaki Kiko Co. Ltd,, decaffeination unit for black tea production developed by TERADA, new tea cultivars such as ‘Seimei’ suitable for matcha or Gyokuro bred by NARO, just as long as I expect.

“Rotating Drum” for withering of tea shoots, developed by Kawasaki Kiko Co. Ltd., is gaining its concern among tea farmers. This picture shows the tea farmers’ conference to learn how to use “Rotating Drum”.

Oolong tea produced by the technical staff of Kawasaki Kiko Co. Ltd., using “Rotating Drum” for withering of tea shoots.

A new tea machine – Tea plucking vehicle with an auto covering attachment for shade cultivation of tea plantation, developed by the collaboration work of Kawasaki Kiko Co. Ltd., and Shizuoka prefectural Tea Research Center.

< Traditional Sessions >

3. Celebration, Exhibition and Tasting of Awarded Teas
Awarded teas will be exhibited, which were elected in All Japan Tea Competition. Tea farmers and their organizations of each tea estate will serve their awarded tea for visitors. It would be delightful to communicate with the celebrated tea farmers producing the awarded tea over the cups of their specialty tea!

4. Experience of Sencha Hand-Processing
The mastercraftsmen of tea hand processing will instruct us how to make Sencha by our hand. Of course, we will enjoy seeing their demonstration of “Temomi” hand processing of Sencha.

An example of experience of tea hand processing.

5. Experience of Japanese Teas Brewing
Japanese Tea Instructors will demonstrate and instruct how to brew Japanese teas corresponding to one’s preference. Based on their instruction, we will experience and learn the effective way to brew Japanese teas more lusciously.

An example of instruction for a special tea brewing with small amount of water so-called “Susuri Cha”.

6. Exhibition of Locality Specific to Each Tea Estate
Each tea estate has its own features specific to the location, climate, history and so on. These specific localities gift the single estate tea with the terroir. Tea farmers and the related businesses will exhibit the terroir of each tea estate.

An example of introduction ot each tea estate. These panells show the landscapes characteristic to each tea estate in the United Tea Estates of Shizuoka.

< Event Information >

• Date : 14th (Fri.) – 15th (Sat.) December
• Venue : 3F Hall in Nihonbashi Plaza
• Address : 2-3-4, Nihonbashi, Chuo ward, Tokyo.
• Access : Approx. 4 minutes walk from the Yaesu North Gate of JR Tokyo Station or approx. 1 minute walk from B3 gate of Nihonbashi Station on Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Tozai Line and Tokyo Subway Line.